Artificial intelligence applications to analyse communication strategies in oncology fundraising campaigns: A study on the 5x1000 campaigns of the Scientific Institutes for Hospitalization and Care (IRCCS) in Italy

This chapter analyses the communication strategies adopted in oncology fundraising campaigns through the Italian “5x1000” tax allocation mechanism, focusing on the Scientific Institutes for Hospitalization and Care (IRCCS). Using a mixed-methods approach, the study combines qualitative content analysis, topic modeling and hermeneutic interpretation to examine how scientific research, patient care and social responsibility are communicated to the public. The analysis is based on a corpus of textual and visual materials collected from official institutional websites and communication campaigns. Results highlight four dominant narrative patterns that frame cancer research as a collective social endeavor, emphasizing trust, transparency, solidarity and the tangible impact of donations. The findings contribute to the broader debate on digital communication in healthcare fundraising, showing how artificial intelligence tools can support the systematic analysis of complex communication strategies while raising ethical and methodological considerations.