scholarly journals Misinformation, chiropractic, and the COVID-19 pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Iben Axén ◽  
Cecilia Bergström ◽  
Marc Bronson ◽  
Pierre Côté ◽  
Casper Glissmann Nim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Collective Responsibility ◽  
Economic Consequences ◽  
Best Interests ◽  
World Health ◽  
Chiropractic Treatment ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background In March 2020, the World Health Organization elevated the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic to a pandemic and called for urgent and aggressive action worldwide. Public health experts have communicated clear and emphatic strategies to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Hygiene rules and social distancing practices have been implemented by entire populations, including ‘stay-at-home’ orders in many countries. The long-term health and economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic are not yet known. Main text During this time of crisis, some chiropractors made claims on social media that chiropractic treatment can prevent or impact COVID-19. The rationale for these claims is that spinal manipulation can impact the nervous system and thus improve immunity. These beliefs often stem from nineteenth-century chiropractic concepts. We are aware of no clinically relevant scientific evidence to support such statements. We explored the internet and social media to collect examples of misinformation from Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand regarding the impact of chiropractic treatment on immune function. We discuss the potential harm resulting from these claims and explore the role of chiropractors, teaching institutions, accrediting agencies, and legislative bodies. Conclusions Members of the chiropractic profession share a collective responsibility to act in the best interests of patients and public health. We hope that all chiropractic stakeholders will view the COVID-19 pandemic as a call to action to eliminate the unethical and potentially dangerous claims made by chiropractors who practise outside the boundaries of scientific evidence.

scholarly journals An Uncertain Risk: The World Health Organization's Account of H1N1

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 511-529 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sudeepa Abeysinghe
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Influenza Pandemic ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
H1n1 Influenza ◽  
World Health ◽  
Scientific Uncertainty ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
The World ◽  
Public Risk ◽  
Health Organization

ArgumentScientific uncertainty is fundamental to the management of contemporary global risks. In 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the start of the H1N1 Influenza Pandemic. This declaration signified the risk posed by the spread of the H1N1 virus, and in turn precipitated a range of actions by global public health actors. This article analyzes the WHO's public representation of risk and examines the centrality of scientific uncertainty in the case of H1N1. It argues that the WHO's risk narrative reflected the context of scientific uncertainty in which it was working. The WHO argued that it was attempting to remain faithful to the scientific evidence, and the uncertain nature of the threat. However, as a result, the WHO's public risk narrative was neither consistent nor socially robust, leading to the eventual contestation of the WHO's position by other global public health actors, most notably the Council of Europe. This illustrates both the significance of scientific uncertainty in the investigation of risk, and the difficulty for risk managing institutions in effectively acting in the face of this uncertainty.

scholarly journals Round table: Online anti-vaccination movements: the role of social media in public health communications

