Zika-Virus-Related Photo Sharing on Pinterest and Instagram

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 656-659 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isaac Chun-Hai Fung ◽  
Elizabeth B. Blankenship ◽  
M. Elizabeth Goff ◽  
Lindsay A. Mullican ◽  
Kwun Cheung Chan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Key Words ◽  
San Francisco ◽  
Zika Virus ◽  
Public Health Preparedness ◽  
Photo Sharing ◽  
Social Media Platforms

AbstractObjectivePinterest (San Francisco, CA) and Instagram (Menlo Park, CA) are 2 popular photo-sharing social media platforms among young individuals. We assessed differences between Instagram and Pinterest in relaying photographic information regarding Zika virus. Specifically, we investigated whether the percentage of Zika-virus-related photos with Spanish or Portuguese texts embedded therein was higher for Instagram than for Pinterest and whether the contents of Zika-virus-related photos shared on Pinterest were different from those shared on Instagram.MethodsWe retrieved and manually coded 616 Pinterest (key words: “zika” AND “virus”) and 616 Instagram (hashtag: #zikavirus) photos.ResultsAmong the manually coded samples, 47% (290/616) of Pinterest photos and 23% (144/616) of Instagram photos were relevant to Zika virus. Words were embedded in 57% (164/290) of relevant Pinterest photos and all 144 relevant Instagram photos. Among the photos with embedded words, photos in Spanish or Portuguese were more prevalent on Instagram (77/144, 53%) than on Pinterest (14/164, 9%). There were more Zika-virus-related photos on Instagram than on Pinterest pertinent to Zika virus prevention (59/144, 41%, versus 41/290, 14%; P<0.0001), the effects of Zika virus on pregnancy (27/144, 19%, versus 32/290, 11%; P=0.04), and Zika-virus-associated deaths (4/144, 2%, versus 0/290, 0%; P=0.01).ConclusionsPinterest and Instagram are similar platforms for Zika virus prevention communication. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;11:656–659)

Preparedness 3.0: Addressing the Future

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 728-729 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georges C. Benjamin
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Climate Change ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Common Occurrence ◽  
Public Health Preparedness ◽  
Public Health Emergencies ◽  
State Sponsorship ◽  
The Future

ABSTRACTThe last 14 years has taught us that that we are facing a new reality; a reality in which public health emergencies are a common occurrence. Today, we live in a world with dangerous people without state sponsorship who are an enormous threat to our safety; one where emerging and reemerging infectious diseases are waiting to break out; a world where the benefits of globalization in trade, transportation, and social media brings threats to our communities faster and with a greater risk than ever before. Even climate change has entered into the preparedness equation, bringing with it the forces of nature in the form of extreme weather and its complications. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2015;9:728–729)

A shift from science to politics : a content analysis of COVID-19 Videos on YouTube (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chyun-Fung Shi ◽  
Matthew C So ◽  
Sophie Stelmach ◽  
Arielle Earn ◽  
David J D Earn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Health Campaigns ◽  
Public Attention ◽  
Conflicting Information ◽  
Social Media Platforms

BACKGROUND The COVID-19 pandemic is the first pandemic where social media platforms relayed information on a large scale, enabling an “infodemic” of conflicting information which undermined the global response to the pandemic. Understanding how the information circulated and evolved on social media platforms is essential for planning future public health campaigns. OBJECTIVE This study investigated what types of themes about COVID-19 were most viewed on YouTube during the first 8 months of the pandemic, and how COVID-19 themes progressed over this period. METHODS We analyzed top-viewed YouTube COVID-19 related videos in English from from December 1, 2019 to August 16, 2020 with an open inductive content analysis. We coded 536 videos associated with 1.1 billion views across the study period. East Asian countries were the first to report the virus, while most of the top-viewed videos in English were from the US. Videos from straight news outlets dominated the top-viewed videos throughout the outbreak, and public health authorities contributed the fewest. Although straight news was the dominant COVID-19 video source with various types of themes, its viewership per video was similar to that for entertainment news and YouTubers after March. RESULTS We found, first, that collective public attention to the COVID-19 pandemic on YouTube peaked around March 2020, before the outbreak peaked, and flattened afterwards despite a spike in worldwide cases. Second, more videos focused on prevention early on, but videos with political themes increased through time. Third, regarding prevention and control measures, masking received much less attention than lockdown and social distancing in the study period. CONCLUSIONS Our study suggests that a transition of focus from science to politics on social media intensified the COVID-19 infodemic and may have weakened mitigation measures during the first waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is recommended that authorities should consider co-operating with reputable social media influencers to promote health campaigns and improve health literacy. In addition, given high levels of globalization of social platforms and polarization of users, tailoring communication towards different digital communities is likely to be essential.

scholarly journals Prevalence of health misinformation in social media: a systematic review (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor Suarez-Lledo ◽  
Javier Alvarez-Galvez
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Communicable Disease ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Public Health Concern ◽  
Medical Treatments ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Social Media Platforms

