The prevention of arboviral diseases using mobile devices: a preliminary study of the attitudes and behaviour change produced by educational interventions

Objectives In Brazil, the National Policy for Dengue Control seeks to incorporate the lessons of national and international experience in dengue control, emphasizing the need for health education activities. The objective of this study was to evaluate and compare knowledge, attitudes and behaviours related to the prevention of arboviruses before and after a two‐month educational intervention using a learning platform on mobile devices. Methods This quasi‐experimental study corresponds to the first phase of the project "Impact of mobile learning in the prevention and management of complications caused by arboviruses (Zika, Dengue, Chikungunya) – ZIKAMOB”, sponsored as part of the British Council Newton Fund. Results Thirty of the 93 participants were first‐year undergraduate university students (36.7% male) and 63 were police officers (84.1% male). The pattern of attitudes and behaviour was very similar in both groups before the intervention. The students changed their attitudes and behaviour (p=0.032) in relation to their engagements in actions for the prevention of arboviral diseases and several other activities related to house inspections and precautions with water tanks (p<0.01). However, recycling and surveillance activities were not as effective in changing behaviour. Female participants showed more motivation to participate in preventive activities, but living alone and working were barriers to participation. Individuals who already perform selective waste collection and are cultivating gardens demonstrated both a positive attitude and positive behaviour towards actions for the prevention of arboviral diseases. Conclusion Mobile learning and behaviour change theories might be successful as the basis for school‐based and community‐based interventions to avoid arboviruses. These outcomes need to be confirmed in broader future studies

Prevention and control of mosquito-borne arboviral diseases: lessons learned from a school-based intervention in Brazil (Zikamob)

© 2022 The Authors. Published by BMC. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence. The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-12554-wBackground: Since the 1980s, when dengue was reintroduced in Brazil, outbreaks and epidemics caused by different arbovirus strains transmitted by vector mosquitoes such as Aedes aegypti have been an annual occurrence. The aim of this study was to evaluate the behavioural change of high school students and teachers who participated in an educational intervention for the prevention and vector control of arboviral diseases. Methods: In this school-based intervention, a self-reported questionnaire was used in a pre-post intervention methodology to assess environmental risk factors, sociodemographic variables and to measure attitudes and behaviours. In all, 883 high school students and teachers from the city of Campina Grande, in the state of Paraíba, northeastern Brazil, participated. The e-health intervention consisted of a competition between schools to comply with preventive actions via content production for social networks, and the monitoring was performed over a period of three months through the ZikaMob software developed by the researchers. Results: Out of the 883 survey participants, 690 were students ranging in age from 14 to 41 years, with an average of 17 ± 2 years; and 193 were teachers from 22 to 64 years old, averaging 38 ± 9 years. The analysis of the data shows that significant differences in most of the target behaviours were apparent after the intervention, with an increase of about 10% in the performance of inspection actions; a 7% greater separation of recyclables and a 40% increase in the screening of windows among students. Students showed lower fear of, and a lower self-perception of the risk of, acquiring arboviruses than teachers on average. Conclusions: ZikaMob is an innovative strategy with the potential to be replicated in any location that has an internet network and can involve an unlimited number of participants.This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brasil (CAPES) (Finance Code 001), Universidade Estadual da Paraíba (UEPB), Fundação de Apoio à Pesquisa do Estado da Paraíba (FAPESQ) (Grant 02/2017), British Council Newton Fund Institutional Links (Grant 274560199).Accepted versio

Development and validation of an evaluation scale for audiovisual production for health interventions - ZIKAMOB

© 2022 The Authors. Published by The Canadian Center of Science and Education. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence. The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/gjhs/article/view/0/47625According to the World Health Organization, intervention actions and Health Education achieve better performance when based on Behavior Change Theories associated with new technologies. This work aimed to build and validate an Audiovisual Production Assessment Scale (APAS) for use in educational interventions. One hundred videos of up to 90 seconds in length, produced by high school students from Northeast Brazil, were analyzed. The APAS contains twenty statements, grouped into five sections, some of which are based on the Social Cognitive Theory (observational learning; facilitators) and others, such as the halo effect and cognitive comfort, were proposed by Daniel Kahneman. It was found that, of the twenty statements, 15 of them had no significant difference between different evaluators; having obtained a value of 0.941 for Cronbach&amp;#39;s Alpha, showing excellent internal reliability of the APAS. On average, 22 (33.8%) videos received a score greater than 60 points, indicating that they have the potential to significantly contribute to population behavior change in relation to the prevention of mosquito-borne arboviruses; 28 (41.3%) contribute satisfactorily; 15 (22.9%), partially and from one to two videos were scored with values lower than 19 points. Altogether, 12% of the videos received maximum scores in relation to the total score and subjective score. The APAS is, therefore, an example of an effective tool for assessing audiovisual content that can be used in educational interventions in health, with good internal reliability. The scale allows evaluating any content, classifying the production into categories that reveal its potential to promote behavior change.This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brasil (CAPES) (Finance Code 001), Universidade Estadual da Paraíba (UEPB), Fundação de Apoio à Pesquisa do Estado da Paraíba (FAPESQ) (Grant 02/2017; 005/2020), British Council Newton Fund Institutional Links (Grant 274560199).Published onlin

