scholarly journals Understanding Vaccine Hesitancy as Extended Attitudes

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (20) ◽  
pp. 43-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simona Vulpe
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Economic Capital ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Structural Constraints ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Theoretical Understanding ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Complete Rejection

AbstractVaccine hesitancy is not a singular view but encompasses a set of positions located between complete acceptance of vaccination and complete rejection of vaccination. In this paper, I argue that vaccine-hesitant attitudes emerge at the intersection of individual and structural processes, and thus can be better conceptualized as “extended attitudes”. Drawing on the theoretical understanding of risk and science scepticism in post-modern societies, I consider hesitant attitudes towards vaccination as addressing risks that are induced in our everyday lives by science developments. I conducted K-Means Cluster Analysis on Eurobarometer data from 2019 regarding Europeans’ attitudes towards vaccination. Four clusters of vaccine-hesitant attitudes were identified. “Price hesitation” and “Effort hesitation” result from restricted access to vaccination because of structural constraints, such as low economic capital and health care system’ deficits. “Unexercised pro-vaccination” is an attitude manifested by people who grant authority to science to manage health-related risks, even though they did not vaccinate in the last five years. “Consistent anti-vaccination” pertains to highly reflexive individuals who dismiss experts’ authority because of scientifically derived risks. My analysis enhances the theoretical understanding and the empirical assessment of vaccine-hesitant attitudes in the European Union and can inform public health policies in this area.

scholarly journals Health Equity Lens Embedded in the Public Health Policies of Saudi Arabia: A Qualitative Document Analysis

SAGE Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 215824402096277
Author(s):  
Leena Eklund Karlsson ◽  
Anne Leena Ikonen ◽  
Kothar Mohammed Alqahtani ◽  
Pernille Tanggaard Andersen ◽  
Subash Thapa
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Health Equity ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
Future Health ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
The People ◽  
The Social ◽  
Health Related

In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), no studies have been documented to analyze the equity aspects of public health policies. The aims of the study were to identify policy documents in the KSA relevant to public health and to explore whether these include an equity approach. Twenty health-related documents were identified from various ministries’ websites and analyzed through directed content analysis. The results showed that the term “equity” was neither defined nor explained in the documents and suggestions on how to tackle health inequities were lacking. None of the suggested measures communicated an explicit focus on promoting health equity or the social gradient. Several upstream, midstream, and downstream measures were suggested to improve justice and public health for the people. The study reveals that there is a need for an in-depth assessment of the policy measures across sectors and their influence on health equity to inform future health policy development and action in the KSA.

scholarly journals The Impacts of Temporary and Permanent Public Health Policies on HRQOL in a Small Open Economy

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (17) ◽  
pp. 9866
Author(s):  
Yasuhiro Nakamoto ◽  
Taketo Kawagishi
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Open Economy ◽  
Public Investment ◽  
Small Open Economy ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Related Quality ◽  
Health Related ◽  
The Government

Considering that people can invest in their health-related quality of life (HRQOL), we investigate the effects of public health policies (i.e., a health investment subsidy policy and the direct distribution of health-related goods) on HRQOL in a small open economy. We find that when the government makes public investment in HRQOL temporarily, HRQOL deteriorates or does not improve at least. On the contrary, when public investment is enforced permanently, it improves in the long run.

Morality in the echo chamber: The relationship between belief in conspiracy theories, morality and support for COVID-19 public health policies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theofilos Gkinopoulos ◽  
Christian T. Elbaek ◽  
Panagiotis Mitkidis
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Cognitive Biases ◽  
Political Support ◽  
Policy Support ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Conspiracy Beliefs

Beliefs in conspiracy theories are a major problem, especially in the face of a pandemic, as these constitute a significant obstacle to public health policies, like the use of masks and vaccination. Indeed, during the COVID-19 pandemic, several ungrounded explanations regarding the origin of the virus or the effects of vaccinations have been rising, leading to vaccination hesitancy or refusal which poses as a threat to public health. Recent studies have shown that in the core of conspiracy theories lies a moral evaluation component; one that triggers a moral reasoning which reinforces the conspiracy itself. To gain a better understanding of how conspiracy beliefs about COVID-19 affect public health containment behaviours and policy support, we analysed comprehensive data from the International Collaboration on the Social & Moral Psychology (ICSMP) of COVID-19, consisting of more than 50.000 participants across 67 countries. We particularly explored the mediating role of two levels of morality: individual and group-based morality. Results show that believing in conspiracy theories reduces adoption of containment health-related behaviors and political support of public health measures and that this relationship is mediated by the two levels of morality. This means that beliefs in conspiracy theories do not simply constitute antecedents of cognitive biases or failures, nor maladaptive behaviors based on personality traits, but are morally infused and should be dealt as such. Based on our findings, we further discuss the psychological, moral, and political implications of endorsement of conspiracy theories in the era of the pandemic.

