Exploring Sub-Saharan Africa’s Communication of COVID-19-Related Health Information on Social Media

Libri ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Toluwase Asubiaro ◽  
Oluwole Badmus ◽  
Uche Ikenyei ◽  
Biliamin Popoola ◽  
Ebelechukwu Igwe
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Health Information ◽  
National Health ◽  
Information Dissemination ◽  
World Health ◽  
Data Types ◽  
African Countries ◽  
The Social ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Health Ministries

Abstract Social media presents a robust stage for disseminating time-sensitive information that is needed during a public health disease of global concern such as COVID-19. This study finds out how the 23 anglophone Sub-Saharan African countries’ national health ministries and infectious disease agencies disseminated COVID-19 related information through their social media accounts within the first three months after the declaration of COVID-19 as a pandemic by the World Health Organization. COVID-19 related qualitative and quantitative data types were collected from the social media accounts of the surveyed national health ministries and agencies for analysis. Over 86% of the African countries had presence on social media; Facebook was the most popular, though Twitter contained more posts. One of the credibility issues that was noticed is that most of the health ministries’ and agencies’ social media accounts were unverified and access to the social media accounts was not provided on most of their official websites. Information dissemination became more deliberate and increased significantly after the announcement of the fist cases of COVID-19 in the countries under review. Awareness creation, updates and news constituted the major categories of information that were disseminated, mostly in the form of derivative social media information before the announcement of the first COVID-19 case in the surveyed African countries. Campaigns against misinformation were barely undertaken by most of the countries. Strategies used by some countries included the employment of social media influencers and creation of content in local languages. Strategies that include development of health information content that targets different groups in African societies and the inclusion of elderly in the community and religious leaders as non-state actors in health information communication were recommended.

scholarly journals Individual, community and societal correlates of insecticide treated net use among pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa: a multi-level analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward Kwabena Ameyaw
Keyword(s):  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
World Health ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Maternal And Newborn Health ◽  
African Countries ◽  
The World ◽  
Itn Use ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Sub Saharan

Abstract Background Malaria in pregnancy is a crucial public health concern due to the enormous risk it poses to maternal and newborn health. The World Health Organisation therefore recommends insecticide-treated net (ITN) for pregnant women. The world over, sub-Saharan Africa bears the highest prevalence of malaria and its associated complications. This study investigated the individual, community and society level factors associated with ITN use among pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods The study was conducted with Demographic and Health Survey data of 21 sub-Saharan African countries. A total of 17,731 pregnant women who possessed ITN participated in the study. Descriptive computation of ITN use by survey country and socio-demographic characteristics was conducted. Further, five multi-level binary logistic regression models were fitted with MLwiN 3.05 package in STATA. The Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) estimation procedure was used in estimating the parameters whilst the Bayesian Deviance Information Criterion was used for the model fitness test. Results On average, 74.2% pregnant women in SSA used ITN. The highest prevalence of ITN use occurred in Mali (83.7%) whilst the least usage occurred in Namibia (7%). Women aged 30–34 were more likely to use ITN compared with those aged 45–49 [aOR = 1.14; Crl = 1.07–1.50]. Poorest women were less probable to use ITN relative to richest women [aOR = 0.79; Crl = 0.70–0.89]. Compared to women who did not want their pregnancies at all, women who wanted their pregnancies [aOR = 1.06; Crl = 1.04–1.19] were more probable to use ITN. Women in male-headed households had higher likelihood of ITN use compared to those from female-headed households [aOR = 1.28; Crl = 1.19–1.39]. On the whole, 38.1% variation in ITN use was attributable to societal level factors whilst 20.9% variation was attributable to community level factors. Conclusion The study has revealed that in addition to individual level factors, community and society level factors affect ITN use in SSA. In as much as the study points towards the need to incorporate community and societal variations in ITN interventions, active involvement of men can yield better outcome for ITN utilisation interventions in SSA.

scholarly journals Analisis Akun Twitter Berpengaruh terkait Covid-19 menggunakan Social Network Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 697-704
Author(s):  
Aprillian Kartino ◽  
M. Khairul Anam ◽  
Rahmaddeni ◽  
Junadhi
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Social Network Analysis ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Information Dissemination ◽  
Interaction Network ◽  
Analysis Method ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
High Degree

