scholarly journals How social learning shapes the efficacy of preventative health behaviors in an outbreak

PLoS ONE ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. e0262505
Author(s):  
Simon Carrignon ◽  
R. Alexander Bentley ◽  
Matthew Silk ◽  
Nina H. Fefferman

The global pandemic of COVID-19 revealed the dynamic heterogeneity in how individuals respond to infection risks, government orders, and community-specific social norms. Here we demonstrate how both individual observation and social learning are likely to shape behavioral, and therefore epidemiological, dynamics over time. Efforts to delay and reduce infections can compromise their own success, especially when disease risk and social learning interact within sub-populations, as when people observe others who are (a) infected and/or (b) socially distancing to protect themselves from infection. Simulating socially-learning agents who observe effects of a contagious virus, our modelling results are consistent with with 2020 data on mask-wearing in the U.S. and also concur with general observations of cohort induced differences in reactions to public health recommendations. We show how shifting reliance on types of learning affect the course of an outbreak, and could therefore factor into policy-based interventions incorporating age-based cohort differences in response behavior.

Author(s):  
Simon Carrignon ◽  
R. Alexander Bentley ◽  
Matthew Silk ◽  
Nina H. Fefferman

1AbstractOngoing efforts to combat the global pandemic of COVID-19 via public health policy have revealed the critical importance of understanding how individuals understand and react to infection risks. We here present a model to explore how both individual observation and social learning are likely to shape behavioral, and therefore epidemiological, dynamics over time. Efforts to delay and reduce infections can compromise their own success, especially in populations with age-structure in both disease risk and social learning —two critical features of the current COVID-19 crisis. Our results concur with anecdotal observations of age-based differences in reactions to public health recommendations. We show how shifting reliance on types of learning affect the course of an outbreak, and could therefore factor into policy-based interventions.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lu Kong ◽  
Kejia Hu ◽  
Matthew Walsman

This paper examines older adult care services during the outbreak of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Specifically, it investigates emerging developments initiated or augmented by the pandemic and discusses their permanency in a postpandemic world. Primary survey data are collected from both older adult care-providing organizations (supply) and individuals receiving or considering care (demand) in the United States. Qualitative support from various sources supplements the surveys. The results indicate a movement toward deinstitutional care options, which began prepandemic but intensified during the outbreak. Care organizations confirm this development, reporting more occupancy-related concerns. Findings also suggest that telehealth and digital communication tools have substantially expanded. Benefits, issues, and future projections of these trends are discussed, and some suggestions for industry reform are proposed. These results illuminate many actionable ideas for various stakeholders, including older adults, industry practitioners, and policymakers.


Author(s):  
Alexander A. Kaurov ◽  
Vyacheslav Bazhenov ◽  
Mark SubbaRao

The COVID-19 global pandemic unprecedently disturbed the education system in the United States and lead to the closure of all planetariums that were providing immersive science communication. This situation motivates us to examine how accessible the planetarium facilities were before the pandemic. We investigate the most important socioeconomic and geographical factors that affect the planetarium accessibility using the U.S. Census Bureau data and the commute time to the nearest planetarium for each ZIP Code Tabulated Area. We show the magnitude of the effect of permanent closure of a fraction of planetariums. Our study can be informative for strategizing the pandemic response.


2018 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 384-388
Author(s):  
Arch G. Mainous ◽  
Rebecca J. Tanner ◽  
Ara Jo ◽  
Ki Park ◽  
V. Madsen Beau De Rochars

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 251-265
Author(s):  
Christopher C. Liu ◽  
Sameer B. Srivastava
Keyword(s):  

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. 1466-1466
Author(s):  
Lauren O'Connor ◽  
Edwina Wambogo ◽  
Kirsten Herrick ◽  
Jill Reedy

