scholarly journals Mapping of Health Literacy and Social Panic Via Web Search Data During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency: Infodemiological Study (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chenjie Xu ◽  
Xinyu Zhang ◽  
Yaogang Wang

BACKGROUND Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a type of pneumonia caused by a novel coronavirus that was discovered in 2019. As of May 6, 2020, 84,407 cases and 4643 deaths have been confirmed in China. The Chinese population has expressed great concern since the COVID-19 outbreak. Meanwhile, an average of 1 billion people per day are using the Baidu search engine to find COVID-19–related health information. OBJECTIVE The aim of this paper is to analyze web search data volumes related to COVID-19 in China. METHODS We conducted an infodemiological study to analyze web search data volumes related to COVID-19. Using Baidu Index data, we assessed the search frequencies of specific search terms in Baidu to describe the impact of COVID-19 on public health, psychology, behaviors, lifestyles, and social policies (from February 11, 2020, to March 17, 2020). RESULTS The search frequency related to COVID-19 has increased significantly since February 11th. Our heat maps demonstrate that citizens in Wuhan, Hubei Province, express more concern about COVID-19 than citizens from other cities since the outbreak first occurred in Wuhan. Wuhan citizens frequently searched for content related to “medical help,” “protective materials,” and “pandemic progress.” Web searches for “return to work” and “go back to school” have increased eight-fold compared to the previous month. Searches for content related to “closed community and remote office” have continued to rise, and searches for “remote office demand” have risen by 663% from the previous quarter. Employees who have returned to work have mainly engaged in the following web searches: “return to work and prevention measures,” “return to work guarantee policy,” and “time to return to work.” Provinces with large, educated populations (eg, Henan, Hebei, and Shandong) have been focusing on “online education” whereas medium-sized cities have been paying more attention to “online medical care.” CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that web search data may reflect changes in health literacy, social panic, and prevention and control policies in response to COVID-19.

10.2196/18831 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (7) ◽  
pp. e18831 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chenjie Xu ◽  
Xinyu Zhang ◽  
Yaogang Wang

Background Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a type of pneumonia caused by a novel coronavirus that was discovered in 2019. As of May 6, 2020, 84,407 cases and 4643 deaths have been confirmed in China. The Chinese population has expressed great concern since the COVID-19 outbreak. Meanwhile, an average of 1 billion people per day are using the Baidu search engine to find COVID-19–related health information. Objective The aim of this paper is to analyze web search data volumes related to COVID-19 in China. Methods We conducted an infodemiological study to analyze web search data volumes related to COVID-19. Using Baidu Index data, we assessed the search frequencies of specific search terms in Baidu to describe the impact of COVID-19 on public health, psychology, behaviors, lifestyles, and social policies (from February 11, 2020, to March 17, 2020). Results The search frequency related to COVID-19 has increased significantly since February 11th. Our heat maps demonstrate that citizens in Wuhan, Hubei Province, express more concern about COVID-19 than citizens from other cities since the outbreak first occurred in Wuhan. Wuhan citizens frequently searched for content related to “medical help,” “protective materials,” and “pandemic progress.” Web searches for “return to work” and “go back to school” have increased eight-fold compared to the previous month. Searches for content related to “closed community and remote office” have continued to rise, and searches for “remote office demand” have risen by 663% from the previous quarter. Employees who have returned to work have mainly engaged in the following web searches: “return to work and prevention measures,” “return to work guarantee policy,” and “time to return to work.” Provinces with large, educated populations (eg, Henan, Hebei, and Shandong) have been focusing on “online education” whereas medium-sized cities have been paying more attention to “online medical care.” Conclusions Our findings suggest that web search data may reflect changes in health literacy, social panic, and prevention and control policies in response to COVID-19.