Covid-19 is a disease of the virus that is shaking the world and has been designated by WHO as a pandemic. This case of Covid-19 can be a place of dissemination of disinformation that can be utilized by some parties. The dissemination of information in this day and age has turned to the internet, namely social media, Twitter is one of the social media that is often used by Indonesians and the data can be analyzed. This study uses the social network analysis method, conducted to be able to find nodes that affect the ongoing interaction in the interaction network of information dissemination related to Covid-19 in Indonesia and see if the node is directly proportional to the value of its popularity. As well as to know in identifying the source of Covid-19 information, whether dominated by competent Twitter accounts in their fields. The data examined 19,939 nodes and 12,304 edges were taken from data provided by the web academic.droneemprit.id on the project "Analisis Opini Persebaran Virus Corona di Media Sosial", using the period of December 2019 to December 2020 on social media Twitter. The results showed that the @do_ra_dong account is an influential actor with the highest degree centrality of 860 and the @detikcom account is the actor with the highest popularity value of follower rank of 0.994741605. Thus actors who have a high degree of centrality value do not necessarily have a high follower rank value anyway. The study ignores if there are buzzer accounts on Twitter.  

Internet blackouts in Meghalaya: A case of emerging complexities in the digital age

2021 ◽  
pp. 016344372110453
Author(s):  
Alexander Lewis Passah
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Information Dissemination ◽  
Digital Age ◽  
Eastern Region ◽  
The North ◽  
The Social ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
The One ◽  
Technological Affordances ◽  
Media Practices

The paper is rooted in the observations from the two internet blackouts witnessed in Meghalaya in 2018 and 2019. The state is located in the North Eastern region of India and this study focuses on the Khasi population residing in the East Khasi Hills District. The study explores the complex role social media has played in information dissemination in the digital age. India currently leads the world in terms of internet blackouts and it has been imposed 538 times in the country. This phenomenon has become a reoccurring trend over the last few years with the rise in digital communications and technological affordances. The paper addresses the dualistic nature of social media and how it can be empowering on the one hand, and can also be a key contributor to mis(dis)information on the other. The study offers a non-digital centric approach by adopting digital ethnographic methods and offers insights into the social media practices and experiences of the Khasi participants as well as delving into the problematic nature of internet blackouts with respect to Meghalaya. Evidently, social media has become a space in which most individuals carry their identity, aspirations, views, history, and opinions.

scholarly journals A Systematic Review of the Incremental Costs of Implementing a New Vaccine in the Expanded Program of Immunization in Sub-Saharan Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 238146831989454
Author(s):  
Joe Brew ◽  
Christophe Sauboin
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Interquartile Range ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
World Health ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Vaccine Type ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
The Cost

Background. The World Health Organization is planning a pilot introduction of a new malaria vaccine in three sub-Saharan African countries. To inform considerations about including a new vaccine in the vaccination program of those and other countries, estimates from the scientific literature of the incremental costs of doing so are important. Methods. A systematic review of scientific studies reporting the costs of recent vaccine programs in sub-Saharan countries was performed. The focus was to obtain from each study an estimate of the cost per dose of vaccine administered excluding the acquisition cost of the vaccine and wastage. Studies published between 2000 and 2018 and indexed on PubMed could be included and results were standardized to 2015 US dollars (US$). Results. After successive screening of 2119 titles, and 941 abstracts, 58 studies with 80 data points (combinations of country, vaccine type, and vaccination approach–routine v. campaign) were retained. Most studies used the so-called ingredients approach as costing method combining field data collection with documented unit prices per cost item. The categorization of cost items and the extent of detailed reporting varied widely. Across the studies, the mean and median cost per dose administered was US$1.68 and US$0.88 with an interquartile range of US$0.54 to US$2.31. Routine vaccination was more costly than campaigns, with mean cost per dose of US$1.99 and US$0.88, respectively. Conclusion. Across the studies, there was huge variation in the cost per dose delivered, between and within countries, even in studies using consistent data collection tools and analysis methods, and including many health facilities. For planning purposes, the interquartile range of US$0.54 to US$2.31 may be a sufficiently precise estimate.

