Emerging Communication Technologies and Public Health Information Dissemination

Health promotion is a critical constituent of the public health system. Its primary objective is the empowerment of individuals and communities in the interest of positively influencing health behaviours and outcomes. One of the main ways in which successful health promotion is achieved is by the dissemination of relevant health information to individuals and communities. As global health costs rise to match the demands of an increasing and ageing population, such delivery of cost-effective public health information is explored. The recent advances in communication technologies have led to the development of social digital platforms (Web 2.0), with unprecedented opportunities for the extensive dissemination of relevant health information. The widespread uptake of social networking sites (SNS) presents a novel platform for public health promotion and management that can verily overcome the issues faced by current public health initiatives while reaching global populations of health consumers. This thesis aims to provide an exploratory analysis of the current landscape of health information communication across SNS, primarily through the platform Twitter. The research will address literature gaps in this cross-disciplinary field of health and communication sciences found for various SNS user-types, analyse and characterise the types of health information being disseminated across such platforms, as well as examine SNS activity during public health events. Public health officials and Web 2.0 platform developers can utilise findings from this thesis to address limitations of online public health-related communication insofar as they can assist with: a) advising plans for better engagement of information disseminated during health events; b) developing future applications and technologies that are appropriate for disadvantaged groups; c) identifying information dissemination strategies for authoritative health bodies and organizations to effectively reach populations

When Infodemic Meets Epidemic: a Systematic Literature Review

Epidemics and outbreaks present arduous challenges requiring both individual and communal efforts. Social media offer significant amounts of data that can be leveraged for bio-surveillance. They also provide a platform to quickly and efficiently reach a sizeable percentage of the population, hence their potential impact on various aspects of epidemic mitigation. The general objective of this systematic literature review is to provide a methodical overview of the integration of social media in different epidemic-related contexts. Three research questions were conceptualized for this review, resulting in over 10000 publications collected in the first PRISMA stage, 129 of which were selected for inclusion. A thematic method-oriented synthesis was undertaken and identified 5 main themes related to social media enabled epidemic surveillance, misinformation management, and mental health. Findings uncover a need for more robust applications of the lessons learned from epidemic post-mortem documentation. A vast gap exists between retrospective analysis of epidemic management and result integration in prospective studies. Harnessing the full potential of social media in epidemic related tasks requires streamlining the results of epidemic forecasting, public opinion understanding and misinformation propagation, all while keeping abreast of potential mental health implications. Pro-active prevention has thus become vital for epidemic curtailment and containment

Using behavioural science to help fight the coronavirus. ESRI Working Paper No. 656 March 2020

This paper summarises useful evidence from behavioural science for fighting the COVID-19 outbreak. It is based on an extensive literature search of relevant behavioural interventions and studies of crises. The findings aim to be useful not only to government and public authorities, but to organisations, workplaces and households. Seven issues are covered: (1) Evidence on handwashing shows that education and information are not enough. Placing hand sanitisers and colourful signage in central locations (e.g. directly beyond doors, canteen entrances, the middle of entrance halls and lift lobbies) increases use substantially. All organisations and public buildings could adopt this cheap and effective practice. (2) By contrast, we lack direct evidence on reducing face touching. Articulating new norms of acceptable behaviour (as for sneezing and coughing) and keeping tissues within arm’s reach could help. (3) Isolation is likely to cause some distress and mental health problems, requiring additional services. Preparedness, through activating social networks, making concrete isolation plans, and becoming familiar with the process, helps. These supports are important, as some people may try to avoid necessary isolation. (4) Public-spirited behaviour is most likely when there is clear and frequent communication, strong group identity, and social disapproval for those who don’t comply. This has implications for language, leadership and day-to-day social interaction. (5) Authorities often overestimate the risk of panic, but undesirable behaviours to watch out for are panic buying of key supplies and xenophobic responses. Communicating the social unacceptability of both could be part of a collective strategy. (6) Evidence links crisis communication to behaviour change. As well as speed, honesty and credibility, effective communication involves empathy and promoting useful individual actions and decisions. Using multiple platforms and tailoring message to subgroups are beneficial too. (7) Risk perceptions are easily biased. Highlighting single cases or using emotive language will increase bias. Risk is probably best communicated through numbers, with ranges to describe uncertainty, emphasising that numbers in the middle are more likely. Stating a maximum, e.g. “up to X thousand”, will bias public perception. A final section discusses possibilities for combining these insights, the need for simplicity, the role of the media, and possibilities for rapid pretesting