Work ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Annika Lexén ◽  
Maria Emmelin ◽  
Lars Hansson ◽  
Bengt Svensson ◽  
Susann Porter ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND: Lack of mental health literacy among rehabilitation professionals and employers in the return-to-work of persons with mental health problems resulted in the development of a three-day group training program, the Support to Employers from rehabilitation Actors about Mental health (SEAM) intervention. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of SEAM on rehabilitation professionals’ knowledge and beliefs, attitudes, and supporting behaviors towards people with mental health problems and employers as part of the return-to-work process. METHODS: In this longitudinal study, 94 rehabilitation professionals were included. Data were collected prior to (T1), immediately after (T2) and 6 months after SEAM training (T3) using knowledge and attitude scales and a questionnaire on supporting behaviors. SEAM includes training in Mental Health First Aid, presentations and discussions on current research on work and mental health, and strategies and communication guidelines to use when meeting service users and employers as part of the return-to-work of persons with mental health problems. SEAM also includes a homepage with targeted employer information. Data were analyzed using non-parametric statistics. RESULTS: SEAM significantly increased rehabilitation professionals’ knowledge of mental health (T1-T2: z = –2.037, p = 0.042; T2-T3: z = –5.093, p = 0.001), and improved their attitudes towards persons with mental health problems (T1-T2: z = 4.984, p = 0.001). Professionals (50–60%) also estimated that they had increased their use of supporting strategies towards service users and employers. CONCLUSIONS: The study suggests that SEAM can increase mental health literacy among rehabilitation professionals and lead to a greater focus on service users’ resources and work ability, as well as on employers’ support needs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Heidi Luise Schulte ◽  
José Diego Brito-Sousa ◽  
Marcus Vinicius Guimarães Lacerda ◽  
Luciana Ansaneli Naves ◽  
Eliana Teles de Gois ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Since the novel coronavirus disease outbreak, over 179.7 million people have been infected by SARS-CoV-2 worldwide, including the population living in dengue-endemic regions, particularly Latin America and Southeast Asia, raising concern about the impact of possible co-infections. Methods Thirteen SARS-CoV-2/DENV co-infection cases reported in Midwestern Brazil between April and September of 2020 are described. Information was gathered from hospital medical records regarding the most relevant clinical and laboratory findings, diagnostic process, therapeutic interventions, together with clinician-assessed outcomes and follow-up. Results Of the 13 cases, seven patients presented Acute Undifferentiated Febrile Syndrome and six had pre-existing co-morbidities, such as diabetes, hypertension and hypopituitarism. Two patients were pregnant. The most common symptoms and clinical signs reported at first evaluation were myalgia, fever and dyspnea. In six cases, the initial diagnosis was dengue fever, which delayed the diagnosis of concomitant infections. The most frequently applied therapeutic interventions were antibiotics and analgesics. In total, four patients were hospitalized. None of them were transferred to the intensive care unit or died. Clinical improvement was verified in all patients after a maximum of 21 days. Conclusions The cases reported here highlight the challenges in differential diagnosis and the importance of considering concomitant infections, especially to improve clinical management and possible prevention measures. Failure to consider a SARS-CoV-2/DENV co-infection may impact both individual and community levels, especially in endemic areas.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerardo Chowell ◽  
Sushma Dahal ◽  
Raquel Bono ◽  
Kenji Mizumoto

AbstractTo ensure the safe operation of schools, workplaces, nursing homes, and other businesses during COVID-19 pandemic there is an urgent need to develop cost-effective public health strategies. Here we focus on the cruise industry which was hit early by the COVID-19 pandemic, with more than 40 cruise ships reporting COVID-19 infections. We apply mathematical modeling to assess the impact of testing strategies together with social distancing protocols on the spread of the novel coronavirus during ocean cruises using an individual-level stochastic model of the transmission dynamics of COVID-19. We model the contact network, the potential importation of cases arising during shore excursions, the temporal course of infectivity at the individual level, the effects of social distancing strategies, different testing scenarios characterized by the test’s sensitivity profile, and testing frequency. Our findings indicate that PCR testing at embarkation and daily testing of all individuals aboard, together with increased social distancing and other public health measures, should allow for rapid detection and isolation of COVID-19 infections and dramatically reducing the probability of onboard COVID-19 community spread. In contrast, relying only on PCR testing at embarkation would not be sufficient to avert outbreaks, even when implementing substantial levels of social distancing measures.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 25-37
Author(s):  
Andrew Camilleri ◽  
Samantha Pace Gasan ◽  
Andrew Azzopardi