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Hpv Vaccine ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
World Health ◽  
Swine Flu ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Digital health has revolutionised healthcare, with implications for understanding public reaction to health emergencies and interventions. Social media provides a space where like-minded people can share interests and concerns in real-time, regardless of their location. This can be a force for good, as platforms like Twitter can spread correct information about outbreaks, for example in the 2009 swine flu pandemic. However, social media can also disseminate incorrect information or deliberately spread misinformation leading to adverse public health sentiment and outcomes. The current issues around trust in vaccines is the best-known example. Vaccine hesitancy, traditionally linked to issues of trust, misinformation and prior beliefs, has been increasingly fueled by influential groups on social media and the Internet. Ultimately, anti-vaccination movements have the potential to lead to outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases, especially if refusal is concentrated locally, creating vulnerable populations. For example, 2018-19 saw a large increase in incidence of measles in the US and Europe (where cases tripled from 2017), two regions where the disease was already or almost eliminated. In 2019, the World Health Organisation listed anti-vaccination movements as one of the top 10 threats to global public health. HPV vaccination is another example of the impact of anti-vaccination movements. As viral videos originating on YouTube spread across social networks, uptake has tumbled in a number of countries, with Japan, Denmark, Colombia and Ireland being badly hit. In Japan, the government came under sufficient pressure that they de-recommended HPV vaccine, seeing an 80% uptake rate fall below 1% in 2014. There have been reports of successful interventions by national governments. A recent campaign run by the HPV Alliance (a coalition of some 35 private companies, charities and public institutions) in Ireland has seen rates below 40% back up to a national average of 75%. A combination of hard-hitting personal testimonials, social media and traditional media promoted the HPV vaccine. Despite this, systematic engagement and supranational strategies are still in the early stages of being formulated. As misleading information spread through social media and digital networks has undesirable impact on attitudes to vaccination (and uptake rates), urgent actions are required. Analysis and visualisation techniques mining data streams from social media platforms, such as Twitter, Youtube enable real-time understanding of vaccine sentiments and information flows. Through identification of key influencers and flashpoints in articles about vaccination going viral, targeted public health responses could be developed. This roundtable discussion will showcase different ways in which media and social networks, accessible in real-time provide an opportunity for detecting a change in public confidence in vaccines, for identifying users and rumors and for assessing potential impact in order to know how to best respond. Key messages Social media has significantly enhanced our understanding of anti-vaccination movements and potential impact on public health attitudes and behaviors regarding vaccination. Innovative methods of analysing social media data, from digital health, data science and computer science, have an important role in developing health promotions to counter anti-vaccination movements.

scholarly journals COVID 19 pandemic: Its impact on forensics and new normal practice

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 083-088
Author(s):  
Umema Ahmed ◽  
S.S. Daga ◽  
R.K. Kumawat
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
World Health ◽  
Street Crime ◽  
Wuhan City ◽  
New Normal ◽  
Viral Particles ◽  
Police Personnel ◽  
Wildlife Trafficking ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
The Impact

In December, 2019, novel corona virus 2019-nCoV or SARS- CoV-2 or COVID 19 was reported in Wuhan city of China. Expeditious transmissibility, extremely virulent nature and acute pathogenicity, World Health Organization declared as a public health emergency of international concern on 30th January 2020. During the pandemic era crime and illicit economies such as organized criminal activities, domestic violence, terrorism, street crime, online crime, illegal markets and smuggling, human and wildlife trafficking, slavery, robberies and burglaries increased in the exponential manner. It was established that the viral particles remain on various surfaces 3 to 5 days, this long lasting persistence of viral particles are serious concern to public health. Since, forensic investigators as well as police personnel directly deal with the crime exhibits, which impose serious concern to their lives.In this report, we explore the impact of COVID 19 pandemic on forensic and new normal practice.

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.

scholarly journals Insights from mathematical modelling and quantitative analysis on the proposed WHO 2030 targets for visceral leishmaniasis on the Indian subcontinent

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 1651
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Visceral Leishmaniasis ◽  
Health Problem ◽  
Indian Subcontinent ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
District Level ◽  
World Health ◽  
Kala Azar ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
The Impact

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a neglected tropical disease (NTD) caused by Leishmania protozoa that are transmitted by female sand flies. On the Indian subcontinent (ISC), VL is targeted by the World Health Organization (WHO) for elimination as a public health problem by 2020, which is defined as <1 VL case (new and relapse) per 10,000 population at district level in Nepal and sub-district level in Bangladesh and India. WHO is currently in the process of formulating 2030 targets, asking whether to maintain the 2020 target or to modify it, while adding a target of zero mortality among detected cases. The NTD Modelling Consortium has developed various mathematical VL transmission models to gain insight into the transmission dynamics of VL, identify the main knowledge gaps, and predict the feasibility of achieving and sustaining the targets by simulating the impact of varying intervention strategies. According to the models, the current target is feasible at the appropriate district/sub-district level in settings with medium VL endemicities (up to 5 reported VL cases per 10,000 population per year) prior to the start of the interventions. However, in settings with higher pre-control endemicities, additional efforts may be required. We also highlight the risk that those with post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) may pose to reaching and sustaining the VL targets, and therefore advocate adding control of PKDL cases to the new 2030 targets. Spatial analyses revealed that local hotspots with high VL incidence remain. We warn that the current target provides a perverse incentive to not detect/report cases as the target is approached, posing a risk for truly achieving elimination as a public health problem although this is taken into consideration by the WHO procedures for validation. Ongoing modelling work focuses on the risk of recrudescence when interventions are relaxed after the elimination target has been achieved.