scholarly journals Review of Data Visualization for Social Media Postings

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4.38) ◽  
pp. 939
Author(s):  
Nur Atiqah Sia Abdullah ◽  
Hamizah Binti Anuar
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Data Visualization ◽  
Line Graph ◽  
Data Types ◽  
Social Media Data ◽  
Data Analyst ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Types Of Information ◽  
Media Data

Facebook and Twitter are the most popular social media platforms among netizen. People are now more aggressive to express their opinions, perceptions, and emotions through social media platforms. These massive data provide great value for the data analyst to understand patterns and emotions related to a certain issue. Mining the data needs techniques and time, therefore data visualization becomes trending in representing these types of information. This paper aims to review data visualization studies that involved data from social media postings. Past literature used node-link diagram, node-link tree, directed graph, line graph, heatmap, and stream graph to represent the data collected from the social media platforms. An analysis by comparing the social media data types, representation, and data visualization techniques is carried out based on the previous studies. This paper critically discussed the comparison and provides a suggestion for the suitability of data visualization based on the type of social media data in hand.      

scholarly journals The Costs of Implementing Vaccination With the RTS,S Malaria Vaccine in Five Sub-Saharan African Countries

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 238146831989628 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisa Sicuri ◽  
Fadima Yaya Bocoum ◽  
Justice Nonvignon ◽  
Sergi Alonso ◽  
Bakar Fakih ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Burkina Faso ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Candidate Vaccine ◽  
World Health ◽  
Future Price ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Fourth Dose ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Expanded Program On Immunization ◽  
Health Organization

Background. The World Health Organization has recommended pilot implementation of a candidate vaccine against malaria (RTS,S/AS01) in selected sub-Saharan African countries. This exploratory study aimed to estimate the costs of implementing RTS,S in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, and Tanzania. Methods. Key informants of the expanded program on immunization at all levels in each country were interviewed on the resources required for implementing RTS,S for routine vaccination. Unit prices were derived from the same sources or from international price lists. Incremental costs in 2015 US dollars were aggregated per fully vaccinated child (FVC). It was assumed the four vaccine doses were either all delivered at health facilities or the fourth dose was delivered in an outreach setting. Results. The costs per FVC ranged from US$25 (Burkina Faso) to US$37 (Kenya) assuming a vaccine price of US$5 per dose. Across countries, recurrent costs represented the largest share dominated by vaccines (including wastage) and supply costs. Non-recurrent costs varied substantially across countries, mainly because of differences in needs for hiring personnel, in wages, in cold-room space, and equipment. Recent vaccine introductions in the countries may have had an impact on resource availability for a new vaccine implementation. Delivering the fourth dose in outreach settings raised the costs, mostly fuel, per FVC by less than US$1 regardless of the country. Conclusions. This study provides relevant information for donors and decision makers about the cost of implementing RTS,S. Variations within and across countries are important and the unknown future price per dose and wastage rate for this candidate vaccine adds substantially to the uncertainty about the actual costs of implementation.

The Changing Nature of Health Information Dissemination through the Role of Social Media

2013 ◽  
Vol 411-414 ◽  
pp. 110-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan Dumbrell ◽  
Robert Steele
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Information Dissemination ◽  
Online Health Information ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Public Health Information ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Health Information Sources

Traditional forms of health information dissemination have previously involved a few key organizations originating health-related information and disseminating this to clinicians and the community. This information was typically disseminated via private, formalized and non-digital interactions between health information sources (HIS) and clinicians and consumers. With the introduction of the Internet, Web-based health information dissemination led to some changes with greater availability of online health information. However the recent adoption and uptake of social media has led to many more parties, both organizations of varying types, and individuals, participating in public health information dissemination; and this has also led to new forms of sharing health-related information, particularly involving a greater role for individuals. In this paper we introduce empirical findings in relation to how organizations and individuals are now using social media for sharing health information, and from this suggest themes to describe the changes from traditional to contemporary health information dissemination, as well as the new emerging roles and forms of interaction for health information dissemination.

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