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared a global health pandemic, due to the spread of a novel coronavirus, later named “Covid-19”. The spread of Covid-19 led to social isolation, distancing and a number of restrictive measures in Malta.  The aim of this paper is to analyse the impact of Covid-19 and the subsequent restrictive measures on persons with disability and their caregivers and families in Malta. Using thematic analysis, the study found that a variety of impacts ranging from a sense of isolation, lack of essential services being provided, additional difficulties encountered at the place of work and education and measures that were not sufficiently tailored for persons with disability issued by public health authorities. Underlying the additional difficulties brought about by Covid-19, structural difficulties to access essential services as well as ignorance from policy makers and politicians and the added “vulnerable-ization” of persons with disabilities were found to be highly impacting factors that pervade the experience of persons with disabilities and their caregivers.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-11
Author(s):  
Brijesh Sathian ◽  
Mohammad Asim ◽  
Ahammed Mekkodathil ◽  
Edwin R. Van Teijlingen ◽  
Supram Hosuru Subramanya ◽  
...  

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, caused by the pathogenic severe acute respiratory syndrome-2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus, is exponentially spreading across the globe. As there is paucity of published literature, the influence of COVID-19 on community health remains unclear. Therefore, we aimed to conduct a systematic review of the literature on the impact of COVID-19 on community health. The current systematic review was performed utilizing electronic databases, i.e., PubMed, MEDLINE, and EMBASE. We searched for the keywords "COVID-19" AND "community health" between January 1, 2020, until May 10, 2020. Although, limited evidence is available regarding quarantine to prevent COVID‐19, most studies considered quarantine as an essential public health measure to minimize rate of infection and mortality. Under these circumstances, people should focus on maintaining personal hygiene, proper nutrition, and extreme social distancing to reduce the risk of COVID-19. Besides, that there is a need to provide professional psychological support to reduce mental ill-health. We have highlighted two different public health approaches in South Asian countries, namely Nepal and India.


2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 2
Author(s):  
Dena Lyras

As we begin 2020, Microbiology is dominating the news with the emergence and rapid dissemination of the novel coronavirus COVID-19. The impact of COVID-19 on public health, with significant financial, logistical and social repercussions, has quickly become apparent. As microbiologists we have an important role to play during this time because we can use our knowledge, expertise and experience to educate the community around us, and to reduce the panic that results from fear and misinformation. It is also critical that we ensure that racial groups are not stigmatised because of an infectious disease. A co-ordinated global effort is required to tackle this new infectious threat, and we are an important local part of this effort. It is also important to develop strategies that can be deployed when the next threat emerges, as it surely will.


2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. S12-S12
Author(s):  
T.C. Russ ◽  
K. Ritchie ◽  
G.M. Terrera ◽  
C.W. Ritchie

Alzheimer's disease has long been considered a neurodegenerative disorder of late life for which there is currently no disease-modifying treatment. This view is now being revised as increasing evidence suggests a long pre-clinical phase extending back into mid-life during which there is exposure to multiple potentially reversible risk factors. Further thought is now being given to the possibility of both early life intervention programs and development of new drug treatments focusing on the pre-dementia period. But how can the impact of such treatments be measured at this early stage since overt dementia may not be diagnosed for decades? In the four talks in this symposium, we will discuss evidence for pre-clinical change, theoretical models which have been used to project the possible impact of risk factor modification in mid-life and their integration into a future public health strategies. The development of new statistical risk models to determine the impact of such prevention measures will be outlined. We will consider the possibilities for drug development targeting the pre-clinical period before presenting the PREVENT Project and EPAD (http://ep-ad.org/), a multi-million euro IMI-Horizon 2020 funded project for the development of pre-clinical proof of concept trials. Titles of the four presentations: 1. Setting the scene: the evidence for pre-clinical change, projections of the impact of intervention, and implications for public health (TCR) 2. New statistical risk models for determining the impact of prevention measures in the pre-dementia period (GMT) 3. The PREVENT Study: a prospective cohort study to identify mid-life biomarkers of late-onset Alzheimer's disease (KR) 4. The European Prevention of Alzheimer's Dementia (EPAD) Project: developing interventions for the secondary prevention of Alzheimer's dementia (CWR)Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan C Moore ◽  
Angela Y Lee ◽  
Jeffrey T Hancock ◽  
Meghan C Halley ◽  
Eleni Linos

