scholarly journals Classification aware neural topic model for COVID-19 disinformation categorisation

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. e0247086
Author(s):  
Xingyi Song ◽  
Johann Petrak ◽  
Ye Jiang ◽  
Iknoor Singh ◽  
Diana Maynard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Topic Model ◽  
Medical Science ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Media Type ◽  
Topic Discovery ◽  
Extensive Analysis ◽  
Public Health Messages ◽  
Fact Checking ◽  
Effective Public Health

The explosion of disinformation accompanying the COVID-19 pandemic has overloaded fact-checkers and media worldwide, and brought a new major challenge to government responses worldwide. Not only is disinformation creating confusion about medical science amongst citizens, but it is also amplifying distrust in policy makers and governments. To help tackle this, we developed computational methods to categorise COVID-19 disinformation. The COVID-19 disinformation categories could be used for a) focusing fact-checking efforts on the most damaging kinds of COVID-19 disinformation; b) guiding policy makers who are trying to deliver effective public health messages and counter effectively COVID-19 disinformation. This paper presents: 1) a corpus containing what is currently the largest available set of manually annotated COVID-19 disinformation categories; 2) a classification-aware neural topic model (CANTM) designed for COVID-19 disinformation category classification and topic discovery; 3) an extensive analysis of COVID-19 disinformation categories with respect to time, volume, false type, media type and origin source.

scholarly journals A Data-informed Public Health Policy-Makers Platform

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (9) ◽  
pp. 3271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dario Brdarić ◽  
Senka Samardžić ◽  
Ivana Mihin Huskić ◽  
Giorgos Dritsakis ◽  
Jadran Sessa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Number Of Factors ◽  
Policy Development Process ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Effective Public Health ◽  
Data Informed ◽  
Health Policymaking

Hearing loss is a disease exhibiting a growing trend due to a number of factors, including but not limited to the mundane exposure to the noise and ever-increasing size of the older population. In the framework of a public health policymaking process, modeling of the hearing loss disease based on data is a key factor in alleviating the issues related to the disease and in issuing effective public health policies. First, the paper describes the steps of the data-driven policymaking process. Afterward, a scenario along with the part of the proposed platform responsible for supporting policymaking are presented. With the aim of demonstrating the capabilities and usability of the platform for the policy-makers, some initial results of preliminary analytics are presented in the framework of a policy-making process. Ultimately, the utility of the approach is validated throughout the results of the survey which was presented to the health system policy-makers involved in the policy development process in Croatia.

Improving Cross-Sectoral and Cross-Jurisdictional Coordination for Public Health Emergency Legal Preparedness

2008 ◽  
Vol 36 (S1) ◽  
pp. 57-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheryl H. Bullard ◽  
Rick D. Hogan ◽  
Matthew S. Penn ◽  
Janet Ferris ◽  
John Cleland ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Management Education ◽  
Public Health Emergency ◽  
Education Law ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Core Elements ◽  
Control And Prevention ◽  
Effective Public Health

This paper is one of the four interrelated action agenda papers resulting from the National Summit on Public Health Legal Preparedness (Summit) convened in June 2007 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and multi-disciplinary partners. Each of the action agenda papers deals with one of the four core elements of public health legal preparedness: laws and legal authorities; competency in using those laws; coordination of law-based public health actions; and information. Options presented in this paper are for consideration by policy makers and practitioners — in all jurisdictions and all relevant sectors and disciplines — with responsibilities for all-hazards emergency preparedness.Advancing and protecting the public's health depends upon the coordination of actions by many, diverse partners. For effective public health preparedness, there must be effective coordination of legal tools and law-based strategies across local, state, tribal, and federal jurisdictions, and also across sectors such as public health, health care, emergency management, education, law enforcement, community design, and academia.

scholarly journals Persuasive Messaging to Encourage COVID-19 Risk Reduction

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.

scholarly journals The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Public Health System Challenges in India

2021 ◽  
pp. 169-182
Author(s):  
Kesavan Sreekantan Nair
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health System ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Public Health System ◽  
Health Resources ◽  
Primary Health Care System ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Treatment Facilities ◽  
Public Health Strategies ◽  
Effective Public Health

This paper attempts to provide an overview of the Covid-19 pandemic situation in India and highlights various public health system challenges faced by the country in its efforts to control the pandemic. This paper is based on extensive review of literature conducted to stimulate pertinent descriptive information on Covid-19 pandemic and public health system challenges in India. The Covid-19 pandemic has created unprecedented challenges on India’s public health system. India has implemented several strategies to mitigate the pandemic, but the rapid spread of the virus poses huge challenges of hitherto unseen scale on multiple fronts. India’s public health system is chronically underfunded, leading to a shortage of Covid-19 treatment facilities. Even the available health resources are unevenly distributed across states resulting in huge disparities in emergency preparedness and management of the pandemic. Due to lack of robust primary health care system and effective public health strategies, vulnerable population in most states are prone to the pandemic and risk of severe complications. The findings can draw attentions of health policy makers to develop appropriate policy for future pandemic preparedness and management.

Non-stigmatising alternatives to anti-obesity public health messages: Consequences for health behaviour and well-being

2021 ◽  
pp. 135910532199970
Author(s):  
Joanne A Rathbone ◽  
Tegan Cruwys ◽  
Jolanda Jetten
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Weight Loss ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Health Behaviours ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Messages ◽  
Total N ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Public Health Messages ◽  
Size Acceptance

This project investigated how alternative non-stigmatising public health messages influence people’s health behaviours and well-being, relative to traditional stigmatising weight-loss messages. We conducted three experimental studies (total N = 1281) that compared traditional weight-loss messages to weight-neutral messages (Study 1), weight-inclusive messages (Study 2) and size acceptance messages (Study 3). Results revealed that public health messages have differential effects on health behaviours and well-being, depending on the audience’s BMI or perceived weight. However, campaigns that challenge weight stigma and promote body positivity have positive effects on some psychological indicators of health and well-being for people of all body sizes.

scholarly journals COVID-19 Pandemic Optimism and Vaccine Willingness among an Online Sample of US Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men

Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 745
Author(s):  
Rob Stephenson ◽  
Stephen P. Sullivan ◽  
Renee A. Pitter ◽  
Alexis S. Hunter ◽  
Tanaka MD Chavanduka
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Binary Outcomes ◽  
Sex Partners ◽  
Black African ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Public Health Messages ◽  
Sex With Men ◽  
Living With Hiv

This paper presents data from an online sample of U.S gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM), to explore the factors associated with three dimensions of vaccine beliefs: perception of the likelihood of a COVID-19 vaccine becoming available, perception of when a COVID-19 vaccine would become available, and the likelihood of taking a COVID-19 vaccine. Data are taken from the Love and Sex in the Time of COVID-19 study, collected from November 2020 to January 2021. A sample of 290 GBMSM is analyzed, modeling three binary outcomes: belief that there will be a COVID-19 vaccine, belief that the COVID-19 vaccine will be available in 6 months, and being very likely to take the COVID-19 vaccine. In contrast to other studies, Black/African Americans and GBMSM living with HIV had higher levels of pandemic optimism and were more likely to be willing to accept a vaccine. Men who perceived a higher prevalence of COVID-19 among their friends and sex partners, and those who had reduced their sex partners, were more likely to be willing to take a COVID-19 vaccine. There remained a small percentage of participants (14%) who did not think the pandemic would end, that there would not be a vaccine and were unlikely to take a vaccine. To reach the levels of vaccination necessary to control the pandemic, it is imperative to understand the characteristics of those experiencing vaccine hesitancy and then tailor public health messages to their unique set of barriers and motivations.

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