scholarly journals Collecting Social Media Information in a Substance Use Intervention Trial With Adolescent Girls With Lifetime Substance Use History: Observational Study

10.2196/25405 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (9) ◽  
pp. e25405
Author(s):  
Lili M C Ramos ◽  
Joseline Delgadillo ◽  
Sarah Vélez ◽  
Emily Dauria ◽  
Jamie Salas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Substance Use ◽  
Adolescent Girls ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Developmentally Appropriate ◽  
The United States ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Intervention Trial ◽  
Privacy Concerns ◽  
The Impact

Background Adolescents with juvenile legal system contact face numerous barriers to participation in behavioral health intervention research, including housing disruption, legal privacy concerns, and systems mistrust. Technology, such as social media, may be a novel and developmentally appropriate adolescent research study engagement and retention tool. Objective We examined data on social media information collected for study retention purposes from adolescents participating in a substance use intervention trial. Methods Data were collected as part of a randomized controlled trial determining efficacy of a group-based substance use intervention for girls and young women (12-24 years) with substance use histories referred from legal and school systems in the United States. Baseline demographic and social media information was analyzed from the subset of 114 adolescent girls (mean age 15.7 years; range 13-18 years), of whom 31.6% (36/114) were legally involved, 87.7% (100/114) belonged to minoritized racial/ethnic groups, and 32.5% (37/114) received public assistance. Results Most girls (74/114, 64.9%) provided at least one social media account (Instagram, 95% [70/74]; Facebook, 27% [20/74]; and Twitter, 11% [8/74]) during study enrollment. Legally involved girls were significantly less likely to provide social media information than school-referred girls (44% [16/36] versus 74% [58/78]; χ21 [N=114]=9.68, P=.002). Conclusions Obtaining social media information for study retention purposes from adolescent girls with lifetime substance use appears possible; however, particular subgroups (ie, legally involved girls) may be less likely to provide accounts. Factors shaping legally involved girls’ willingness to provide social media information, including mistrust and privacy concerns, and the impact of researcher’s access to social media information on study retention are critical directions for future research. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02293057; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02293057

scholarly journals Collecting Social Media Information in a Substance Use Intervention Trial With Adolescent Girls With Lifetime Substance Use History: Observational Study (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lili M C Ramos ◽  
Joseline Delgadillo ◽  
Sarah Vélez ◽  
Emily Dauria ◽  
Jamie Salas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Substance Use ◽  
Adolescent Girls ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Developmentally Appropriate ◽  
The United States ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Intervention Trial ◽  
Privacy Concerns ◽  
The Impact

BACKGROUND Adolescents with juvenile legal system contact face numerous barriers to participation in behavioral health intervention research, including housing disruption, legal privacy concerns, and systems mistrust. Technology, such as social media, may be a novel and developmentally appropriate adolescent research study engagement and retention tool. OBJECTIVE We examined data on social media information collected for study retention purposes from adolescents participating in a substance use intervention trial. METHODS Data were collected as part of a randomized controlled trial determining efficacy of a group-based substance use intervention for girls and young women (12-24 years) with substance use histories referred from legal and school systems in the United States. Baseline demographic and social media information was analyzed from the subset of 114 adolescent girls (mean age 15.7 years; range 13-18 years), of whom 31.6% (36/114) were legally involved, 87.7% (100/114) belonged to minoritized racial/ethnic groups, and 32.5% (37/114) received public assistance. RESULTS Most girls (74/114, 64.9%) provided at least one social media account (Instagram, 95% [70/74]; Facebook, 27% [20/74]; and Twitter, 11% [8/74]) during study enrollment. Legally involved girls were significantly less likely to provide social media information than school-referred girls (44% [16/36] versus 74% [58/78]; χ<sup>2</sup><sub>1</sub> [N=114]=9.68, <i>P</i>=.002). CONCLUSIONS Obtaining social media information for study retention purposes from adolescent girls with lifetime substance use appears possible; however, particular subgroups (ie, legally involved girls) may be less likely to provide accounts. Factors shaping legally involved girls’ willingness to provide social media information, including mistrust and privacy concerns, and the impact of researcher’s access to social media information on study retention are critical directions for future research. CLINICALTRIAL ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02293057; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02293057

scholarly journals Ethos, Pathos and Logos: Rhetorical Fixes for an Old Problem: Fake News

