Letter to the Editor Regarding “Web-Based Education and Social Media Increase Access to Careers in Neurosurgery: The Lenox Hill Hospital BRAINterns Experience”

UNSTRUCTURED On 28th February a case of COVID-19 was declared in Araba-Álava province, Spain. In Spain, a confinement and movement restrictions were established by Spanish Government at 14th March 2020. We implemented a web-based tool to estimate number of cases during the pandemic. We present the results in Áraba-Álava province. We reached a response rate of 10,3% out a 331.549 population. We found that 22,4 % fulfilled the case definition. This tool rendered useful to inform public health action.

Download Full-text

Quantifying Media Effects, Its Content, and Role in Promoting Community Awareness of Chikungunya Epidemic in Bangladesh

Epidemiologia ◽

10.3390/epidemiologia2010008 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 84-94

Author(s):

Mst. Marium Begum ◽

Osman Ulvi ◽

Ajlina Karamehic-Muratovic ◽

Mallory R. Walsh ◽

Hasan Tarek ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Web Based ◽

Study Objective ◽

The Public ◽

Mainstream Media ◽

Related Information ◽

Vector Borne ◽

Media Outlet ◽

And Control

Background: Chikungunya is a vector-borne disease, mostly present in tropical and subtropical regions. The virus is spread by Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus mosquitos and symptoms include high fever to severe joint pain. Dhaka, Bangladesh, suffered an outbreak of chikungunya in 2017 lasting from April to September. With the goal of reducing cases, social media was at the forefront during this outbreak and educated the public about symptoms, prevention, and control of the virus. Popular web-based sources such as the top dailies in Bangladesh, local news outlets, and Facebook spread awareness of the outbreak. Objective: This study sought to investigate the role of social and mainstream media during the chikungunya epidemic. The study objective was to determine if social media can improve awareness of and practice associated with reducing cases of chikungunya. Methods: We collected chikungunya-related information circulated from the top nine television channels in Dhaka, Bangladesh, airing from 1st April–20th August 2017. All the news published in the top six dailies in Bangladesh were also compiled. The 50 most viewed chikungunya-related Bengali videos were manually coded and analyzed. Other social media outlets, such as Facebook, were also analyzed to determine the number of chikungunya-related posts and responses to these posts. Results: Our study showed that media outlets were associated with reducing cases of chikungunya, indicating that media has the potential to impact future outbreaks of these alpha viruses. Each media outlet (e.g., web, television) had an impact on the human response to an individual’s healthcare during this outbreak. Conclusions: To prevent future outbreaks of chikungunya, media outlets and social media can be used to educate the public regarding prevention strategies such as encouraging safe travel, removing stagnant water sources, and assisting with tracking cases globally to determine where future outbreaks may occur.

Download Full-text

Patterns of use and perceived value of social media for population health among population health stakeholders: a cross-sectional web-based survey

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/s12889-021-11370-y ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Sungwon Yoon ◽

Sharon Wee ◽

Vivian S. Y. Lee ◽

Jing Lin ◽

Julian Thumboo

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Community Engagement ◽

Population Health ◽

Preventive Care ◽

Health Professionals ◽

Healthcare Professionals ◽

Web Based ◽

Healthy Behaviors ◽

Time Investment ◽

Patterns Of Use

Abstract Background Although existing studies have described patterns of social media use in healthcare, most are focused on health professionals in one discipline. Population health requires a multi-disciplinary approach to ensure diversity and to include diverse stakeholders. To date, what is known about using social media in population health is focused on its potential as a communication tool. This study aims to investigate patterns of use and perceived value of social media usage among stakeholders in population health practice, policy, or research. Methods We conducted a web-based survey of delegates attending the Singapore Population Health Conversations and Workshop. We designed a 24-item questionnaire to assess 1) social media use in terms of type of platform and frequency of use; 2) perceptions of social media relevance and impact on population health; and 3) top three areas in population health that would benefit from social media. We used descriptive and logistic regression analyses to assess the relationships between variables. Results Of the 308 survey respondents, 97.7% reported that they use social media in some form. Messaging (96.8%) was the most dominant activity when using social media. Challenges in implementing social media for population health were time investment by health care professionals (56.2%) and patient adoption (52.9%). The top three population health areas that would benefit most from using social media were the promotion of healthy behaviors (60.7%), community engagement (47.7%), and preventive care (40.6%). Older respondents (> = 40 years) were less likely to view social media as useful for the promotion of healthy behaviors (OR = 0.34; 95% CI: 0.19–0.60). Non-social/healthcare professionals were more likely to consider social media to be useful for community engagement (OR = 1.74; 95% CI: 1.10–2.76). For preventive care, older respondents (OR = 0.51; 95% CI: 0.32–0.82) and non-social/healthcare professionals were less likely to view social media as useful (OR = 0.61; 95% CI: 0.38–0.97). Conclusions Our findings suggest that it may be important to select the specific care areas that would benefit most from using social media. The time investment needed by population health professionals should be fully addressed in planning to maximize the application and potential value of social media.

Download Full-text

Process evaluation of the ACTION programme: a strategy for implementing person‐centred communication in home care

BMC Nursing ◽

10.1186/s12912-021-00565-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Tanja Gustafsson ◽

Annelie J Sundler ◽

Elisabeth Lindberg ◽

Pernilla Karlsson ◽

Hanna Maurin Söderholm

Keyword(s):

Home Care ◽

Process Evaluation ◽

Organizational Support ◽

Qualitative Data ◽

Education Programme ◽

Multiple Sources ◽

Web Based ◽

Action Programme ◽

Web Based Education ◽

The Web

Abstract Background There is currently a strong emphasis on person-centred care (PCC) and communication; however, little research has been conducted on how to implement person-centred communication in home care settings. Therefore, the ACTION (A person-centred CommunicaTION) programme, which is a web-based education programme focusing on person-centred communication developed for nurse assistants (NAs) providing home care for older persons, was implemented. This paper reports on the process evaluation conducted with the aim to describe and evaluate the implementation of the ACTION programme. Methods A descriptive design with a mixed method approach was used. Twenty-seven NAs from two units in Sweden were recruited, and 23 of them were offered the educational intervention. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from multiple sources before, during and after the implementation. Quantitative data were used to analyse demographics, attendance and participation, while qualitative data were used to evaluate experiences of the implementation and contextual factors influencing the implementation. Results The evaluation showed a high degree of NA participation in the first five education modules, and a decrease in the three remaining modules. Overall, the NAs perceived the web format to be easy to use and appreciated the flexibility and accessibility. The content was described as important. Challenges included time constraints; the heavy workload; and a lack of interaction, space and equipment to complete the programme. Conclusions The results suggest that web-based education seems to be an appropriate strategy in home care settings; however, areas for improvement were identified. Our findings show that participants appreciated the web-based learning format in terms of accessibility and flexibility, as well as the face-to-face group discussions. The critical importance of organizational support and available resources are highlighted, such as management involvement and local facilitation. In addition, the findings report on the implementation challenges specific to the dynamic home care context. Trial registration This intervention was implemented with nursing assistants, and the evaluation only involved nursing staff. Patients were not part of this study. According to the ICMJE, registration was not necessary ().

Download Full-text