The effect of spokesperson attribution on public health message sharing during the COVID-19 pandemic

It is urgent to understand how to effectively communicate public health messages during the COVID-19 pandemic. Previous work has focused on how to formulate messages in terms of style and content, rather than on who should send them. In particular, little is known about the impact of spokesperson selection on message propagation during times of crisis. We report on the effectiveness of different public figures at promoting social distancing among 12,194 respondents from six countries that were severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic at the time of data collection. Across countries and demographic strata, immunology expert Dr. Anthony Fauci achieved the highest level of respondents’ willingness to reshare a call to social distancing, followed by a government spokesperson. Celebrity spokespersons were least effective. The likelihood of message resharing increased with age and when respondents expressed positive sentiments towards the spokesperson. These results contribute to the development of evidence-based knowledge regarding the effectiveness of prominent official and non-official public figures in communicating public health messaging in times of crisis. Our findings serve as a reminder that scientific experts and governments should not underestimate their power to inform and persuade in times of crisis and underscore the crucial importance of selecting the most effective messenger in propagating messages of lifesaving information during a pandemic.

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The Fauci Effect: Public Health Messaging During the COVID-19 Pandemic

10.31234/osf.io/naxf3 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Ahmad Abu-Akel ◽

Andreas Spitz ◽

Robert West

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Health Messages ◽

Social Distancing ◽

Public Figures ◽

Public Health Messages ◽

Health Messaging

It is urgent to understand how to most effectively communicate public health messages during the COVID-19 pandemic. Previously, the focus has been on how to formulate the message, rather than on who should send it, and particularly little is known about the latter during times of crisis. We report on the effectiveness of different public figures at promoting social distancing in 6 countries severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Across countries and demographic strata, immunology expert Dr. Anthony Fauci achieved the highest level of respondents’ willingness to reshare a call to social distancing, followed by a government spokesperson. Celebrity spokespersons were least effective. The likelihood of message resharing increased with age and when respondents expressed positive sentiments towards the spokesperson. Effective messaging during the COVID-19 pandemic can save lives, and the messenger matters.

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Persuasive Messaging to Encourage COVID-19 Risk Reduction

10.21203/rs.3.rs-96261/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Scott Bokemper ◽

Gregory Huber ◽

Erin James ◽

Alan Gerber ◽

Saad Omer

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Health Campaigns ◽

Randomized Experiments ◽

Convenience Sample ◽

Social Distancing ◽

Public Health Messages ◽

Public Health Message ◽

Nationally Representative ◽

Public Health Campaigns ◽

Effective Public Health

Abstract What types of public health messages are effective at changing people’s beliefs and intentions to practice social distancing to slow the spread of COVID-19? We conducted two randomized experiments that assigned respondents to read a public health message and then measured their beliefs and behavioral intentions across a wide variety of outcomes. Using both a convenience sample and a nationally representative sample of Americans, we find that a message that reframes bravery as recklessness and a message that highlights the need for everyone to take action to protect others are the most effective at increasing beliefs and intentions related to social distancing. These results provide an evidentiary basis for building effective public health campaigns to increase social distancing during flu pandemics.

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The Effects of Social Distancing Policies on non-SARS-CoV-2 Respiratory Pathogens

Open Forum Infectious Diseases ◽

10.1093/ofid/ofab133 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jeff Nawrocki ◽

Katherine Olin ◽

Martin C Holdrege ◽

Joel Hartsell ◽

Lindsay Meyers ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Influenza A ◽