10.28945/4154 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
The United States ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Epideictic Rhetoric ◽  
Fox News ◽  
Main Components ◽  
News Recommendation ◽  
Effective Use ◽  
The Impact

Aim/Purpose: The proliferation of fake news through social media threatens to undercut the possibility of ascertaining facts and truth. This paper explores the use of ancient rhetorical tools to identify fake news generally and to see through the misinformation juggernaut of President Donald Trump. Background: The ancient rhetorical appeals described in Aristotle’s Rhetoric—ethos (character of the speaker), pathos (nature of the audience) and logos (message itself)—might be a simple, yet profound fix for the era of fake news. Also known as the rhetorical triangle and used as an aid for effective public speaking by the ancient Greeks, the three appeals can also be utilized for analyzing the main components of discourse. Methodology: Discourse analysis utilizes insights from rhetoric, linguistics, philosophy and anthropology in in order to interpret written and spoken texts. Contribution This paper analyzes Donald Trump’s effective use of Twitter and campaign rallies to create and sustain fake news. Findings: At the point of the writing of this paper, the Washington Post Trump Fact Checker has identified over 10,000 untruths uttered by the president in his first two years of office, for an average of eight untruths per day. In addition, analysis demonstrates that Trump leans heavily on ethos and pathos, almost to the exclusion of logos in his tweets and campaign rallies, making spectacular claims, which seem calculated to arouse emotions and move his base to action. Further, Trump relies heavily on epideictic rhetoric (praising and blaming), excluding forensic (legal) and deliberative rhetoric, which the ancients used for sustained arguments about the past or deliberations about the future of the state. In short, the analysis uncovers how and ostensibly why Trump creates and sustains fake news while claiming that other traditional news outlets, except for FOX news, are the actual purveyors of fake news. Recommendations for Practitioners: Information systems and communication practitioners need to be aware of the ways in which the systems they create and monitor are vulnerable to targeted attacks of the purveyors of fake news. Recommendation for Researchers: Further research on the identification and proliferation of fake news from a variety of disciplines is needed, in order to stem the flow of misinformation and untruths through social media. Impact on Society: The impact of fake news is largely unknown and needs to be better understood, especially during election cycles. Some researchers believe that social media constitute a fifth estate in the United States, challenging the authority of the three branches of government and the traditional press. Future Research: As noted above, further research on the identification and proliferation of fake news from a variety of disciplines is needed, in order to stem the flow of misinformation and untruths through social media.

scholarly journals Testing the effects of Facebook usage in an ethnically polarized setting

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (25) ◽  
pp. e2022819118
Author(s):  
Nejla Asimovic ◽  
Jonathan Nagler ◽  
Richard Bonneau ◽  
Joshua A. Tucker
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Subjective Wellbeing ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Intergroup Dynamics ◽  
Interethnic Relations ◽  
Current Events ◽  
The Impact

Despite the belief that social media is altering intergroup dynamics—bringing people closer or further alienating them from one another—the impact of social media on interethnic attitudes has yet to be rigorously evaluated, especially within areas with tenuous interethnic relations. We report results from a randomized controlled trial in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), exploring the effects of exposure to social media during 1 wk around genocide remembrance in July 2019 on a set of interethnic attitudes of Facebook users. We find evidence that, counter to preregistered expectations, people who deactivated their Facebook profiles report lower regard for ethnic outgroups than those who remained active. Moreover, we present additional evidence suggesting that this effect is likely conditional on the level of ethnic heterogeneity of respondents’ residence. We also extend the analysis to include measures of subjective well-being and knowledge of news. Here, we find that Facebook deactivation leads to suggestive improvements in subjective wellbeing and a decrease in knowledge of current events, replicating results from recent research in the United States in a very different context, thus increasing our confidence in the generalizability of these effects.

