scholarly journals Communicating scientific uncertainty in a rapidly evolving situation: a framing analysis of Canadian coverage in early days of COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriela Capurro ◽  
Cynthia G. Jardine ◽  
Jordan Tustin ◽  
Michelle Driedger
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Scientific Knowledge ◽  
News Media ◽  
Scientific Uncertainty ◽  
Framing Analysis ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Agenda ◽  
Public Health Officials ◽  
Pandemic Response

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic brought the production of scientific knowledge onto the public agenda in real-time. News media and commentators analysed the successes and failures of the pandemic response in real-time, bringing the process of scientific inquiry, which is also fraught with uncertainty, onto the public agenda. We examine how Canadian newspapers framed scientific uncertainty in their initial coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic and how journalists made sense of the scientific process. Methods We conducted a framing analysis of 1143 news stories and opinion during the first two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a qualitative analysis software, our analysis focused, first, on how scientific uncertainty was framed in hard news and opinion discourse (editorial, op-ed). Second, we compared how specialist health and science reporters discussed scientific evidence versus non-specialist reporters in hard news and columns. Results Uncertainty emerged as a “master frame” across the sample, and four additional framing strategies were used by reporters and commentators when covering the pandemic: (1), evidence -focusing on presence or absence of it-; (2) transparency and leadership -focusing on the pandemic response-; (3) duelling experts – highlighting disagreement among experts or criticizing public health decisions for not adhering to expert recommendations-; and (4) mixed messaging -criticizing public health communication efforts. While specialist journalists understood that scientific knowledge evolves and the process is fraught with uncertainty, non-specialist reporters and commentators expressed frustration over changing public health guidelines, leading to the politicization of the pandemic response and condemnation of elected officials’ decisions. Conclusions Managing scientific uncertainty in evolving science-policy situations requires timely and clear communication. Public health officials and political leaders need to provide clear and consistent messages and access to data regarding infection prevention guidelines. Public health officials should quickly engage in communication course corrections if original messages are missing the intended mark, and clearly explain the shift. Finally, public health communicators should be aware of and more responsive to a variety of media reporters, who will bring different interpretative frames to their reporting. More care and effort are needed in these communication engagements to minimize inconsistencies, uncertainty, and politicization.

scholarly journals The case for tracking misinformation the way we track disease

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 205395172110138
Author(s):  
Erika Bonnevie ◽  
Jennifer Sittig ◽  
Joe Smyser
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Supervised Machine Learning ◽  
Disease Spread ◽  
The Public ◽  
Monitoring Tools ◽  
Core Function ◽  
Public Health Organizations ◽  
Front Line Workers ◽  
Media Data

While public health organizations can detect disease spread, few can monitor and respond to real-time misinformation. Misinformation risks the public’s health, the credibility of institutions, and the safety of experts and front-line workers. Big Data, and specifically publicly available media data, can play a significant role in understanding and responding to misinformation. The Public Good Projects uses supervised machine learning to aggregate and code millions of conversations relating to vaccines and the COVID-19 pandemic broadly, in real-time. Public health researchers supervise this process daily, and provide insights to practitioners across a range of disciplines. Through this work, we have gleaned three lessons to address misinformation. (1) Sources of vaccine misinformation are known; there is a need to operationalize learnings and engage the pro-vaccination majority in debunking vaccine-related misinformation. (2) Existing systems can identify and track threats against health experts and institutions, which have been subject to unprecedented harassment. This supports their safety and helps prevent the further erosion of trust in public institutions. (3) Responses to misinformation should draw from cross-sector crisis management best practices and address coordination gaps. Real-time monitoring and addressing misinformation should be a core function of public health, and public health should be a core use case for data scientists developing monitoring tools. The tools to accomplish these tasks are available; it remains up to us to prioritize them.