Detection Rate ◽

Respiratory Illness ◽

Respiratory Pathogens ◽

Public Health Response ◽

Mixed Effect ◽

Detection Rates ◽

Social Distancing ◽

The Impact

Abstract Background The initial focus of the US public health response to COVID-19 was the implementation of numerous social distancing policies. While COVID-19 was the impetus for imposing these policies, it is not the only respiratory disease affected by their implementation. This study aimed to assess the impact of social distancing policies on non-SARS-CoV-2 respiratory pathogens typically circulating across multiple US states. Methods Linear mixed-effect models were implemented to explore the effects of five social distancing policies on non-SARS-CoV-2 respiratory pathogens across nine states from January 1 through May 1, 2020. The observed 2020 pathogen detection rates were compared week-by-week to historical rates to determine when the detection rates were different. Results Model results indicate that several social distancing policies were associated with a reduction in total detection rate, by nearly 15%. Policies were associated with decreases in pathogen circulation of human rhinovirus/enterovirus and human metapneumovirus, as well as influenza A, which typically decrease after winter. Parainfluenza viruses failed to circulate at historical levels during the spring. Total detection rate in April 2020 was 35% less than historical average. Many of the pathogens driving this difference fell below historical detection rate ranges within two weeks of initial policy implementation. Conclusion This analysis investigated the effect of multiple social distancing policies implemented to reduce transmission of SARS-CoV-2 on non-SARS-CoV-2 respiratory pathogens. These findings suggest that social distancing policies may be used as an impactful public health tool to reduce communicable respiratory illness.

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Harnessing testing strategies and public health measures to avert COVID-19 outbreaks during ocean cruises

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-95032-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Gerardo Chowell ◽

Sushma Dahal ◽

Raquel Bono ◽

Kenji Mizumoto

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Contact Network ◽

Social Distancing ◽

Individual Level ◽

Health Measures ◽

Testing Strategies ◽

Novel Coronavirus ◽

The Individual ◽

The Impact

AbstractTo ensure the safe operation of schools, workplaces, nursing homes, and other businesses during COVID-19 pandemic there is an urgent need to develop cost-effective public health strategies. Here we focus on the cruise industry which was hit early by the COVID-19 pandemic, with more than 40 cruise ships reporting COVID-19 infections. We apply mathematical modeling to assess the impact of testing strategies together with social distancing protocols on the spread of the novel coronavirus during ocean cruises using an individual-level stochastic model of the transmission dynamics of COVID-19. We model the contact network, the potential importation of cases arising during shore excursions, the temporal course of infectivity at the individual level, the effects of social distancing strategies, different testing scenarios characterized by the test’s sensitivity profile, and testing frequency. Our findings indicate that PCR testing at embarkation and daily testing of all individuals aboard, together with increased social distancing and other public health measures, should allow for rapid detection and isolation of COVID-19 infections and dramatically reducing the probability of onboard COVID-19 community spread. In contrast, relying only on PCR testing at embarkation would not be sufficient to avert outbreaks, even when implementing substantial levels of social distancing measures.

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Strategies Older New Zealanders Use to Participate in Day-To-Day Occupations

British Journal of Occupational Therapy ◽

10.4276/030802211x13204135680820 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 74 (11) ◽

pp. 509-516 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Clare Hocking ◽

Juanita Murphy ◽

Kirk Reed

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Physical Activity ◽

Older Adults ◽

New Zealand ◽

Older People ◽

Exploratory Study ◽

Occupational Therapists ◽

Falls Prevention ◽

Public Health Messages ◽

The Impact

Aim: This exploratory study aimed to uncover the strategies that older adults employ to ameliorate the impact of impairments and barriers to participation. Method: Eight participants were interviewed in their own homes, in a town or city in New Zealand. Findings: Inductive analysis of data revealed four main categories of strategies: strategies to keep safe, to recruit and accept help, to meet social and biological needs (nutritional and medical), and to conserve financial, material and bodily resources. Discussion: The study supports some previous findings of strategies used by older people, and demonstrates that enquiring into the strategies that older people devise and adopt into their own lives is a productive line of inquiry. The strategies described differ from those that occupational therapists recommend, and do not incorporate public health messages about the benefits of physical activity or recommendations about falls prevention. Conclusion: The findings suggest that asking older clients about the strategies that they use will uncover valuable information for therapists giving advice or issuing equipment to help older adults to manage in the community.

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The challenge of bringing evidence in decision-making for public health emergencies: can preparedness reach out to HTA?

European Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/eurpub/ckaa165.942 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽

Author(s):

C E Chronaki ◽

A Miglietta

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Decision Making ◽

Policy Development ◽

Digital Health ◽

Resource Planning ◽

Public Health Emergency ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Public Health Emergencies ◽

The Impact ◽

Evidence Based Decision Making

Abstract Evidence-based decision-making is central to public health. Implementing evidence-informed actions is most challenging during a public health emergency as in an epidemic, when time is limited, scientific uncertainties and political pressures tend to be high, and reliable data is typically lacking. The process of including data for preparedness and training for evidence-based decision making in public health emergencies is not systematic and is complicated by many barriers as the absence of common digital tools and approaches for resource planning and update of response plans. Health Technology Assessment (HTA) is used with the aim to improve the quality and efficiency of public health interventions and to make healthcare systems more sustainable. Many of today's public health crises are also cross-border, and countries need to collaborate in a systematic and standardized way in order to enhance interoperability to share data and to plan coordinated response. Digital health tools have an important role to play in this setting, facilitating use of knowledge about the population that can potentially affected by the crisis within and across regional and national borders. To strengthen the impact of scientific evidence on decision-making for public health emergency preparedness and response, it is necessary to better define and align mechanisms through which interdisciplinary evidence feeds into decision-making processes during public health emergencies and the context in which these mechanisms operate. Activities and policy development in the HTA network could inform this process. The objective of this presentation is to identify barriers for evidence-based decision making during public health emergencies and discuss how standardization in digital health and HTA processes may help overcome these barriers leading to more effective coordinated and evidence-based public health emergency response.

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Evidence-Based Global Public Health

When People Come First ◽

10.23943/princeton/9780691157382.003.0004 ◽

2013 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Vincanne Adams

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Health Care ◽

Global Health ◽

Experimental Research ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Global Public Health ◽

The Social ◽

Research Populations ◽

Based Medicine ◽

The Impact

This chapter examines the impact of “evidence-based medicine” (EBM) on global public health. An epistemic transformation in the field of global health is underway, and it argues that the impact of EBM has been twofold: (1) the creation of an experimental metric as a means of providing health care; and (2) a shift in the priorities of caregiving practices in public health such that “people [no longer] come first.” The production of experimental research populations in and through EBM helps constitute larger fiscal transformations in how we do global health. Notably, EBM has created a platform for the buying and selling of truth and reliability, abstracting clinical caregiving from the social relationships on which they depend.

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Situating ‘careful surveillance’

International Journal of Cultural Studies ◽

10.1177/1367877921997450 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 136787792199745

Author(s):

Mark Andrejevic ◽

Hugh Davies ◽

Ruth DeSouza ◽

Larissa Hjorth ◽

Ingrid Richardson

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Public Space ◽

Social Care ◽

Cultural Practices ◽

Contact Tracing ◽

Social Distancing ◽

Health Measures ◽

Relationship Of ◽

The Impact ◽

The Relationship

In this article we explore preliminary findings from the study COVIDSafe and Beyond: Perceptions and Practices conducted in Australia in 2020. The study involved a survey followed by interviews, and aimed to capture the dynamic ways in which members of the Australian public perceive the impact of Covid practices – especially public health measures like the introduction of physical and social distancing, compulsory mask wearing, and contact tracing. In the rescripting of public space, different notions of formal and informal surveillance, along with different textures of mediated and social care, appeared. In this article, we explore perceptions around divergent forms of surveillance across social, technological, governmental modes, and the relationship of surveillance to care in our media and cultural practices. What does it mean to care for self and others during a pandemic? How does care get enacted in, and through, media interfaces and public interaction?

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Age-Related Differences in Experiences With Social Distancing at the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Computational and Content Analytic Investigation of Natural Language From a Social Media Survey (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.26043 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Ryan C Moore ◽