scholarly journals Media Exposure and Substance Use Increase during COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (12) ◽  
pp. 6318
Author(s):  
Ofer Amram ◽  
Porismita Borah ◽  
Deepika Kubsad ◽  
Sterling M. McPherson
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Substance Use ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Media Exposure ◽  
The United States ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Cable News ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
The Impact

Background: Lockdown measures because of COVID-19 are likely to result in deteriorating physical and mental health. In this study, our aim was to assess the impact of media exposure on increases in substance use during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A nationally representative online survey of 1264 adults was collected during the pandemic in the United States. Logistic regression was used to explore the association between an increase in substance use since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and exposure to cable news or social media together with COVID-19 knowledge, while controlling for covariates. Results: In the multivariable-adjusted models, participants with the highest exposure to social media (at least daily) and low knowledge of COVID-19 were 9.9 times more likely to experience an increase in substance use since the pandemic began (OR = 9.90, 95% CI = 4.27–23.06). Participants with the highest exposure to cable news and low knowledge of COVID-19 were over 11 times more likely to experience an increase in substance use (OR = 11.64, 95% CI = 4.01–24.45). Conclusion: Based on our findings, we recommend that media organizations should aim to reduce uncertainty and also provide positive coverage to counter the negative information associated with pandemics.

The impact of patient narratives on medical students’ perceptions of shared decision making: A randomized controlled trial

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina Bientzle ◽  
Marie Eggeling ◽  
Simone Korger ◽  
Joachim Kimmerle
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Shared Decision Making ◽  
Medical Training ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Shared Decision ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Information Text ◽  
The Impact

BACKGROUND: Successful shared decision making (SDM) in clinical practice requires that future clinicians learn to appreciate the value of patient participation as early as in their medical training. Narratives, such as patient testimonials, have been successfully used to support patients’ decision-making process. Previous research suggests that narratives may also be used for increasing clinicians’ empathy and responsiveness in medical consultations. However, so far, no studies have investigated the benefits of narratives for conveying the relevance of SDM to medical students.METHODS: In this randomized controlled experiment, N = 167 medical students were put into a scenario where they prepared for medical consultation with a patient having Parkinson disease. After receiving general information, participants read either a narrative patient testimonial or a fact-based information text. We measured their perceptions of SDM, their control preferences (i.e., their priorities as to who should make the decision), and the time they intended to spend for the consultation.RESULTS: Participants in the narrative patient testimonial condition referred more strongly to the patient as the one who should make decisions than participants who read the information text. Participants who read the patient narrative also considered SDM in situations with more than one treatment option to be more important than participants in the information text condition. There were no group differences regarding their control preferences. Participants who read the patient testimonial indicated that they would schedule more time for the consultation.CONCLUSIONS: These findings show that narratives can potentially be useful for imparting the relevance of SDM and patient-centered values to medical students. We discuss possible causes of this effect and implications for training and future research.

OHNS Residency Program and Applicant Social Media Presence During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
pp. 000348942098797
Author(s):  
Shadi Ahmadmehrabi ◽  
Deborah X. Xie ◽  
Bryan K. Ward ◽  
Paul C. Bryson ◽  
Patrick Byrne
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Application Process ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Residency Programs ◽  
Social Media Presence ◽  
Residency Application ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Residency Match

Objectives: In addition to clinical and social disruption, the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected many aspects of the otolaryngology residency application process. With delays in the 2021 Electronic Residency Applications Service (ERAS) timeline, students and programs have had more time to interact prior to the formal application process. This communication will report recent trends in social media presence by OHNS residency programs, and discuss mechanisms to compensate for decreased applicant-program interactions using social media ahead of the 2021 Match. Methods: In a cross-sectional study of the accredited otolaryngology residency programs in the United States, the number of social media profiles on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook from 2009 to 2019 were recorded and compared. Results: Most programs (61%) have at least 1 social media profile. Over the past 10 years, the number of programs on social media has increased. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Twitter and Instagram showed higher rates of growth compared to Facebook. With the reduction of in-person opportunities for interactions, both applicants and programs are utilizing social media to showcase their values and their research. Twitter, in particular, also serves as a platform for professional networking. Conclusion: Both Twitter and Instagram are growing in popularity among programs and applicants to enhance networking. Social media is a powerful tool for networking and may help compensate for limitations imposed on the residency match process by the COVID-19 pandemic while maintaining professionalism considerations. The impact of social media on the 2021 otolaryngology residency match is an evolving phenomenon.

scholarly journals 1414. #Vaccine Twitter Influencers: is it Just About Reach and Followers?