BACKGROUND The propagation of health misinformation through social media has become a major public health concern over the last two decades. Although today there is broad agreement among researchers, health professionals, and policy makers on the need to control and combat health misinformation, the magnitude of this problem is still unknown. Consequently, before adopting the necessary measures for the adequate control of health misinformation in social media, it is fundamental to discover both the most prevalent health topics and the social media platforms from which these topics are initially framed and subsequently disseminated. OBJECTIVE This systematic review aims to identify the main health misinformation topics and their prevalence on different social media platforms, focusing on methodological quality and the diverse solutions that are being implemented to address this public health concern. METHODS This systematic review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines (PRISMA). We searched PubMed, MEDLINE, Scopus and the Web of Science for articles published in English before March 2019 with a particular focus on studying health misinformation in social media. We defined health misinformation as a health-related claim based on anecdotal evidence, false, or misleading due to the lack of existing scientific knowledge. The criteria for inclusion were: 1) articles that focused on health misinformation in social media, including those in which the authors discussed the consequences or purposes of health misinformation; and 2) studies that described empirical findings regarding the measurement of health misinformation in these platforms. RESULTS A total of 69 studies were identified as eligible, covering a wide range of health topics and social media platforms. The topics were articulated around six principal categories: vaccines (32%), drugs or smoking (22%), non-communicable disease (19%), pandemics (10%), eating disorders (9%), and medical treatments (7%). Studies were mainly based on five methodological approaches: Social Network Analysis (28%), Evaluating Content (26%), Evaluating Quality (24%), Content/Text analysis (16%) and Sentiment Analysis (6%). Health misinformation proved to be the most more prevalent in studies related to smoking products and drugs such as opioids or marijuana. Posts with misinformation reached 87% in some studies focused in smoking products. Health misinformation about vaccines was also very common (43%), but studies reported different levels of misinformation depending on the different vaccines, with the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine being the most affected. Secondly, health misinformation related to diets or pro eating disorders (pro-ED) arguments were moderate in comparison to the aforementioned topics (36%). Studies focused on diseases (i.e. non-communicable diseases and pandemics) also reported moderate misinformation rates (40%), especially in the case of cancer. Finally, the lowest levels of health misinformation were related to medical treatments (30%). CONCLUSIONS Prevalence of health misinformation was most common on Twitter and on issues related to smoking products and drugs. However, misinformation is also high on major public health issues such as vaccines and diseases. Our study offers a comprehensive characterization of the dominant health misinformation topics and a comprehensive description of their prevalence in different social media platforms, which can guide future studies and help in the development of evidence-based digital policy actions plans. CLINICALTRIAL

New communication technologies, social media, and public health

2021 ◽  
pp. 29-36
Author(s):  
Patrick S. Sullivan ◽  
Aaron J. Siegler ◽  
Lisa Hightow-Weidman
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Public Health Practice ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Privacy Concerns ◽  
Data Services ◽  
Public Data ◽  
Communications Technologies ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Access To Data

New communications technologies constitute a rapidly changing field with tremendous opportunities for public health practice. Platforms include a variety of apps, which share the general characteristics of platforms to share words, text, and video content, but which have important differences in their preferred formats of media, strategies for sharing information within social networks, and user bases. These technologies can facilitate public health efforts through the provision of information, as portals for communication with those in need of services, and as platforms for public health interventions. Social media platforms also give rise to the possibility of using public data to increase understanding of health concerns and programmes—for example, using public data on internet searches or social media postings to identifying trends in infectious diseases. Despite these exciting possibilities, there are important heterogeneities globally in the coverage of smartphone devices, in data speed, and in access to data services. There are also important considerations about possible harms of technologies, and about privacy concerns for users of social media in the context of public health.

How to Improve Public Health via Mining Social Media Platforms: A Case Study of Human Papillomaviruses (HPV)

2019 ◽  
pp. 207-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hansi Zhang ◽  
Christopher Wheldon ◽  
Cui Tao ◽  
Adam G. Dunn ◽  
Yi Guo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Human Papillomaviruses ◽  
Social Media Platforms

scholarly journals Let's Have a Tweetup: The Case for Using Twitter Professionally

2016 ◽  
Vol 140 (9) ◽  
pp. 956-957 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maren Y. Fuller ◽  
Timothy Craig Allen
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Real Time ◽  
San Francisco ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Patient Privacy ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Social Media Network

Social media use is very common and can be an effective way for professionals to discuss information and interact with colleagues. Twitter (Twitter, Inc, San Francisco, California) is a social media network where posts, termed tweets, are limited to 140 characters. Professional use of Twitter is ideal for physicians interested in both networking and education and is optimally used to facilitate in-person networking. Live-tweeting (posting real-time reactions to events) at professional meetings is also a popular and highly successful use of Twitter. Physicians report patient privacy as the top concern preventing use of social media for professional reasons, and although generally social media use is safe, it is essential to understand how to protect patient confidentially. Other social media platforms with potential for professional use include Facebook (Facebook, Inc, Menlo Park, California), Instagram (Facebook, Inc), YouTube (YouTube, LLC, San Bruno, California), and Periscope (Twitter, Inc). With Twitter and other social media options, now is the time for pathologists to increase our visibility on social media and worldwide.

