scholarly journals The ‘Icarus effect’ of preventative health behaviors

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Carrignon ◽  
R. Alexander Bentley ◽  
Matthew Silk ◽  
Nina H. Fefferman
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Policy ◽  
Social Learning ◽  
Public Health Policy ◽  
Disease Risk ◽  
Critical Importance ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Preventative Health ◽  
Individual Observation ◽  
Over Time

1AbstractOngoing efforts to combat the global pandemic of COVID-19 via public health policy have revealed the critical importance of understanding how individuals understand and react to infection risks. We here present a model to explore how both individual observation and social learning are likely to shape behavioral, and therefore epidemiological, dynamics over time. Efforts to delay and reduce infections can compromise their own success, especially in populations with age-structure in both disease risk and social learning —two critical features of the current COVID-19 crisis. Our results concur with anecdotal observations of age-based differences in reactions to public health recommendations. We show how shifting reliance on types of learning affect the course of an outbreak, and could therefore factor into policy-based interventions.

scholarly journals How social learning shapes the efficacy of preventative health behaviors in an outbreak

PLoS ONE ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. e0262505
Author(s):  
Simon Carrignon ◽  
R. Alexander Bentley ◽  
Matthew Silk ◽  
Nina H. Fefferman
Keyword(s):  
Social Learning ◽  
Disease Risk ◽  
Response Behavior ◽  
Dynamic Heterogeneity ◽  
Learning Agents ◽  
Cohort Differences ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Preventative Health ◽  
Individual Observation ◽  
The U.S

The global pandemic of COVID-19 revealed the dynamic heterogeneity in how individuals respond to infection risks, government orders, and community-specific social norms. Here we demonstrate how both individual observation and social learning are likely to shape behavioral, and therefore epidemiological, dynamics over time. Efforts to delay and reduce infections can compromise their own success, especially when disease risk and social learning interact within sub-populations, as when people observe others who are (a) infected and/or (b) socially distancing to protect themselves from infection. Simulating socially-learning agents who observe effects of a contagious virus, our modelling results are consistent with with 2020 data on mask-wearing in the U.S. and also concur with general observations of cohort induced differences in reactions to public health recommendations. We show how shifting reliance on types of learning affect the course of an outbreak, and could therefore factor into policy-based interventions incorporating age-based cohort differences in response behavior.

scholarly journals Mapping Problematic Drinking Trends over Time in Urban, Semi-Urban, and Rural Populations

2022 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 589
Author(s):  
Stefan Bozic ◽  
Don Vicendese ◽  
Michael Livingston ◽  
Bircan Erbas
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Policy ◽  
Health Status ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Public Health Policy ◽  
Rural Populations ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Problematic Drinking ◽  
Over Time

Current alcohol public health policy in Australia is not uniform but is generally focused on restricting access and early prevention of problematic alcohol use. Semi-urban and rural populations are at greater risk of disease and other poor health outcomes due to a variety of factors. Little is known about problematic drinking patterns over time in semi-urban and rural populations. This study aims to assess patterns of problematic drinking defined as both long-term risky and heavy episodic drinking over time by age, sex, and mental health status among urban, semi-urban and rural populations). Four waves (2004 to 2016) of the Australian NDSHS (National Drug Strategy Household Survey) were analyzed to assess problematic drinking of participants over 18 years of age. We used regression models and predictive margins to identify trends in problematic drinking over time based on age, sex, and mental health status. Our results show young adults across all regions, males, and mentally well individuals in urban areas have reductions in the risk of problematic drinking over time. Middle-aged adults across all regions, females, and those with varying mental health presentations in rural areas have some increases in risk of problematic drinking over time. The general conclusion is that targeted alcohol-related public health policy may need to change and focus on females, middle-aged individuals, and those living in rural areas. Programs to support problematic drinking in people with mental health disorders may also need to be a priority.

Public Health: Policy and Politics

2001 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 507-509 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rob Baggott ◽  
David J Hunter
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Policy ◽  
Public Health Policy

Fat, Stigma, and Public Health Policy

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leslie A. Crimin ◽  
Carol T. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Policy ◽  
Public Health Policy ◽  
Fat Stigma

Federal Public Health Authority

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott Burris ◽  
Micah L. Berman ◽  
Matthew Penn, and ◽  
Tara Ramanathan Holiday
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Policy ◽  
Public Health Policy ◽  
Federal Agencies ◽  
Public Health Authority ◽  
Commerce Clause ◽  
Individual Mandate ◽  
National Federation ◽  
Health Laws ◽  
Health Regulations

This chapter explores the powers of Congress to pass federal public health laws and to delegate authority to federal agencies. The chapter starts with an explanation of Congress’s limited, enumerated powers and how this limits Congress to certain arenas of authority. It next explores the evolution Congress’s use of the Commerce Clause to pass public health laws, before exploring Congress’s use of the Taxing and Spending Clause. The chapter provides examples of how Congress has used both the Commerce Clause and its taxing and spending power to effectuate public health policy. Next, the chapter explains the National Federation of Independent Businesses v. Sebelius case; it details challenges to the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate and Medicaid and explains the implications of the Supreme Court’s holdings. Lastly, the chapter explains Congress’s authority to delegate authority to federal administrative agencies to issue and enforce public health regulations.

Persons with Disabilities and Public Health Ethics

2019 ◽  
pp. 218-231
Author(s):  
Monika Mitra ◽  
Linda Long-Bellil ◽  
Robyn Powell
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Policy ◽  
Public Health Policy ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
The United States ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Public Health Decision ◽  
Health Decision ◽  
Health Policy And Practice

This chapter draws on medical, social, and legal perspectives to identify and highlight ethical issues pertaining to the treatment, representation, and inclusion of persons with disabilities in public health policy and practice. A brief history of disability in the United States is provided as a context for examining the key ethical issues related to public health policy and practice. Conceptual frameworks and approaches to disability are then described and applied. The chapter then discusses the imperativeness of expanding access to public health programs by persons with disabilities, the need to address implicit and structural biases, and the importance of including persons with disabilities in public health decision-making.

scholarly journals Television News Coverage of Public Health Issues and Implications for Public Health Policy and Practice

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 167-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah E. Gollust ◽  
Erika Franklin Fowler ◽  
Jeff Niederdeppe
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Policy ◽  
Public Health Policy ◽  
Television News ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Public Attention ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Tv News ◽  
Health Policy And Practice

Television (TV) news, and especially local TV news, remains an important vehicle through which Americans obtain information about health-related topics. In this review, we synthesize theory and evidence on four main functions of TV news in shaping public health policy and practice: reporting events and information to the public (surveillance); providing the context for and meaning surrounding health issues (interpretation); cultivating community values, beliefs, and norms (socialization); and attracting and maintaining public attention for advertisers (attention merchant). We also identify challenges for TV news as a vehicle for improving public health, including declining audiences, industry changes such as station consolidation, increasingly politicized content, potential spread of misinformation, and lack of attention to inequity. We offer recommendations for public health practitioners and researchers to leverage TV news to improve public health and advance health equity.

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