Spreading News: The Coverage Of Epidemics By American Newspapers And Its Effects On Audiences - A Crisis Communication Approach

Launched in 2002 in response to inadequate communications during the anthrax attacks and in preparations to the threats posed by H5N1, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication (CERC) framework provides health professionals with trainings, tools, and resources to help them communicate effectively during emergencies and public health crises. Since that time, the framework has been used by the organization during outbreaks of infectious diseases. A core argument of CERC is that lack of certainty, efficacy, and trust serve as barriers to compliance with and support in CDC during an outbreak. According to CERC, providing the public with information about health and social risks, as well as information about ways individuals and organizations may ameliorate threats, could counter these perceptions, improve communications, and eventually save lives. However, the dissemination of the organization’s crisis messages depends largely on the mass media coverage. Understanding the news media’s agenda, priorities and role during outbreaks is essential for improving the cooperation between CDC and journalists. However, CERC provides little information about the actual behavior of journalists during crises, as reflected in news coverage of past outbreaks. This work aims to fill that gap in our understanding of the routinization of news during epidemics and its impact on audiences by systematically analyzing the coverage of epidemics in leading newspapers and using experiments to test its effects. This study analyzed 5,006 articles from leading American newspapers covering three epidemics: H1N1, Ebola, and Zika. Using a mixed method of automated and manual content analysis, it identified three distinct themes used to cover the diseases; pandemic, scientific, and social. Next, manual content analysis was conducted to assess the prevalence of information components theorized by CERC to increase certainty, efficacy and trust- information about medical/health risks, social/economic disruptions, and potential individual and organizational responses to ameliorate risks and reduce harm. Analysis of the themes based on CERC principles demonstrated substantial discrepancies between what CDC aims to communicate during epidemics and what the media actually disseminated to the public. An experiment (n = 321) found that exposure to articles representing the themes affected perceptions of certainty, efficacy, and trust, that in turn were associated with intentions to comply with CDC. The experiment also demonstrated the ability of coverage that follows CERC principles more closely to reduce harmful perceptions that were associated with behavioral intentions in target audiences. Implications for public health organizations and communicators are discussed, including ways to improve cooperation with journalists and the use of alternative direct-channels for filling gaps in news media coverage

#Zika #Olympics: The use of dialogue in tweets regarding the Zika virus and the 2016 Rio Olympics

Previous research has observed the use of social media by health organizations; however, few studies have addressed how health organizations use these media to build relationships with publics. This thesis addresses this gap by applying Kent and Taylor’s (2002) dialogic tenets to Twitter messages regarding the 2015-2016 Zika virus epidemic and the 2016 Rio Olympics. First a pilot study used a quantitative survey to find that individuals were using online media to seek information about Zika, and that the public generally had high threat salience toward the virus. Next, social network analyzer Netlytic was used to collect Tweets that mentioned both “Zika” and “Olympics” between August 5th and August 7th, 2016, during the Olympic Games. Data analysis and a qualitative content analysis found that health organizations were not engaged in the conversations regarding Zika during the Olympics on Twitter, and did not effectively employ the tenets of dialogue. Health organizations can potentially raise their level of dialogue with publics by interacting more with users on the Twitter platform. This thesis extends the literature surrounding dialogic theory, social media use, and health communication practices of public health organizations

Preventing the next Aedes-borne arboviral disease epidemic

Dengue, chikungunya and Zika are infectious diseases transmitted to humans by Aedes species mosquitoes (mainly Aedes aegypti). These arboviruses caused outbreaks in several countries belonging to Africa, America, Asia, the Caribbean, and the Pacific. Besides all recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO), and novel mosquito control strategies that have been developed, countries are still struggling with preventing and controlling the transmission of Aedes-borne infectious diseases (ABIDs). To overcome the difficulties in ABID control interventions, first, the challenges with regards to Aedes control at the macro-level (health system), meso-level (community), and the micro-level (individuals) of that specific country need to be determined. Therefore, this dissertation's overall aim is to investigate the context and concepts shaping the health system, community and individual prevention and control interventions/ behaviour for ABIDs in Curaçao. We have combined different research methodologies (qualitative and quantitative) and disciplines (e.g., epidemiology, entomology, microbiology, and social and environmental sciences) to study the above-mentioned research topics. Different theoretical frameworks and concepts were used to understand the intricate relationship between macro (health system), meso (social groups) and micro-level (individuals) vis-à-vis ABIDs prevention and control. All studies presented in this thesis provide readers with the information to understand the challenges of Aedes control in Curaçao holistically. Our results highlight the relevance of risk communication, cultural schemas, and heuristics in disease control. This information is useful to policymakers and others concerned with the prevention and control of ABIDs