Abstract Objectives Cured animal protein foods are not often differentiated by animal source in dietary data, e.g., cured poultry is commonly grouped with cured red meat. Using the USDA's Food Patterns Equivalents Database (FPED), our objective was to disaggregate the ‘cured meat’ FPED variable into cured red meat (CRM) and cured poultry (CP) to describe mean intakes in the U.S. population. Methods Two researchers independently manually disaggregated the ‘cured meat’ FPED variable into CRM or CP based on food code description, ingredients, and What We Eat in America category. We then developed a SAS program to mimic the manual coding. We estimated consumption prevalence and mean intake of CRM and CP using 1-day dietary recalls for individuals aged 2+ years in NHANES 2011–2016 (n = 23,917). Additionally, we assessed differences by age, sex, self-identified Hispanic origin and race, education, and income (Tukey adjusted P < 0.05). Intakes are reported as mean ± standard error. We used weighted SAS survey commands for all analyses. Results Overall, CRM comprised 73% of total cured meat, 32% of total red meat, and CP comprised 12% of total poultry. Forty-three % of respondents reported CRM, 13% reported CP, and prevalence decreased with age for both. Mean intakes were 0.3 ± 0.01 oz.-eq/1000 kcal for CRM and 0.1 ± 0.01 oz.-eq/1000 kcal for CP, with no linear age trends. Females reported 0.1 ± 0.02 oz.-eq/1000 kcal less CRM than males but similar CP. Non-Hispanic Asians and Hispanics reported less CRM than non-Hispanic whites and blacks. Non-Hispanic Asians reported less CP than Hispanics and both reported less than non-Hispanic whites and blacks. Intakes of CP, but not CRM, were 0.04 ± 0.01 oz.-eq/1000 kcal higher for those with more vs less education. Intakes of CRM or CP did not differ for those above vs below the federal poverty line. Mean intakes were 1.0 ± 0.01 oz.-eq/1000 kcal for total red meat (CRM + ‘meat’ FPED variable) and 1.1 ± 0.02 oz.-eq/1000 kcal for total poultry (CP + ‘poultry’ FPED variable). Conclusions Most cured meat consumed in the U.S. is cured red meat. Both cured red meat and cured poultry are episodically consumed. These newly established FPED-aligned variables can be used to assess chronic disease risk of cured animal protein food consumption with greater specificity. Funding Sources Not applicable.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-19
Author(s):  
Christine Duquette ◽  
Stephanie Morgan

Psychotherapists in private practice provide services to an ever-growing client population. The 2020 novel Corona Virus (COVID-19) pandemic was a catalyst for emerging and exasperated mental health concerns among the U.S. population. The result was an increase in demand for services and private practitioners stepping up to meet this growing need. Little is known about the psychotherapists who embark on independent practice and less is known about the nuances of practicing during a global pandemic. The aim of this review was to exhaust the literature on private practice psychotherapy and the practice of psychotherapy during COVID-19, synthesize the findings, report on themes in the literature, and provide recommendations for future lines of inquiry. Themes from this review included the impact of COVID-19 on public mental health, telemental health, private practice shifts, and private practice careers.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 742-742
Author(s):  
Gashaye M Tefera ◽  
Erin Robinson ◽  
Geunhye Park

Abstract Risk of severe COVID-19 illness increases with age, and older adults are more likely to be hospitalized and die from COVID-19 and related complications as compared to their younger counterparts. This reality, combined with pandemic-related lockdown and social distancing policies, has increased in-home isolation for older adults. This includes cancelling in-person healthcare appointments and conducting many appointments via tele-health. As older adults have had to quickly pivot to learning new technologies, little is known about their experiences with navigating virtual healthcare during the pandemic. Therefore, this qualitative study aims to address that gap. One-on-one interviews (N=29) were conducted with older adults (Mean age=71.5; 86% female) via phone/Zoom. Participants were asked about their healthcare experiences during the pandemic and the role technology played. Interviews were transcribed and thematically analyzed using Nvivo12 software. Findings demonstrate that participants used technology to schedule medical appointments, engage in virtual visits with their providers, set reminders to take medications, and undertake their daily exercise routine. Post-lockdown, some participants preferred in-person visits due to the nature of their diagnosis, personal preference, or unfamiliarity with the needed technology. Older adults encountered challenges including cancelled appointments, miscommunication with providers, and lack of skill to use technologies. Cancellation of appointments and postponement of treatments affected the health of some of the participants. Implications of this research can inform tele-health approaches with older patients, as well as provider communication and coordination of care. Leveraging technology for preventative health approaches can also assist older adults in ongoing health maintenance and promote well-being.


2021 ◽  
pp. 38-42
Author(s):  
Charles Haddad ◽  
Christopher Scuderi ◽  
Judelle Haddad-Lacle ◽  
Reetu Grewal ◽  
Jeffrey Jacqmein ◽  
...  

The world as we knew it changed at the beginning of 2020 with the explosion of the global pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2, a.k.a. COVID-19. As of January 10, 2021, the novel coronavirus has infected over 89 million people worldwide and killed over 1.9 million. In the U.S., there have been 22 million people infected and 373,000 deaths. It has never been more important to protect our vulnerable patients and staff from infectious disease, especially during the time they spend in our offices and clinics. It quickly became apparent that there was a need for a dedicated location where patients could be seen that were too ill to be evaluated via telemedicine, but not ill enough to be sent to the Emergency Department (ED). To fill this need, our primary care network developed the Respiratory Evaluation Clinic (REC) concept. These were two geographical locations where the outlying clinics could send potentially infectious patients to evaluate and test COVID-19. Some recommendations, adaptations, lessons learned and the REC clinics' expansions to other locations throughout our network are discussed.


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