ANALYSIS OF AN HIV/AIDS MODEL WITH PUBLIC-HEALTH INFORMATION CAMPAIGNS AND INDIVIDUAL WITHDRAWAL

2010 ◽  
Vol 18 (02) ◽  
pp. 357-375 ◽  
Author(s):  
FARAI NYABADZA ◽  
CHRISTINAH CHIYAKA ◽  
ZINDOGA MUKANDAVIRE ◽  
SENELANI D. HOVE-MUSEKWA

Primary prevention measures designed to alter susceptibility and/or reduce exposure of susceptible individuals to diseases, remain the mainstay in the fight against HIV/AIDS. A model for HIV/AIDS, that investigates the reduction in infection by advocating for sexual behavior change through public-health information campaigns and withdrawal of individuals with AIDS from sexual activity is proposed and analyzed. The contact rate is modeled using an incidence function with saturation that depends on the number of infectives. The dynamics of the model is determined using the model reproduction number [Formula: see text]. Numerical simulations are presented to illustrate the role of some key epidemiological parameters. The results from the study demonstrate that an increase in the rate of dissemination of effective public-health information campaigns results in a decrease in the prevalence of the disease. Similarly, an increase in the fraction of individuals with AIDS who withdraw from sexual activities reduces the burden of the disease.

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 510-516 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sohaib R Rufai ◽  
Catey Bunce

ABSTRACT Background It is crucial that world leaders mount effective public health measures in response to COVID-19. Twitter may represent a powerful tool to help achieve this. Here, we explore the role of Twitter as used by Group of Seven (G7) world leaders in response to COVID-19. Methods This was a qualitative study with content analysis. Inclusion criteria were as follows: viral tweets from G7 world leaders, attracting a minimum of 500 ‘likes’; keywords ‘COVID-19’ or ‘coronavirus’; search dates 17 November 2019 to 17 March 2020. We performed content analysis to categorize tweets into appropriate themes and analyzed associated Twitter data. Results Eight out of nine (88.9%) G7 world leaders had verified and active Twitter accounts, with a total following of 85.7 million users. Out of a total 203 viral tweets, 166 (82.8%) were classified as ‘Informative’, of which 48 (28.6%) had weblinks to government-based sources, while 19 (9.4%) were ‘Morale-boosting’ and 14 (6.9%) were ‘Political’. Numbers of followers and viral tweets were not strictly related. Conclusions Twitter may represent a powerful tool for world leaders to rapidly communicate public health information with citizens. We would urge general caution when using Twitter for health information, with a preference for tweets containing official government-based information sources.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takeo Yasu

BACKGROUND Serious public health problems, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, can cause an infodemic. Sources of information that may cause an infodemic include social networking services; YouTube, which consists of content created and uploaded by individuals, is one such source. OBJECTIVE To survey the content and changes in YouTube videos that present public health information about COVID-19 in Japan. METHODS We surveyed YouTube content regarding public health information pertaining to COVID-19 in Japan. YouTube searches were performed on March 6, 2020 (before the state of emergency), April 14 (during the state of emergency), and May 27 (after the state of emergency was lifted), with 136, 113, and 140 sample videos evaluated, respectively. The main outcome measures were: (1) The total number of views for each video, (2) video content, and (3) the usefulness of the video. RESULTS In the 100 most viewed YouTube videos during the three periods, the number of videos on public health information in March was significantly higher than in May (p = .02). Of the 331 unique videos, 9.1% (n = 30) were released by healthcare professionals. Useful videos providing public health information about the prevention of the spread of infection comprised only 13.0% of the sample but were viewed significantly more often than not useful videos (p = .006). CONCLUSIONS Individuals need to take care when obtaining information from YouTube before or early in a pandemic, during which time scientific evidence is scarce.


2007 ◽  
Vol 97 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S93-S97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Enrique Regidor ◽  
Luis de la Fuente ◽  
Juan L. Gutiérrez-Fisac ◽  
Salvador de Mateo ◽  
Cruz Pascual ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Hu Xianming ◽  
Deng Yongzhi ◽  
Lu Zhuxun ◽  
Li Shukai ◽  
Wang Guoping ◽  
...  

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