Womens Health Issues

Background:Between January and October 2016, 575 symptomatic confirmed cases of Zika virus infection were reported in the USVI. Zika virus infection during pregnancy can cause serious birth defects. Preventing unintended pregnancy among women who choose to delay or avoid pregnancy is a primary strategy to reduce these adverse outcomes.Methods:A rapid assessment, using one men\u2019s and five women\u2019s focus groups (N=43), was conducted to inform communication efforts to increase awareness of contraception as a means for preventing unintended pregnancy in the context of a Zika outbreak in the USVI.Results:Findings showed that people of reproductive age were aware of the relationship between Zika virus infection during pregnancy and adverse birth outcomes. However, when discussing methods for prevention, participants did not include preventing unintended pregnancy as a strategy to reduce these adverse outcomes. When asked about family planning in the USVI, participants discussed that for some, planning pregnancies is not common. Participants wanted communications about contraception to include available methods, side effects, costs, and safety. Optimal communication channels included social media and local spokespersons. Participants identified health care providers as a trusted information source.Conclusions:Findings from this assessment informed the design of a culturally appropriate communication strategy to raise awareness of the prevention of unintended pregnancy as a primary strategy to reduce Zika-related adverse birth outcomes in the USVI.20192020-05-01T00:00:00ZCC999999/Intramural CDC HHS/United States30878263PMC6707511797

Unmasked in the Plandemic: Misinformation during the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic

This paper explores the misinformation phenomena surrounding COVID-19 on social media platforms and its potential impact on the trajectory of the COVID-19 pandemic in the US. It defines the terms misinformation and disinformation and links these to recent political phenomena of “fake news” and political disinformation campaigns. It characterizes the sources of misinformation online and seeks to analyze the psycho-social and cognitive mechanisms of online misinformation spread such as source and message credibility through research on vaccine hesitancy and misinformation online during other global pandemics and resurging epidemics. Network analysis establishes that misinformation online spreads farther and faster than factual information on social media platforms. Relationships between misinformation and impact on health are explored utilizing research based in agent-based modeling techniques. It argues for the quantification and characterization of COVID-19 online misinformation in order to develop targeted interventions to vulnerable and at-risk groups using informed risk communication practices across all levels of government to mitigate disparities in COVID-19 case rates and transmission. Keywords: SARS-CoV-19; COVID-19; Misinformation; Disinformation; Credibility; Network Analysis; Risk Communication; Crisis Communication; Health Communicatio

Role of Participatory Health Informatics in Detecting and Managing Pandemics: Literature Review

Objectives: Using participatory health informatics (PHI) to detect disease outbreaks or learn about pandemics has gained interest in recent years. However, the role of PHI in understanding and managing pandemics, citizens’ role in this context, and which methods are relevant for collecting and processing data are still unclear, as is which types of data are relevant. This paper aims to clarify these issues and explore the role of PHI in managing and detecting pandemics. Methods: Through a literature review we identified studies that explore the role of PHI in detecting and managing pandemics. Studies from five databases were screened: PubMed, CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature), IEEE Xplore, ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) Digital Library, and Cochrane Library. Data from studies fulfilling the eligibility criteria were extracted and synthesized narratively. Results: Out of 417 citations retrieved, 53 studies were included in this review. Most research focused on influenza-like illnesses or COVID-19 with at least three papers on other epidemics (Ebola, Zika or measles). The geographic scope ranged from global to concentrating on specific countries. Multiple processing and analysis methods were reported, although often missing relevant information. The majority of outcomes are reported for two application areas: crisis communication and detection of disease outbreaks. Conclusions: For most diseases, the small number of studies prevented reaching firm conclusions about the utility of PHI in detecting and monitoring these disease outbreaks. For others, e.g., COVID-19, social media and online search patterns corresponded to disease patterns, and detected disease outbreak earlier than conventional public health methods, thereby suggesting that PHI can contribute to disease and pandemic monitoring