Communicating During an Outbreak or Public Health Investigation

2019 ◽  
pp. 243-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abbigail J. Tumpey ◽  
David Daigle ◽  
Glen Nowak
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
At Risk ◽  
Social Media ◽  
News Media ◽  
Effective Communication ◽  
Crisis Response ◽  
Communication Strategy ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Media

Effective communication during an outbreak or public health investigation is crucial for fostering adoption of public health recommendations and minimizing or preventing harm. During outbreaks, a comprehensive communication strategy integrating news media, social media, and partner engagement is essential for reaching affected persons and for keeping everyone informed about public health actions and recommendations. The strategies outlined in this chapter are the foundation for rapidly and effectively conveying information and public health recommendations to the persons at risk, the media, and the different entities involved in the response. Regardless of the public health event’s cause, core communication actions and steps will be similar; however, in every outbreak or public health investigation, perceptions and needs will vary among target audiences, partners (i.e., persons or organizations that can play a role in the crisis response), and persons or organizations with a connection or interest in the outbreak (stakeholders).

scholarly journals Municipal public health officials and the Public Health Act

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heidi Lyshol
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Vocational Teachers ◽  
The Public ◽  
New Public Health ◽  
New Public ◽  
Public Health Officials ◽  
Public Health Workers ◽  
Public Health Act

Introduction: The Norwegian Public Health Act of 2012 was intended to give the municipalities a bigger stake in the health of the population by emphasizing public health at a municipal level. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the Act on public health officials in the execution of their vocational roles.Research questions: How do public health officials in Norwegian municipalities balance the requirements of the new Public Health Act and what their local leaders, both politicians and bureaucrats, want? How do they use the Act in the performance of their vocational roles? Does this have any relevance for vocational teachers? Method :After a literature search, semi-formal interviews were conducted with 13 municipal public health officials who were also given practical tasks and short questionnaires. The interview transcripts were analysed using Thematic Analysis. This qualitative research technique is defined and described. Discussion and Results: The study shows that the public health workers see the Act as a useful tool and actively use it to leverage the public health field into greater importance. They feel that the Act is empowering, gives them greater pride in their work, and that it helps both them and their superiors to achieve greater understanding of public health workers’ roles in their municipalities. Using the informants’ own words, changes in the municipal public health workers’ roles and vocational self-definitions are discussed in the context of the new Act and selections from the relevant literature. Conclusion: The Public Health Act has changed the roles of municipal public health workers and helped them to further public health by giving them more responsibility and expanded their duty to safeguard health in all policies. The Act is seen as empowering, giving public health professionals pride in their work and greater role understanding, and should be heavily featured in the curriculum of future public health workers.

Public health challenges during the COVID-19 outbreak in Nepal: a commentary

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 373-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharmistha Sharma ◽  
Jeevan Bhatta
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Health Interventions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Health Challenges ◽  
Current Scenario ◽  
Public Health Officials ◽  
The Government

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to depict the current scenario of coronavirus diseases 2019 (COVID-19) in Nepal, how the government is tackling this pandemic as well as look at the public health challenges that Nepal is facing and might face in the future.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is a viewpoint of COVID-19 activities conducted in Nepal.FindingsNepal is vulnerable to COVID-19, as it shares borders with China and India. Cases have started to be seen in different parts of Nepal. Government of Nepal has started various measures to control the spread of the virus such as deploying health workers, information sharing via different mediums. However, there are still many challenges that the government and public health officials need to be concerned about as well.Originality/valueThis paper provides information about the situation of COVID-19 in Nepal, how the government is handling, and public health challenges that may arise. This paper can be beneficial for further public health interventions.

scholarly journals Public health benefits and risks of fish consumption: current scientific evidence v. media coverage

2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (10) ◽  
pp. 1885-1892 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federico A Pasquaré ◽  
Roberta Bettinetti ◽  
Sonia Fumagalli ◽  
Davide A Vignati
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Fish Consumption ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Information Source ◽  
Health Benefits ◽  
Fish Intake ◽  
Scientific Uncertainty ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Media

AbstractObjectiveTo evaluate if and how the current degree of scientific uncertainty about the safety of fish consumption is incorporated at the media level.DesignWe used a dedicated software (TalTac®) to investigate the content of 169 news articles related to ‘mercury and fish consumption’ that appeared from 1990 to 2010 in the two Italian broadsheets with the highest circulation figures, in order to identify journalistic frames used in the coverage of benefits v. risks associated with fish consumption. Hypotheses were made on how the public might change fish consumption patterns as a result of media coverage.SettingItaly.ResultsThe two newspapers have different agendas in covering the issue. La Repubblica appears to support the view that, besides health benefits, there may be risks associated with fish consumption, while Corriere della Sera emphasizes health benefits more than possible risks. Depending on the preferred information source, the public could: (i) reduce its fish intake; (ii) increase its fish intake; or (iii) become confused about the problem and sceptical towards the media, as a result of conflicting journalistic frames.ConclusionsThe Italian media, in cooperation with scientists, public health nutritionists and dietitians, should place more emphasis on the existence of a few fish species with high to very high Hg levels and relatively low contents of beneficial n-3 fatty acids (e.g. swordfish and shark). This would enable consumers to make more educated purchasing decisions to maximize the benefits of n-3 intake while reducing possible risks from consuming Hg-contaminated fish.