BACKGROUND As COVID-19 poses different levels of threat to people of different ages, health communication regarding prevention measures such as social distancing and isolation may be strengthened by understanding the unique experiences of various age groups. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to examine how people of different ages (1) experienced the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and (2) their respective rates and reasons for compliance or noncompliance with social distancing and isolation health guidance. METHODS We fielded a survey on social media early in the pandemic to examine the emotional impact of COVID-19 and individuals’ rates and reasons for noncompliance with public health guidance, using computational and content analytic methods of linguistic analysis. RESULTS A total of 17,287 participants were surveyed. The majority (n=13,183, 76.3%) were from the United States. Younger (18-31 years), middle-aged (32-44 years and 45-64 years), and older (≥65 years) individuals significantly varied in how they described the impact of COVID-19 on their lives, including their emotional experience, self-focused attention, and topical concerns. Younger individuals were more emotionally negative and self-focused, while middle-aged people were other-focused and concerned with family. The oldest and most at-risk group was most concerned with health-related terms but were lower in anxiety (use of fewer anxiety-related terms) and higher in the use of emotionally positive terms than the other less at-risk age groups. While all groups discussed topics such as acquiring essential supplies, they differentially experienced the impact of school closures and limited social interactions. We also found relatively high rates of noncompliance with COVID-19 prevention measures, such as social distancing and self-isolation, with younger people being more likely to be noncompliant than older people (<i>P</i>&lt;.001). Among the 43.1% (n=7456) of respondents who did not fully comply with health orders, people differed substantially in the reasons they gave for noncompliance. The most common reason for noncompliance was not being able to afford to miss work (n=4273, 57.3%). While work obligations proved challenging for participants across ages, younger people struggled more to find adequate space to self-isolate and manage their mental and physical health; middle-aged people had more concerns regarding childcare; and older people perceived themselves as being able to take sufficient precautions. CONCLUSIONS Analysis of natural language can provide insight into rapidly developing public health challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic, uncovering individual differences in emotional experiences and health-related behaviors. In this case, our analyses revealed significant differences between different age groups in feelings about and responses to public health orders aimed to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. To improve public compliance with health orders as the pandemic continues, health communication strategies could be made more effective by being tailored to these age-related differences.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leda Maria Pescinini Salzedas ◽  
Izabela Fornazari Delamura ◽  
Laís Ventura Barroti ◽  
Samyra Yukiko Tazaki Dote ◽  
Gabriela Lopes dos Santos ◽  
...  