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S714-S715
Author(s):  
Jean-Etienne Poirrier ◽  
Theodore Caputi ◽  
John Ayers ◽  
Mark Dredze ◽  
Sara Poston ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Standard Deviation ◽  
Small Proportion ◽  
The United States ◽  
Research Support ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Media Messages ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background A small number of powerful users (“influencers”) dominates conversations on social media platforms: less than 1% of Twitter accounts have at least 3,000 followers and even fewer have hundreds of thousands or millions of followers. Beyond simple metrics (number of tweets, retweets...) little is known about these “influencers”, particularly in relation to their role in shaping online narratives about vaccines. Our goal was to describe influential Twitter accounts that are driving conversations about vaccines and present new metrics of influence. Methods Using publicly-available data from Twitter, we selected posts from 1-Jan-2016 to 31-Dec-2018 and extracted the top 5% of accounts tweeting about vaccines with the most followers. Using automated classifiers, we determined the location of these accounts, and grouped them into those that primarily tweet pro- versus anti-vaccine content. We further characterized the demographics of these influencer accounts. Results From 25,381 vaccine-related tweets available in our sample representing 10,607 users, 530 accounts represented the top 5% by number of followers. These accounts had on average 1,608,637 followers (standard deviation=5,063,421) and 340,390 median followers. Among the accounts for which sentiment was successfully estimated by the classifier, 10.4% (n=55) posted anti-vaccine content and 33.6% (n=178) posted pro-vaccine content. Of the 55 anti-vaccine accounts, 50% (n=18) of the accounts for which location was successfully determined were from the United States. Of the 178 pro-vaccine accounts, 42.5% (n=54) were from the United States. Conclusion This study showed that only a small proportion of Twitter accounts (A) post about vaccines and (B) have a high follower count and post anti-vaccine content. Further analysis of these users may help researchers and policy makers better understand how to amplify the impact of pro-vaccine social media messages. Disclosures Jean-Etienne Poirrier, PhD, MBA, The GSK group of companies (Employee, Shareholder) Theodore Caputi, PhD, Good Analytics Inc. (Consultant) John Ayers, PhD, GSK (Grant/Research Support) Mark Dredze, PhD, Bloomberg LP (Consultant)Good Analytics (Consultant) Sara Poston, PharmD, The GlaxoSmithKline group of companies (Employee, Shareholder) Cosmina Hogea, PhD, GlaxoSmithKline (Employee, Shareholder)

Understanding the Experiences of Anger in the Onset and Progression of Psoriasis: A Qualitative Study Using Social Media (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivia Hughes ◽  
Rachael Hunter
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Psychosocial Interventions ◽  
Skin Condition ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Chronic Skin ◽  
Skin Conditions ◽  
The Impact

BACKGROUND Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin condition, which can be affected by stress. Living with psoriasis can trigger negative emotions, which may influence quality of life. OBJECTIVE This study explored the experiences of people with psoriasis with attention to the potential role of anger in the onset and progression of the chronic skin condition. METHODS Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with twelve participants (n=5 females, n=7 males) recruited online from an advert on a patient charity’s social media platforms. Data were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. RESULTS Four key themes were identified: (1) ‘I get really angry with the whole situation:’ anger at the self and others, (2) the impact of anger on psoriasis: angry skin, (3) shared experiences of distress, and (4) moving past anger to affirmation. CONCLUSIONS Findings suggest that anger can have a perceived impact on psoriasis through contributing to sensory symptoms and unhelpful coping cycles and point to a need for enhanced treatment with more psychological support. The findings also highlight the continued stigma which exists for people living with skin conditions and how this may contribute to, and sustain, anger for those individuals. Future research could usefully focus on developing targeted psychosocial interventions to promote healthy emotional coping with psoriasis.