Scientific Uncertainty in Health and Risk Messaging

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Zehr
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Knowledge ◽  
Public Perception ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Scientific Uncertainty ◽  
Public Science ◽  
The Public ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
New Research ◽  
Societal Problems

Expressions of scientific uncertainty are normal features of scientific articles and professional presentations. Journal articles typically include research questions at the beginning, probabilistic accounts of findings in the middle, and new research questions at the end. These uncertainty claims are used to construct clear boundaries between uncertain and certain scientific knowledge. Interesting questions emerge, however, when scientific uncertainty is communicated in occasions for public science (e.g., newspaper accounts of science, scientific expertise in political deliberations, science in stakeholder claims directed to the public, and so forth). Scientific uncertainty is especially important in the communication of environmental and health risks where public action is expected despite uncertain knowledge. Public science contexts are made more complex by the presence of multiple actors such as citizen-scientists, journalists, stakeholders, social movement actors, politicians, and so on who perform important functions in the communication and interpretation of scientific information and bring in diverse norms and values. A past assumption among researchers was that scientists would deemphasize or ignore uncertainties in these situations to better match their claims with a public perception of science as an objective, truth-building institution. However, more recent research indicates variability in the likelihood that scientists communicate uncertainties and in the public reception and use of uncertainty claims. Many scientists still believe that scientific uncertainty will be misunderstood by the public and misused by interest groups involved with an issue, while others recognize a need to clearly translate what is known and not known. Much social science analysis of scientific uncertainty in public science views it as a socially constructed phenomenon, where it depends less upon a particular state of scientific research (what scientists are certain and uncertain of) and more upon contextual factors, the actors involved, and the meanings attached to scientific claims. Scientific uncertainty is often emergent in public science, both in the sense that the boundary between what is certain and uncertain can be managed and manipulated by powerful actors and in the sense that as scientific knowledge confronts diverse public norms, values, local knowledges, and interests new areas of uncertainty emerge. Scientific uncertainty may emerge as a consequence of social conflict rather than being its cause. In public science scientific uncertainty can be interpreted as a normal state of affairs and, in the long run, may not be that detrimental to solving societal problems if it opens up new avenues and pathways for thinking about solutions. Of course, the presence of scientific uncertainty can also be used to legitimate inaction.

scholarly journals They Are Not My Problem: A Content and Framing Analysis of References to the Social Determinants of Health within Canadian News Media, 1993-2014

2016 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelsey Lucyk
Keyword(s):  
Social Determinants Of Health ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
News Media ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Determinants Of Health ◽  
Framing Analysis ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
Responsibility Of Government ◽  
Déterminants Sociaux

As public support is essential for implementing policies that act on the underlying social determinants of health (SDOH), it is important to consider how the public is exposed to this issue. This article explores how the SDOH have been represented in Canadian news media articles from 1993 to 2014. Of the 113 articles that explicitly included SDOH, housing (12.9%), income (10.5%), and poverty (9.3%) were most frequently reported. Over time, the reporting of SDOH increased, with peaks of coverage occurring at different times for different determinants (e.g., housing in 2005, income in 2009). A framing analysis revealed that the SDOH are presented in multiple ways: as an actionable issue and responsibility of government, a moral responsibility, and—problematically—as an issue that only affects disadvantaged groups.L’appui du public est essentiel pour mettre en œuvre des politiques portant sur les déterminants sociaux de la santé (DSS). Il est donc important de tenir compte de la manière dont on informe le public sur cette question. Cet article explore comment des articles parus dans des journaux canadiens ont représenté les DSS de 1993 à 2014. Dans les 113 articles se rapportant explicitement aux DSS, les trois thèmes suivants étaient prédominants : logement (12,9%), revenu (10,5%) et pauvreté (9,3%). Au fil du temps, le nombre d’articles sur les DSS a augmenté, atteignant des sommets à des moments différents pour des thèmes différents (par exemple, logement en 2005, revenu en 2009). Une analyse des cadres a montré que les médias représentent les DSS de manières diverses : en tant que question recevable et responsabilité du gouvernement, en tant que responsabilité morale et—de manière problématique—en tant que problème qui touche seulement les groupes défavorisés.