scholarly journals The Role of a Medicalized Discourse in the Global Activities of the World Health Organization

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 173-191
Author(s):  
Marta Hoffmann
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
European Union ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
World Health ◽  
Tobacco Policy ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization

This article presents selected results of a research project entitled Medicalization strategies of the World Health Organization1 in which the author analyzed and described three WHO policies characterized by a medicalizing approach. These three policies were compared with each other in terms of their conceptual (narrative) and institutional (practical) levels of medicalization and their effects. In order to better understand the role of a medicalized discourse in the global activities of the WHO, these three cases were also compared to one non-medicalizing policy. The aim of this article is twofold: firstly, to present two cases analyzed as part of the project, namely, the tobacco policy (a ‘medicalized’ one) and the ageing policy (a ‘non-medicalized’ one) and secondly, to consider the possible influence of WHO discourse on tobacco and ageing on public health policies in the European Union.

Public Health Policies in the European Union

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter Holland ◽  
Elias Mossialos ◽  
Bernard Merkel
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
European Union ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Public Health Policies

scholarly journals The financial burden of non-communicable diseases in the European Union: a systematic review

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 833-839 ◽  
Author(s):  
Désirée Vandenberghe ◽  
Johan Albrecht
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Health Care ◽  
European Union ◽  
Communicable Diseases ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Non Communicable Diseases ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
The Eu

Abstract Background Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) impose a significant and growing burden on the health care system and overall economy of developed (and developing) countries. Nevertheless, an up-to-date assessment of this cost for the European Union (EU) is missing from the literature. Such an analysis could however have an important impact by motivating policymakers and by informing effective public health policies. Methods Following the PRISMA protocol, we conduct a systematic review of electronic databases (PubMed/Medline, Embase, Web of Science Core Collection) and collect scientific articles that assess the direct (health care-related) and indirect (economic) costs of four major NCDs (cardiovascular disease, cancer, type-2 diabetes mellitus and chronic respiratory disease) in the EU, between 2008 and 2018. Data quality was assessed through the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale. Results We find 28 studies that match our criteria for further analysis. From our review, we conclude that the four major NCDs in the EU claim a significant share of the total health care budget (at least 25% of health spending) and they impose an important economic loss (almost 2% of gross domestic product). Conclusion The NCD burden forms a public health risk with a high financial impact; it puts significant pressure on current health care and economic systems, as shown by our analysis. We identify a further need for cost analyses of NCDs, in particular on the impact of comorbidities and other complications. Aside from cost estimations, future research should focus on assessing the mix of public health policies that will be most effective in tackling the NCD burden.

scholarly journals COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in the LGBTQ+ Population: A Systematic Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 872-887
Author(s):  
Ishan Garg ◽  
Hamza Hanif ◽  
Nismat Javed ◽  
Ramsha Abbas ◽  
Samir Mirza ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Common Factors ◽  
Vaccine Safety ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
Building Trust ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
History Of

The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has disproportionately impacted lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ+) people. Despite developing safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines, LGBTQ+ communities still faces challenges due to inequitable access and vaccine hesitancy. Vaccine hesitancy is a delay in the acceptance or refusal of vaccines despite the availability of vaccination services. Various studies have explored and tried to address factors influencing vaccine hesitancy. However, the LGBTQ+ population remains under- and misrepresented in many of these studies. According to the few studies that have focused on the LGBTQ+ population, several factors influencing vaccine hesitancy have been identified, with the most common factors in studies being concern about vaccine safety, vaccine efficacy, and history of bad experiences with healthcare providers. In order to rebuild the confidence of LGBTQ+ people in vaccines, governments, healthcare policymakers, and healthcare providers need to start by acknowledging, and then resolving, these disparities; building trust; dismantling systemic suppression and discrimination; and prioritizing the inclusion of LGBTQ+ people in research studies and public health policies.

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