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Professional Development for Interdisciplinary Civic Education: Impacts on Humanities Teachers and Their Students

2015 ◽  
Vol 117 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-52
Author(s):  
Dennis J. Barr ◽  
Beth Boulay ◽  
Robert L. Selman ◽  
Rachel Mccormick ◽  
Ethan Lowenstein ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Randomized Controlled Trial ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
The United States ◽  
Performance Measure ◽  
Civic Learning ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
10Th Grade ◽  
The Impact

Background/Context Billions of dollars are spent annually on professional development (PD) for educators, yet few randomized controlled trials (RCT) have demonstrated the ultimate impact PD has on student learning. Further, while policymakers and others speak to the role schools should play in developing students’ civic awareness, RCTs of PD designed to foster civic learning are rare. This randomized controlled trial contributes to the knowledge base on the effectiveness of PD designed to integrate civic learning, ethical reflection, and historical thinking skills into high school humanities courses. Focus of Study The study examined the impact of a PD intervention in two areas: (a) teacher self-efficacy, burnout, and professional engagement and satisfaction; and (b) the academic, civic, social, and ethical competencies of 9th and 10th grade students in the teachers’ classes. Population/Participants/Subjects The study involved 113 teachers and 1,371 9th and 10th grade students in 60 high schools from eight metropolitan regions in the United States. Intervention/Program/Practice The intervention, Facing History and Ourselves, provides PD through a five-day seminar, curricular materials, and follow-up coaching and workshops to help teachers develop their capacities to implement an interdisciplinary historical case study unit using student-centered pedagogy. Research Design The study used a school-level, randomized, experimental design to investigate impacts of the intervention for teachers and their 9th and 10th grade students. Findings/Results Intervention teachers showed significantly greater self-efficacy in all eight assessed domains, more positive perceptions of professional support, satisfaction and growth, and greater personal accomplishment. Intervention students demonstrated stronger skills for analyzing evidence, agency, and cause and effect on a historical understanding performance measure; greater self-reported civic efficacy and tolerance for others with different views; and more positive perceptions of the classroom climate and the opportunities afforded for engaging with civic matters. Fidelity analysis found these causal effects despite the fact that roughly half of the intervention teachers did not fully implement the program. Conclusions/Recommendations Educators need evidence-based approaches for teaching complex social, civic, and political issues enabling students of diverse mindsets and backgrounds to engage constructively with one another while obtaining necessary skills and knowledge. These findings provide empirical support for a professional development approach that engages teachers in fostering academic and civic competencies critical to both participation in a democracy and success in college and career.

scholarly journals Training Preservice Mental Health Counselors for Suicide Assessment: A Multiple Baseline Study

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teal Bohrer ◽  
Cass Dykeman
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Suicidal Ideation ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Multiple Baseline ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Probe Design ◽  
Mental Health Clinicians ◽  
Suicide Assessment ◽  
The Impact

Rates of death by suicide continue to increase across the United States. Mental health clinicians often have contact with individuals expressing suicidal ideation, but research suggests clinicians may not be appropriately prepared to assess a client’s suicide risk. Numerous models and theories explain and assess suicidal ideation. In 2009, Thomas Joiner and his colleagues proposed the interpersonal-psychological theory of suicide (IPT), which focused on three main factors strongly supported by research over the preceding decade. The present study utilized a nonconcurrent, multiple-baseline, multiple-probe design as well as a one-group pretest–posttest design to examine the impact of an IPT-based training model. Participants were preservice mental health clinicians currently enrolled in Master’s degree programs. Participants completed assessments on IPT knowledge and suicide-assessment self-efficacy, and results from this study indicated a significant increase in knowledge after completion of the training, as well as a slight decrease in self-efficacy. This study suggests that suicide-assessment training, even when done remotely, can increase suicide-assessment knowledge. Future research should explore preservice mental health clinicians’ self-efficacy as well as those factors influencing the confidence these professionals feel in their assessments of risk.

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