Introdução: O novo coronavírus é responsável pela síndrome respiratória aguda grave, causando óbito, em 5 meses de pandemia, de 646 mil indivíduos mundialmente. As principais formas de transmissão identificadas são gotículas de saliva expelidas ao falar e tossir ou pelo contato em uma superfície com secreções salivares, com característica agressiva de contágio e potencial letalidade. Objetivo: Relatar as práticas do serviço radiológico em tempos de pandemia e evidenciar práticas seguras de biossegurança para o Cirurgião-Dentista. Métodos: Para elaboração deste trabalho foram selecionados 13 artigos utilizando a base de dados do Pubmed. Foram utilizados como descritores “Coronavirus Infections”, “Betacoronavirus”, “Dentistry”, “Radiology” e “Containment of Biohazards. Os critérios de inclusão foram artigos publicados em inglês, espanhol e português com os resumos disponíveis, do ano de 2020. Resultados: Os Cirurgiões-Dentistas estão entre os profissionais que mais sofrem risco de contaminação, uma vez que estão expostos a riscos biológicos e contato direto com a saliva, sendo necessário, neste cenário crítico de pandemia do coronavírus, adotar medidas mais eficazes de prevenção e controle de infecção a fim de evitar ou reduzir ao máximo a transmissão deste vírus. Na Radiologia Odontológica, a baixa incidência de aerossóis não exclui a possibilidade de contaminação pelo contato com fluido salivar nas tomadas radiográficas intrabucais, preconizando radiografias extrabucais. Conclusão: A presente revisão de literatura é baseada em relevantes diretrizes e pesquisas, introduzindo conhecimentos essenciais sobre o coronavírus, condutas a serem adotadas em ambiente odontológico e fornece protocolos de orientações recomendadas para dentistas e estudantes.Descritores: Infecções por Coronavirus; Betacoronavirus; Odontologia; Radiologia; Contenção de Riscos Biológicos.ReferênciasOrganização Mundial da Saúde (OMS). Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. 2020. Disponível: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019Zhu HD, Zeng CH, Lu J, Teng GJ. COVID-19: What should interventional radiologists know and what can they do? J Vasc Interv Radiol. 2020; 31(6):876-81.Odeh ND, Babkair H, Abu-Hammad S, Borzangy S, Abu-Hammad A, Abu-Hammad O. COVID-19: present and future challenges for dental practice. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020; 17(9):3151.Conselho Federal de Odontologia (CFO). Manual de Boas Práticas em Biossegurança para Ambientes Odontológicos. 2020. Disponível em: http://website.cfo.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/cfo-lanc%CC%A7a-Manual-de-Boas-Pra%CC%81ticas-em-Biosseguranc%CC%A7a-para-Ambientes-Odontologicos.pdfSalzedas LMP, Oliva AH, Coclete GEG, Coclete GA. Protocolo de biossegurança e gerenciamento de resíduos no ensino de radiologia odontológica da Faculdade de Odontologia de Araçatuba-UNESP. Arch Healt Invest. 2014;3(6):20-27.Peng X, Xu X, Li Y, Cheng L, Zhou X, Ren B. Transmission routes of 2019-nCoV and controls in dental practice. Int J Oral Sci. 2020;12(1):9.Fini MB. What dentists need to know about COVID-19. Oral Oncol. 2020;105:104741.Société Française de Stomatologie, Chirurgie Maxillo-Faciale et Chirurgie Orale (SFSCMFCO). Praticiens de la cavité orale. Recommandations professionnelles. Risques infectieux par le COVID-19. Faire front pour faire face. J Stomatol Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2020;121(2):e3-6.Han P, Ivanovski S. Saliva – friend and foe in the COVID-19 outbreak. Diagnostics (Basel). 2020;10:290.Dziedzic A, Wojtyczka R. The impact of coronavírus infectious disease 19 (COVID-19) on oral health. Oral Dis. 2020;101111Wu R, Wang L, Kuo HCD, Shannar A, Peter P, Chuo PJ, Li S, Hudlikar, Liu X, Liu Z, Poiani, Amorosa L, Brunetti L, Kong AN. An update on current therapeutic drugs treating COVID-19. Curr Pharmacol Rep. 2020;11:1-15.Van Doremalen N, Bushmaker T, Morris DH, Holbrook MG, Gamble A, Williamson BN, Tamin A, Harcourt JL, Thornburg NJ, Gerber SI, Lloyd-Smith JO, Wit E, Munster VJ. Aerosol and surface stability of SARS-CoV-2 as compared with SARS-CoV-1. N Engl J Med. 2020;382(16):1564-67.American Dental Association (ADA). What Constitutes a Dental Emergency? 2020. Disponível: https://success.ada.org/~/media/CPS/Files/Open%20Files/ADA_COVID19_Dental_Emergency_DDS.pdf?_ga=2.253879752.110187285.1584496315-1622146531.1565271894Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Interim Infection Prevention and Control for Patients with Suspected or Confirmed Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Healthcare Settings.  2020. Disponível em: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/dental-settings.htmlPeditto M, Scapellato S, Marcianò A, Costa P, Oteri G. Dentistry during the COVID-19 epidemic: an italian workflow for the management of dental practice. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17(9):3325.Tuñas ITC, Silva ET, Santiago SBS, Maia KD, Silva-Júnior GO. Doença pelo Coronavírus 2019 (COVID-19): Uma abordagem preventiva para Odontologia. Rev Bras Odontol. 2020;77(1):1-6.Salzedas LMP, Oliva AH, Oliveira LQC, Simas MCO, Coclete GA. Biossegurança na clínica de radiologia odontológica. Arch Health Invest. 2014;3(6):6-13.Escola de Educação Permanente do Hospital das Clínicas da USP (HC). COVID-19: dicas e cuidados para enfrentar a pandemia. 2020. 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