scholarly journals Social Media Behaviors and Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Associations With Anxiety, Depression, and Stress

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Mitchell Vaterlaus ◽  
Lori A. Spruance ◽  
Emily V. Patten
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
The United States ◽  
Media Content ◽  
Snowball Sampling ◽  
Emotional Experiences ◽  
Online Surveys ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Forward Stepwise ◽  
Anxiety Depression

The majority of research concerning public health crises and social media platforms has focused on analyzing the accuracy of information within social media posts. The current exploratory study explored social media users’ specific social media behaviors and experiences during the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic and whether these behaviors and experiences related to anxiety, depression, and stress. Data were collected March 21–31, 2020 from adults in the United States (<em>N</em> = 564) through snowball sampling on social media sites and Prime Panels. Online surveys included questions regarding social media use during the pandemic and the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS). Forward stepwise modeling procedures were used to build three models for anxiety, stress, and depression. Participants who actively engaged with COVID-19 social media content were more likely to experience higher anxiety. Those who had emotional experiences via social media and used social media to connect during the pandemic were susceptible to higher levels of stress and depression. The current study suggests that during the pandemic specific behaviors and experiences via social media were related to anxiety, stress, and depression. Thus, limiting time spent on social media during public health crises may protect the mental health of individuals.

scholarly journals Social Media Infodemic During COVID-19 Outbreak

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 95-97
Author(s):  
Jeevan Bhatta ◽  
Sharmistha Sharma ◽  
Shashi Kandel ◽  
Roshan Nepal
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Current Situation ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Personal Experiences ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
To Receive ◽  
Common Platform

Social media is a common platform that enables its users to share opinions, personal experiences, perspectives with one another instantaneously, globally. It has played a paramount role during pandemics such as COVID-19 and unveiled itself as a crucial means to communicate between the sources and the individuals. However, it also has become a place to disseminate misinformation and fake news rapidly. Infodemic, a plethora of information, some authentic some not makes it even harder to general people to receive factual and trustworthy information when required, has grown to be a major risk to public health and social media is developing as a trendy platform for this infodemic. This commentary aims to explore how social media has affected the current situation. We also aim to share our insight to control this misinformation.  This commentary contributes to evolving knowledge to counter fake news or health-related information shared over various social media platforms.

scholarly journals Infodemic Signal Detection During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Development of a Methodology for Identifying Potential Information Voids in Online Conversations

10.2196/30971 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. e30971
Author(s):  
Tina D Purnat ◽  
Paolo Vacca ◽  
Christine Czerniak ◽  
Sarah Ball ◽  
Stefano Burzo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
World Health ◽  
Aggregated Data ◽  
Response Planning ◽  
Online Conversations ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Social Listening

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has been accompanied by an infodemic: excess information, including false or misleading information, in digital and physical environments during an acute public health event. This infodemic is leading to confusion and risk-taking behaviors that can be harmful to health, as well as to mistrust in health authorities and public health responses. The World Health Organization (WHO) is working to develop tools to provide an evidence-based response to the infodemic, enabling prioritization of health response activities. Objective In this work, we aimed to develop a practical, structured approach to identify narratives in public online conversations on social media platforms where concerns or confusion exist or where narratives are gaining traction, thus providing actionable data to help the WHO prioritize its response efforts to address the COVID-19 infodemic. Methods We developed a taxonomy to filter global public conversations in English and French related to COVID-19 on social media into 5 categories with 35 subcategories. The taxonomy and its implementation were validated for retrieval precision and recall, and they were reviewed and adapted as language about the pandemic in online conversations changed over time. The aggregated data for each subcategory were analyzed on a weekly basis by volume, velocity, and presence of questions to detect signals of information voids with potential for confusion or where mis- or disinformation may thrive. A human analyst reviewed and identified potential information voids and sources of confusion, and quantitative data were used to provide insights on emerging narratives, influencers, and public reactions to COVID-19–related topics. Results A COVID-19 public health social listening taxonomy was developed, validated, and applied to filter relevant content for more focused analysis. A weekly analysis of public online conversations since March 23, 2020, enabled quantification of shifting interests in public health–related topics concerning the pandemic, and the analysis demonstrated recurring voids of verified health information. This approach therefore focuses on the detection of infodemic signals to generate actionable insights to rapidly inform decision-making for a more targeted and adaptive response, including risk communication. Conclusions This approach has been successfully applied to identify and analyze infodemic signals, particularly information voids, to inform the COVID-19 pandemic response. More broadly, the results have demonstrated the importance of ongoing monitoring and analysis of public online conversations, as information voids frequently recur and narratives shift over time. The approach is being piloted in individual countries and WHO regions to generate localized insights and actions; meanwhile, a pilot of an artificial intelligence–based social listening platform is using this taxonomy to aggregate and compare online conversations across 20 countries. Beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, the taxonomy and methodology may be adapted for fast deployment in future public health events, and they could form the basis of a routine social listening program for health preparedness and response planning.

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