Angela Y Lee ◽

Jeffrey T Hancock ◽

Meghan C Halley ◽

Eleni Linos

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Age Groups ◽

Prevention Measures ◽

Middle Aged ◽

Social Distancing ◽

Aged People ◽

Age Related ◽

Health Related ◽

The Impact ◽

Health Guidance

BACKGROUND As COVID-19 poses different levels of threat to people of different ages, health communication regarding prevention measures such as social distancing and isolation may be strengthened by understanding the unique experiences of various age groups. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to examine how people of different ages (1) experienced the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and (2) their respective rates and reasons for compliance or noncompliance with social distancing and isolation health guidance. METHODS We fielded a survey on social media early in the pandemic to examine the emotional impact of COVID-19 and individuals’ rates and reasons for noncompliance with public health guidance, using computational and content analytic methods of linguistic analysis. RESULTS A total of 17,287 participants were surveyed. The majority (n=13,183, 76.3%) were from the United States. Younger (18-31 years), middle-aged (32-44 years and 45-64 years), and older (≥65 years) individuals significantly varied in how they described the impact of COVID-19 on their lives, including their emotional experience, self-focused attention, and topical concerns. Younger individuals were more emotionally negative and self-focused, while middle-aged people were other-focused and concerned with family. The oldest and most at-risk group was most concerned with health-related terms but were lower in anxiety (use of fewer anxiety-related terms) and higher in the use of emotionally positive terms than the other less at-risk age groups. While all groups discussed topics such as acquiring essential supplies, they differentially experienced the impact of school closures and limited social interactions. We also found relatively high rates of noncompliance with COVID-19 prevention measures, such as social distancing and self-isolation, with younger people being more likely to be noncompliant than older people (<i>P</i><.001). Among the 43.1% (n=7456) of respondents who did not fully comply with health orders, people differed substantially in the reasons they gave for noncompliance. The most common reason for noncompliance was not being able to afford to miss work (n=4273, 57.3%). While work obligations proved challenging for participants across ages, younger people struggled more to find adequate space to self-isolate and manage their mental and physical health; middle-aged people had more concerns regarding childcare; and older people perceived themselves as being able to take sufficient precautions. CONCLUSIONS Analysis of natural language can provide insight into rapidly developing public health challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic, uncovering individual differences in emotional experiences and health-related behaviors. In this case, our analyses revealed significant differences between different age groups in feelings about and responses to public health orders aimed to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. To improve public compliance with health orders as the pandemic continues, health communication strategies could be made more effective by being tailored to these age-related differences.

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Mining and Validating Social Media for COVID-19-Related Human Behaviors between January and July; An Infodemiology Study (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.27059 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ashlynn R. Daughton ◽

Courtney Diane Shelley ◽

Martha Barnard ◽

Dax Gerts ◽

Chrysm Watson Ross ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Social Media ◽

Ground Truth ◽

The United States ◽

Training Data ◽

Long Term Effects ◽

Social Distancing ◽

Human Behaviors ◽

Mobility Data ◽

The Impact

BACKGROUND Health authorities can minimize the impact of an emergent infectious disease outbreak through effective and timely risk communication, which can build trust and adherence to subsequent behavioral messaging. Monitoring the psychological impacts of an outbreak, as well as public adherence to such messaging is also important for minimizing long term effects of an outbreak. OBJECTIVE We used social media data to identify human behaviors relevant to COVID-19 transmission and the perceived impacts of COVID-19 on individuals as a first step toward real time monitoring of public perceptions to inform public health communications. METHODS We develop a coding schema for 6 categories and 11 subcategories, which includes both a wide number of behaviors, as well codes focused on the impacts of the pandemic (e.g., economic and mental health impacts). We use this to develop training data and develop supervised learning classifiers for classes with sufficient labels. Classifiers that perform adequately are applied to our remaining corpus and temporal and geospatial trends are assessed. We compare the classified patterns to ground truth mobility data and actual COVID-19 confirmed cases to assess the signal achieved here. RESULTS We apply our labeling schema to ~7200 tweets. The worst performing classifiers have F1 scores of only 0.18-0.28 when trying to identify tweets about monitoring symptoms and testing. Classifiers about social distancing, however, are much stronger with F1 scores of 0.64-0.66. We applied the social distancing classifiers to over 228 million tweets. We show temporal patterns consistent with real-world events, and show correlations of up to -0.5 between social distancing signals on Twitter and ground-truth mobility throughout the United States. CONCLUSIONS Behaviors discussed on Twitter are exceptionally varied. Twitter can provide useful information for parameterizing models that incorporate human behavior as well as informing public health communication strategies by describing awareness of and compliance with suggested behaviors. CLINICALTRIAL N/A

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