Capitalising on chaos – exploring the impact and future of social media influencer engagement during the early stages of a global pandemic

This article examines the role of influencers during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the impact of the global pandemic on Social Media Influencers’ (SMIs) lifestyle and business model, using the concept of Disaster Capitalism as a springboard for discussion. Worldwide it first appeared that the global pandemic would severely impact SMI sole traders, as income from travel, luxury goods and other ‘lifestyle’ brands dried up. However, we suggest that brands and influencers themselves have pivoted to meet the COVID challenge, with some brands exploiting the opaque influence of these micro-celebrities. We further suggest that while a handful of governments and health organisations have recognised the reach and social capital of SMIs, their potential in health communication has been underutilised. We write this essay as a starting point, raising questions and calling for further research to be conducted to inform the understanding of SMIs’ role and potential as conveyors of public health information.

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COVID-19 as an “Infodemic” in Public Health: Critical Role of the Social Media

Frontiers in Public Health ◽

10.3389/fpubh.2021.610623 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

Author(s):

Debanjan Banerjee ◽

K. S. Meena

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Social Media ◽

Critical Role ◽

Global Public Health ◽

Sources Of Information ◽

Multiple Sources ◽

Health Crisis ◽

Digital Platforms ◽

The Impact

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has emerged as a significant and global public health crisis. Besides the rising number of cases and fatalities, the outbreak has also affected economies, employment and policies alike. As billions are being isolated at their homes to contain the infection, the uncertainty gives rise to mass hysteria and panic. Amidst this, there has been a hidden epidemic of “information” that makes COVID-19 stand out as a “digital infodemic” from the earlier outbreaks. Repeated and detailed content about the virus, geographical statistics, and multiple sources of information can all lead to chronic stress and confusion at times of crisis. Added to this is the plethora of misinformation, rumor and conspiracy theories circulating every day. With increased digitalization, media penetration has increased with a more significant number of people aiding in the “information pollution.” In this article, we glance at the unique evolution of COVID-19 as an “infodemic” in the hands of social media and the impact it had on its spread and public reaction. We then look at the ways forward in which the role of social media (as well as other digital platforms) can be integrated into social and public health, for a better symbiosis, “digital balance” and pandemic preparedness for the ongoing crisis and the future.

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A Sentiment Analysis and Role of Twitter for Health Communications

10.4018/978-1-7998-8421-7.ch011 ◽

2022 ◽

pp. 188-205

Author(s):

Erkan Çiçek ◽

Uğur Gündüz

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Crisis Management ◽

Semantic Analysis ◽

Social Media Data ◽

Global Pandemic ◽

The Difference ◽

Textual Content ◽

The Impact ◽

Media Data

Social media has been in our lives so much lately that it is an undeniable fact that global pandemics, which constitute an important part of our lives, are also affected by these networks and that they exist in these networks and share the users. The purpose of making this hashtag analysis is to reveal the difference in discourse and language while analyzing Twitter data and to evaluate the effects of a global pandemic crisis on language, message, and crisis management with social media data. This form of analysis is typically completed through amassing textual content data then investigating the “sentiment” conveyed. Within the scope of the study, 11,300 Twitter messages posted with the #stayhome hashtag between 30 May 2020 and 6 June 2020 were examined. The impact and reliability of social media in disaster management could be questioned by carrying out a content analysis based totally on the semantic analysis of the messages given on the Twitter posts with the phrases and frequencies used.

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The Role of Social Media in Raising Public Health Awareness during the Pandemic COVID-19: An International Comparative Study

Informatics ◽

10.3390/informatics8040080 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. 80

Author(s):

Mohammad Yousef Abuhashesh ◽

Hani Al-Dmour ◽

Ra’ed Masa’deh ◽

Amer Salman ◽

Rand Al-Dmour ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Social Media ◽

Behavioral Change ◽

Health Awareness ◽

Media Campaigns ◽

Social Media Platform ◽

Message Source ◽

Global Pandemic ◽

Media Platform

The main objective of this research is to investigate the role of social media campaigns (the type of social media platform, type of message, and message source sender) in raising public health awareness and behavioral change during (COVID-19) as a global pandemic across national selected countries (Poland and Jordan). The research utilizes a quantitative method with an exploratory and descriptive design to accumulate the initial data from a research survey given to the respondents from Jordan and Poland. A total of 1149 web questionnaires were collected from respondents in the two countries (Poland 531 and Jordan 618). In addition, multiple regression analysis was used to test the study hypotheses. The findings showed positive relationships between the components of a social media campaign, public health awareness, and behavioral change during (COVID-19) in the two countries at the same time. However, the preferred type of social media platforms, the message types and type of source sender significantly differ among the respondents due to their countries. This is the first study that examines the role of social media campaigns (the type of social media platform, type of message and message source sender) in public health awareness and behavioral change during (COVID-19) as a global pandemic in across national selected countries (Poland and Jordan).