scholarly journals Hospital knowledge and practice of doctors and nurses regarding hand hygiene in a survey

2020 ◽  
pp. 119-132
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Hand Hygiene ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Health Care Facilities ◽  
World Health ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Healthcare Associated ◽  
The Impact

INTRODUCTION. The guidelines issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2009 regarding hand hygiene (HH) in health care provided health care professionals with scientific evidence that argued that HH principles should be respected when dealing with patients. Despite the passage of years and strenuous attempts to introduce these recommendations to the Polish health care facilities for the prevention of healthcare-associated infections (HAI), these principles are still not being implemented in an optimal way for the patient’s safety. OBJECTIVE OF WORK. The aim was to examine the views and attitudes of physicians (L) and nurses (P) towards the WHO rules of hand hygiene. MATERIAL AND METHODS. The study was performed by means of a diagnostic survey using a questionnaire of our own design; random sampling was used. The study involved 231 LP: 173 (74.9%) women, 58 (25.1%) men, including 93 (40.3%) doctors and 138 (59.7%) nurses. The study was conducted in a multiprofile hospital in Małopolska in 2017. The difference between what the respondents think (their views) and what they do in reality (what attitudes they display) was examined in relation to WHO principles, such as wearing natural short nails and jewelry on their hands. RESULTS. Negative practice of observing these HH principles in relation to views was detected (R = -0.014, p<0.05, R2 = 0.016). Respondents supported the view that the ring could affect HAI and rarely used it in practice, the practice was positive (R = 0.298, p <0.001, R2 = 0.085). Women strongly emphasized the view that wearing long nails has an impact on HAI spread, but in practice they often declared keeping long nails, practice was negative (R = -0.241, p <0.01, R2 = 0.054). In response to the question about the impact of nail painting on the spread of HAI, this view was poorly represented, in practice some of them wore painted nails, the practice was negative (R = -0.226, p <0.01, R2 = 0.045). CONCLUSION. Despite high support for the principles of hand hygiene, in practice, these principles were not always respected, the impact on the practice was negative in areas such as: general adherence to the HH principles, wearing long and painted nails. The compatibility of views with practice was detected in relation to wearing a wedding ring.

scholarly journals Covid-19-induced fear in infoveillance studies: a meta-analysis (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Styliani Geronikolou ◽  
George Chrousos
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
World Health ◽  
Forest Plot ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Prophylactic Measures ◽  
The Social ◽  
Public Health Authorities ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
The Impact

UNSTRUCTURED The World Health Organization named the phenomenon of misinformation spread through the social media “infodemics”, and recognized the need to curb it. Misinformation infodemics undermine not only population safety, but also compliance to the suggestions/prophylactic measures recommended in pandemics. The aim of this study was to review the impact of social media on general population fear in “infoveillance” studies during the COVID-19 pandemic. PRISMA protocol was followed and six out of twenty studies were retrieved, meta-analyzed, and had their findings presented in the form of a Forest plot. The summary random and significant event rate was 0.298, 95% CI respectively 0.213 and 0.400, suggesting that social media-circulated misinformation related to COVID-19 triggered public fear and other manifestations. These findings merit special attention by public health authorities. Thus, “infodemiology” and Infoveillance are valid tools in the hands of epidemiologists to help prevent dissemination of false information, with potentially damaging effects.

scholarly journals Trachoma Prevalence After Discontinuation of Mass Azithromycin Distribution

2020 ◽  
Vol 221 (Supplement_5) ◽  
pp. S519-S524
Author(s):  
William Godwin ◽  
Joaquin M Prada ◽  
Paul Emerson ◽  
P J Hooper ◽  
Ana Bakhtiari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Diagnostic Tests ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
World Health ◽  
Simulation Based ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Program Cycle ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Oral Azithromycin