scholarly journals Influenza forecasting for the French regions by using EHR, web and climatic data sources with an ensemble approach ARGONet

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Canelle Poirier ◽  
Yulin Hswen ◽  
Guillaume Bouzillé ◽  
Marc Cuggia ◽  
Audrey Lavenu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Machine Learning ◽  
Disease Activity ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Monitoring Systems ◽  
Surveillance Systems ◽  
Influenza Activity ◽  
Public Health Officials ◽  
The Right

AbstractEffective and timely disease surveillance systems have the potential to help public health officials design interventions to mitigate the effects of disease outbreaks. Currently, healthcare-based disease monitoring systems in France offer influenza activity information that lags real-time by 1 to 3 weeks. This temporal data gap introduces uncertainty that prevents public health officials from having a timely perspective on the population-level disease activity. Here, we present a machine-learning modeling approach that produces real-time estimates and short-term forecasts of influenza activity for the 12 continental regions of France by leveraging multiple disparate data sources that include, Google search activity, real-time and local weather information, flu-related Twitter micro-blogs, electronic health records data, and historical disease activity synchronicities across regions. Our results show that all data sources contribute to improving influenza surveillance and that machine-learning ensembles that combine all data sources lead to accurate and timely predictions.Author summaryThe role of public health is to protect the health of populations by providing the right intervention to the right population at the right time. In France and all around the world, Influenza is a major public health problem. Traditional surveillance systems produce estimates of influenza-like illness (ILI) incidence rates, but with one-to three-week delay. Accurate real-time monitoring systems of influenza outbreaks could be useful for public health decisions. By combining different data sources and different statistical models, we propose an accurate and timely forecasting platform to track the flu in France at a spatial resolution that, to our knowledge, has not been explored before.

scholarly journals Myths Surrounding Covid-19 Vaccine Candidates: A Guide to Fight Back

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Zizzo
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Herd Immunity ◽  
Vaccine Uptake ◽  
Protective Measure ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Health Providers ◽  
Vaccine Candidates ◽  
The Public ◽  
News Organizations ◽  
Public Health Officials

The Covid-19 pandemic has propelled public health officials into the socio-political sphere due to the need for constantly updated information on behalf of the public. However, many individuals choose to acquire health information/guidance from indirect sources, including social media, news organizations, and general word of mouth. As a result, myths and false narratives about various essential health topics, including vaccine characteristics and protective measures, can circulate un-verified between millions of individuals with little recourse. These can further widen the “gap” between public knowledge and current research, resulting in lower vaccine uptake (vaccine hesitancy) and protective measure adherence. Such actions have profound implications as nations attempt to achieve herd immunity and end the pandemic once and for all. Thus, it is vital that public health officials, health providers, researchers, and the general public be able to differentiate common Covid-19 myths from facts and be prepared to approach such interactions via sound reasoning and research-based evidence. This chapter will serve as a guide to accomplish just that.

scholarly journals A topic analysis of traditional and social media news coverage of the early COVID-19 pandemic and implications for public health communication

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wallace Chipidza ◽  
Elmira Akbaripourdibazar ◽  
Tendai Gwanzura ◽  
Nicole M. Gatto
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Health Communication ◽  
News Media ◽  
Latent Dirichlet Allocation ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
Cable News ◽  
Public Health Communication ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Public Health Officials

AbstractKnowledge gaps may initially exist among scientists, medical and public health professionals during pandemics, which are fertile grounds for misinformation in news media. We characterized and compared COVID-19 coverage in newspapers, television, and social media, and discussed implications for public health communication strategies that are relevant to an initial pandemic response. We conducted a Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA), an unsupervised topic modelling technique, analysis of 3,271 newspaper articles, 40 cable news shows transcripts, 96,000 Twitter posts, and 1,000 Reddit posts during March 4 - 12, 2020, a period chronologically early in the timeframe of the COVID-19 pandemic. Coverage of COVID-19 clustered on topics such as epidemic, politics, and the economy, and these varied across media sources. Topics dominating news were not predominantly health-related, suggesting a limited presence of public health in news coverage in traditional and social media. Examples of misinformation were identified particularly in social media. Public health entities should utilize communication specialists to create engaging informational content to be shared on social media sites. Public health officials should be attuned to their target audience to anticipate and prevent spread of common myths likely to exist within a population. This will help control misinformation in early stages of pandemics.

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