Listen up, health officials – here’s how to reduce ‘Ebolanoia’

An epidemic disease such as Ebola brings suffering to more than those who get ill or die. Social and economic threats can actually outstrip the medical ones. The outbreaks of SARS in 2003, for example, cost the world economy some US$40 billion, partly as a result of highly disputed travel bans. Epidemic diseases nearly always also lead to stigmatisation and ill treatment of groups associated with the disease. And because there are always people who are especially scared, epidemic diseases can cause social disruption by people who do such things as flee cities, swamp doctors and health services while well, and stockpile food or medicines. We can’t entirely eliminate these costs, but we can minimise “Ebolanoia” by addressing fears and directing people to positive actions. Here are some of the risk communication lessons our health officials and political leaders should be mindful of when they engage with the public about Ebola

Media ethics and infectious disease

The traditional mass media is a necessary safeguard of human security, yet it can also threaten that security. The mass media has been a primary mode of disseminating information and encouraging debate and critique on important social and political issues. It has and does thus possess the potential to encourage public participation in decisionmaking and to encourage civic values such as personal responsibility, law-abiding behaviour and generosity (Hodgetts et al. 2007, Keane 1991). In a time of crisis, such as an outbreak of infectious disease, it offers unparalleled capacity to communicate with the broad span of highly differentiated publics and to swiftly disseminate information and directions critical to reducing harm or resolving the crisis. Yet the mass media as it currently exists can also perpetuate half truths, negative stereotypes and simplistic thinking. It is guilty of major omissions on such a broad scale as to render public and policy responses deeply incapacitated when it comes to confronting complex social problems (Downing et al. 2004, Chomsky and Herman 1988, Curran and Seaton 2009). In worst-case scenarios, especially where the mass media is closely tied to a particular set of political interests, this may profoundly threaten human security

Media ethics and infectious disease

The traditional mass media is a necessary safeguard of human security, yet it can also threaten that security. The mass media has been a primary mode of disseminating information and encouraging debate and critique on important social and political issues. It has and does thus possess the potential to encourage public participation in decisionmaking and to encourage civic values such as personal responsibility, law-abiding behaviour and generosity (Hodgetts et al. 2007, Keane 1991). In a time of crisis, such as an outbreak of infectious disease, it offers unparalleled capacity to communicate with the broad span of highly differentiated publics and to swiftly disseminate information and directions critical to reducing harm or resolving the crisis. Yet the mass media as it currently exists can also perpetuate half truths, negative stereotypes and simplistic thinking. It is guilty of major omissions on such a broad scale as to render public and policy responses deeply incapacitated when it comes to confronting complex social problems (Downing et al. 2004, Chomsky and Herman 1988, Curran and Seaton 2009). In worst-case scenarios, especially where the mass media is closely tied to a particular set of political interests, this may profoundly threaten human security

Journalists' views about reporting avian influenza and a potential pandemic: a qualitative study

Background: The mass media is a key component of any public communication strategy for influenza or other respiratory illnesses, but coverage can be variable. In this study we explored the factors that influenced journalists’ coverage of avian influenza as a model for coverage of a potential influenza pandemic. Methods: This study involved semi-structured interviews with 16 journalists from major Australian print, radio and television media organisations reporting on avian influenza and pandemic planning. Journalists, including reporters, editors and producers, were interviewed between October 2006 and August 2007. Thematic analysis was used to draw out major lessons for health communicators. Results: Coverage of avian influenza was influenced by a small set of news values: catastrophic potential, cultural and geographic proximity, unfamiliarity and uncertainty. Lack of novelty and the absence of compelling images led to a decline in coverage. Journalists expressed concerns about the accuracy and impacts of reporting, but saw as critically important, their primary role as informants. They hence emphasised the importance of journalistic independence. Journalists all intended to continue working in a pandemic. Conclusions: Health experts need to adapt their timetables and resources to journalists’ needs to improve their mutual communication. In crisis situations journalists communicate with the public efficiently and effectively but expert and journalistic views on the role and content of coverage may diverge in the post-acute, reflective phase of a crisis.Australian Research Council Linkage grant with part-funding from Sanofi Pasteur

Communicating about risk: strategies for situations where public concern is high but the risk is low.

In this article, we summarise research that identifies best practice for communicating about hazards where the risk is low but public concern is high. We apply Peter Sandman’s ‘risk = hazard + outrage’ formulation to these risks, and review factors associated with the amplification of risk signals. We discuss the structures that determine the success of risk communication strategies, such as the capacity for early communication to ‘capture’ the dominant representation of risk issues, the importance of communicating uncertainty, and the usefulness of engaging with communities. We argue that, when facing trade-offs in probable outcomes from communication, it is always best to choose strategies that maintain or build trust, even at the cost of initial overreactions. We discuss these features of successful risk communication in relation to a range of specific examples, particularly opposition to community water fluoridation, Ebola, and routine childhood immunisation

Understanding non-vaccinating parents' views to inform and improve clinical encounters: A qualitative study in an Australian community

© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2019. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ. Objectives To explain vaccination refusal in a sample of Australian parents. Design Qualitative design, purposive sampling in a defined population. Setting A geographically bounded community of approximately 30 000 people in regional Australia with high prevalence of vaccination refusal. Participants Semi structured interviews with 32 non-vaccinating parents: 9 fathers, 22 mothers and 1 pregnant woman. Purposive sampling of parents who had decided to discontinue or decline all vaccinations for their children. Recruitment via local advertising then snowballing. Results Thematic analysis focused on explaining decision-making pathways of parents who refuse vaccination. Common patterns in parents' accounts included: perceived deterioration in health in Western societies; a personal experience introducing doubt about vaccine safety; concerns regarding consent; varied encounters with health professionals (dismissive, hindering and helpful); a quest for the real truth'; reactance to system inflexibilities and ongoing risk assessment. Conclusions We suggest responses tailored to the perspectives of non-vaccinating parents to assist professionals in understanding and maintaining empathic clinical relationships with this important patient group

Improving the professional knowledge base for education: Using knowledge management (KM) and Web 2.0 tools

Improving education systems is an elusive goal. Despite considerable investment, international studies such as the OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) project and the McKinsey Report How the world’s best performing schools come out on top indicate that improving teacher quality is more important than increased financial investment. Both reports challenge governments, academics and practitioners to adopt new ways of sharing and building knowledge. This paper makes the case for national education systems to adopt tried and tested knowledge management and web 2.0 tools used by other sectors and highlights the neglected potential of teacher educators as agents for improvement

Three-centre cluster structure in 11C and 11B

Studies of the 16O(9Be,alpha 7Be)14C, 7Li(9Be,alpha 7Li)5He and 7Li(9Be,alpha alpha t)5He reactions at E(beam)=70 and 55 MeV have been performed using resonant particle spectroscopy techniques. The 11C excited states decaying into alpha+7Be(gs) are observed between 8.5 and 13.5 MeV. The alpha+7Li(gs), alpha+7Li*(4.652 MeV) and t+8Be(gs) decays of 11B excited states between 9 and 19 MeV are observed. The decay processes are used to indicate the possible three-centre 2alpha+3He (2alpha+3H) cluster structure of observed states. This cluster structure is more prominent in the positive-parity states, where two rotational bands with large deformations are suggested. Excitations of some of the observed T=1/2 resonances coincide with the energies of previously measured T=3/2 isobaric analogs of the 11Be states,indicating that these states may have mixed isospin.Comment: Contribution for the proceedings of the NUSTAR'05: NUclear STructure, Astrophysics and Reactions, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK; accepted for publication in Journal of Physics