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Twitter jako źródło wiedzy o stanie zdrowia polskiego społeczeństwa – ujęcie infodemiologiczne.

Kultura Popularna ◽

10.5604/01.3001.0009.8049 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 3 (49) ◽

pp. 120-0

Author(s):

Agata Malesińska

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Social Media ◽

Health Information ◽

Original Research ◽

Starting Point ◽

Public Health Information ◽

Twitter Users ◽

Novel Concept ◽

Insight Into

Article explores a novel concept of mining social media for information on public health (infodemiology) and provides insight into chosen results of original research covering random tweets by Polish Twitter users. Author asks what public health information can be learned from “Polish Twitter” and whether the collected data might be a valuable and reliable starting point for a broader analysis of Polish public health.

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Influence of social networks on business processes’ development

Economic Analysis Theory and Practice ◽

10.24891/ea.19.12.2225 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 19 (12) ◽

pp. 2225-2252

Author(s):

E.V. Popov ◽

V.L. Simonova ◽

O.V. Komarova ◽

S.S. Kaigorodova

Keyword(s):

Social Networks ◽

Social Media ◽

Business Models ◽

Business Processes ◽

Digital Economy ◽

Theoretical Understanding ◽

Sales Channels ◽

A Value ◽

The Impact

Subject. The emergence of new ways of interaction between sellers and buyers, the formation of new sales channels and product promotion based on the use of digital economy tools is at the heart of improving the business processes. Social networks became a tool for development; their rapid growth necessitates theoretical understanding and identification of potential application in enterprise's business process digitalization. Objectives. We explore the role of social media in the digitalization of business processes, systematize the impact of social networks on business processes of enterprises in the digital economy. Methods. The theoretical and methodological analysis of social networks as a tool for digitalization of company's business processes rests on the content analysis of domestic and foreign scientific studies, comparison, generalization and systematization. Results. We highlight the key effects of the impact of social networks on the business processes of the company; show that the digitalization of business processes should be considered in the context of a value-based approach, aimed at creating a value through the algorithmization of company operations. We determine that social networks are one of the most important tools for digitalization of company's business processes, as they have a high organizational and management potential. We also systematize the effects of social media on company's business processes. Conclusions. We present theoretical provisions of the impact of social networks on business processes of enterprises, which will enable to model and organize ideas about the development of digital ecosystems and the formation of business models.

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Development of a Rapid Risk and Impact Assessment Tool to Enhance Response to Environmental Emergencies in the Early Stages of a Disaster: A Tool Developed by the European Multiple Environmental Threats Emergency NETwork (EMETNET) Project

International Journal of Disaster Risk Science ◽

10.1007/s13753-021-00352-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Emma-Jane Goode ◽

Eirian Thomas ◽

Owen Landeg ◽

Raquel Duarte-Davidson ◽

Lisbeth Hall ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Impact Assessment ◽

Assessment Tool ◽

The European Union ◽

Protection Mechanism ◽

Environmental Threats ◽

Environmental Disasters ◽

Early Stages ◽

Potential Risks ◽

The Impact

AbstractEvery year, numerous environmental disasters and emergencies occur across the globe with far-reaching impacts on human health and the environment. The ability to rapidly assess an environmental emergency to mitigate potential risks and impacts is paramount. However, collating the necessary evidence in the early stages of an emergency to conduct a robust risk assessment is a major challenge. This article presents a methodology developed to help assess the risks and impacts during the early stages of such incidents, primarily to support the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism but also the wider global community in the response to environmental emergencies. An online rapid risk and impact assessment tool has also been developed to promote enhanced collaboration between experts who are working remotely, considering the impact of a disaster on the environment and public health in the short, medium, and long terms. The methodology developed can support the appropriate selection of experts and assets to be deployed to affected regions to ensure that potential public health and environmental risks and impacts are mitigated whenever possible. This methodology will aid defensible decision making, communication, planning, and risk management, and presents a harmonized understanding of the associated impacts of an environmental emergency.