Abstract Background As the World Health Organization seeks to eliminate trachoma by 2020, countries are beginning to control the transmission of trachomatous inflammation–follicular (TF) and discontinue mass drug administration (MDA) with oral azithromycin. We evaluated the effect of MDA discontinuation on TF1–9 prevalence at the district level. Methods We extracted from the available data districts with an impact survey at the end of their program cycle that initiated discontinuation of MDA (TF1–9 prevalence &lt;5%), followed by a surveillance survey conducted to determine whether TF1–9 prevalence remained below the 5% threshold, warranting discontinuation of MDA. Two independent analyses were performed, 1 regression based and 1 simulation based, that assessed the change in TF1–9 from the impact survey to the surveillance survey. Results Of the 220 districts included, TF1–9 prevalence increased to &gt;5% from impact to surveillance survey in 9% of districts. Regression analysis indicated that impact survey TF1–9 prevalence was a significant predictor of surveillance survey TF1–9 prevalence. The proportion of simulations with &gt;5% TF1–9 prevalence in the surveillance survey was 2%, assuming the survey was conducted 4 years after MDA. Conclusion An increase in TF1–9 prevalence may represent disease resurgence but could also be due to measurement error. Improved diagnostic tests are crucial to elimination of TF1–9 as a public health problem.

COVID-19: Socio-Economic Consequences on the Hospitality Industry in Malaysia

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-52
Author(s):  
Nur Hidayah Che Ahmat ◽  
Syafiqah Rahamat ◽  
Susan Wohlsdorf Arendt
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Hospitality Industry ◽  
Economic Consequences ◽  
World Health ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Virus Spread ◽  
The World ◽  
Control And Prevention ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
Health Organization

The novel Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) first appeared in December 2019 in Wuhan, Hubei Province China before emerging in neighbouring countries in early 2020. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic when the spreading of the virus started accelerating in many parts of the world and killing thousands of people. As of 22nd May 2021, there were more than 166 million confirmed cases with more than 147 million recovered and nearly 3.5 million deaths (Worldometers, n.d.). According to the WHO (2020) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2020), the virus easily spreads through coughing and sneezing. Therefore, many countries implemented social distancing between individuals and various other restriction orders or recommendations (e.g., stay-at-home policies, closure of non-essential businesses) to help curb virus spread. How governments in each country reacted to control the spread of the virus appeared crucial to mitigate public health and economic impacts. Keywords: Foodservice, Hospitality, Hotel, Malaysia, Pandemic

The Impact of COVID-19 on the Socio-economic Indicators of the Selected Asian Countries

2021 ◽  
pp. 097492842110681
Author(s):  
Vaijanath Babshetti ◽  
Jyothi E. Singh ◽  
Prakash B. Yaragol
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
World Health ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Macroeconomic Factors ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Mortality And Morbidity ◽  
Travel Restrictions ◽  
Human Cost ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
The Impact

The COVID-19 pandemic originated in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The virus has spread across the globe over the last 20 months. In the interest of public health, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a public health emergency to harmonise international responses to the virus. In a strongly interconnected world, the effect of the pandemic goes beyond mortality and morbidity. The unprecedented outbreak of COVID-19 has also resulted in a global economic crisis. Almost every sector of the economy has been gravely affected by the pandemic to various degrees. In an attempt to curb the spread of the virus many countries have initiated measures such as lockdowns, travel restrictions, ban on public and private transportation, closure of schools and colleges and restrictions on public and social gatherings. These initiatives have led to the decline in GDP, foreign trade and foreign exchange reserves, the rise of unemployment, the crash of stock markets and the depreciation of national currencies among other things. This study assesses the impact of COVID-19 on selected macroeconomic parameters of various Asian countries to present insights on the economic and health crisis caused due to COVID-19. The study analyses the effect of the pandemic on the macroeconomic factors listed above as well as the human cost of the pandemic during the last 20 months. The research finds that the outbreak adversely affected the economy and lives of people in India when compared to selected Asian nations.

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