Von der Qualitätsrhetorik hin zu Legitimitätskriterien. Das Fallbeispiel der Genfer Primarschule, 2005-2015

Entre 2005 et 2015, l’école primaire genevoise a connu une période d’innovations structurelles présentée comme une «réorganisation» destinée à «améliorer la qualité de l’enseignement»: directions d’établissements, projets d’établissements, conseils d’établissements, réseau d’enseignement prioritaire. L’analyse des textes officiels et leur confrontation à l’évolution observable de ces changements fait émerger quatre critères effectifs de légitimation de l’action publique en matière d’éducation: le fait d’assurer la paix sociale, de satisfaire les enseignants, de convaincre politiquement, de transcender les discussions. Ces résultats montrent que les vertus symboliques de chaque mesure sont mises à l’épreuve d’une rationalité politique qui semble devoir, non seulement donner satisfaction à des intérêts sectoriels, mais aussi composer entre leurs attentes contradictoires. (DIPF/Orig.)Zwischen 2005 und 2015 hat die Genfer Primarschule eine intensive Phase struktureller Innovationen durchlaufen. Im Namen der notwendigen «Reorganisation » zur „Verbesserung der Unterrichtsqualität" wurden Schulleitungen, Schulprojekte, Schulräte und ein Netzwerk von Schulen mit besonderen Bedürfnissen als Schwerpunkte der Schulentwicklung bestimmt. Der von uns unternommene Vergleich der vom Schulamt verfassten Texte mit den tatsächlich stattgefundenen Veränderungen im Schulalltag weist auf vier Kriterien der effektiven Handlungsfähigkeit im öffentlichen Schulfeld hin: unumgehbare Sicherung des Sozialfriedens, Zufriedenheit der Lehrpersonen, politische Überzeugungskraft, Fähigkeit, Worte in Taten umzusetzen. Unsere Forschungsergebnisse weisen darauf hin, dass die symbolischen Tugenden jeder Entwicklungsmaßnahme einem politischen Rationalitätstest unterstellt werden, dessen Sinn und Zweck nicht nur darin besteht, die Interessen aller Handlungspartner zufrieden zu stellen, sondern auch ihre widerstreitigen Erwartungen zu berücksichtigen. (DIPF/Orig.

De la rhétorique de la qualité aux critères de la légitimité Le cas de l’école primaire genevoise, 2005-2015

Entre 2005 et 2015, l’école primaire genevoise a connu une période d’innovations structurelles présentée comme une «réorganisation» destinée à «améliorer la qualité de l’enseignement»: directions d’établissements, projets d’établissements, conseils d’établissements, réseau d’enseignement prioritaire. L’analyse des textes officiels et leur confrontation à l’évolution observable de ces changements fait émerger quatre critères effectifs de légitimation de l’action publique en matière d’éducation: le fait d’assurer la paix sociale, de satisfaire les enseignants, de convaincre politiquement, de transcender les discussions. Ces résultats montrent que les vertus symboliques de chaque mesure sont mises à l’épreuve d’une rationalité politique qui semble devoir, non seulement donner satisfaction à des intérêts sectoriels, mais aussi composer entre leurs attentes contradictoires

De la rhétorique de la qualité aux critères de la légitimité. Le cas de l'école primaire genevoise, 2005-2016

Entre 2005 et 2015, l’école primaire genevoise a connu une période d’innovations structurelles présentée comme une «réorganisation» destinée à «améliorer la qualité de l’enseignement»: directions d’établissements, projets d’établissements, conseils d’établissements, réseau d’enseignement prioritaire. L’analyse des textes officiels et leur confrontation à l’évolution observable de ces changements fait émerger quatre critères effectifs de légitimation de l’action publique en matière d’éducation: le fait d’assurer la paix sociale, de satisfaire les enseignants, de convaincre politiquement, de transcender les discussions. Ces résultats montrent que les vertus symboliques de chaque mesure sont mises à l’épreuve d’une rationalité politique qui semble devoir, non seulement donner satisfaction à des intérêts sectoriels, mais aussi composer entre leurs attentes contradictoires