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26.A. Workshop: Assessing the role of policies and actions to address childhood obesity

European Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/eurpub/ckaa165.1225 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽

Author(s):

◽

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Childhood Obesity ◽

Stakeholder Engagement ◽

Special Focus ◽

Policy Options ◽

Sustainable Solutions ◽

Relevant Evidence ◽

Multi Stakeholder ◽

The Impact

Abstract Childhood obesity has grown to become one of the most dramatic features of the global obesity epidemic, with long-term consequences. The spread of obesity has been fueled by changes in social norms and living environments that have shaped individual behaviours making them conducive to excessive and imbalanced nutrition, sedentary lifestyles, and ultimately obesity and associated diseases. The STOP project will aim to generate scientifically sound, novel and policy-relevant evidence on the factors that have contributed to the spread of childhood obesity in European countries and on the effects of alternative technological and organisational solutions and policy options available to address the problem. STOP will translate the evidence gathered and generated into indicators and measurements, policy briefs and toolkits and multi-stakeholder frameworks. A special focus of STOP is understanding the stakeholders' networks and drivers of stakeholders' action. STOP will establish new ways for policy-relevant evidence to be generated, made available and used in the design and implementation of effective and sustainable solutions for childhood obesity at the EU, national and local levels. Each of the policy work packages will: Produce evidence syntheses and impact simulations for different policy approaches;Assess selected policy approaches and actions in children cohorts and other relevant settings;Devise policy toolkits and policy guidance to support the adoption and implementation of specific actions by relevant actors;Establish a country-based European accountability and monitoring framework in each policy area. The workshop aims to: Showcase the impact of different policy options evaluated throughout the STOP project;Increase participants' understanding and awareness of the opportunities and challenges associated with the implementation of selected policies;Increase awareness of public health professionals of the importance of overcoming siloes in identifying and implementing public health policies;Increase the understanding of multi-stakeholder engagement. The discussion will explore the role of stakeholders across different policy areas. We will explore the different definitions of “stakeholders” and “multi-stakeholders” engagement. This will also be an opportunity to explore some of the benefits, risks and challenges around stakeholder engagement, and explore what are the different types of stakeholders involved in these policies as well as their roles. The workshop will offer an opportunity to: Inform participants about existing physical activity, regulatory and fiscal policies to address childhood obesity;Inform participants about new, innovative EU-level projects that aim to address childhood obesity;Outline preliminary findings of the STOP project with regards to the effectiveness of the evaluated policies;Identify some of the gaps and limitations of existing policies and discuss some of the steps to ensure successful policy implementation. Key messages Present new evidence on what policy approaches work in addressing key determinants of childhood obesity. Showcase findings on the attitudes of different stakeholders towards obesity policies, and debate the benefits, risks and challenges of multi-stakeholder engagement.

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COVID-19 Pathogenesis: From Molecular Pathway to Vaccine Administration

Biomedicines ◽

10.3390/biomedicines9080903 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (8) ◽

pp. 903

Author(s):

Francesco Nappi ◽

Adelaide Iervolino ◽

Sanjeet Singh Avtaar Singh

Keyword(s):

Hospital Setting ◽

Pathophysiological Mechanism ◽

Systemic Response ◽

Respiratory Complications ◽

Thrombotic Risk ◽

Global Pandemic ◽

The Impact ◽

Multiple Variants ◽

Roll Out

The Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is a global pandemic that has affected millions of people worldwide. The advent of vaccines has permitted some restitution. Aside from the respiratory complications of the infection, there is also a thrombotic risk attributed to both the disease and the vaccine. There are no reliable data for the risk of thromboembolism in SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients managed out of the hospital setting. A literature review was performed to identify the pathophysiological mechanism of thrombosis from the SARS-CoV-2 infection including the role of Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme receptors. The impact of the vaccine and likely mechanisms of thrombosis following vaccination were also clarified. Finally, the utility of the vaccines available against the multiple variants is also highlighted. The systemic response to SARS-CoV-2 infection is still relatively poorly understood, but several risk factors have been identified. The roll-out of the vaccines worldwide has also allowed the lifting of lockdown measures and a reduction in the spread of the disease. The experience of the SARS-CoV-2 infection, however, has highlighted the crucial role of epidemiological research and the need for ongoing studies within this field.

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