Evaluating Voice Assistants Responses in Portuguese for COVID-19 Vaccination (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Maurício Seródio Figueiredo ◽  
Tiago Eugenio de Melo ◽  
Raphaela Goes
Keyword(s):  
Health Information ◽  
English Language ◽  
Foreign Languages ◽  
World Health ◽  
Quality Analysis ◽  
Additional Contribution ◽  
Information Tools ◽  
Overall Performance ◽  
Health Organization

BACKGROUND Voice Assistants (VAs) are devices that respond to human voices and can be commanded to do a variety of tasks. Nowadays, VAs are being used to obtain health information, which has become a critical point of analysis for researchers in terms of question understanding and quality of response. Particularly, the COVID-19 pandemic has and still is severely affecting people worldwide, which demands studies on how VAs can be used as a tool to provide useful information. OBJECTIVE This work aims to perform a quality analysis of different VAs’ responses regarding the actual and important subject of COVID-19 vaccines. We focus on this important subject since vaccines are now available, and the society urges to rapidly immunize the population. METHODS The proposed study is based on questions that were collected from the official World Health Organization website. These questions were submitted to the five dominant VAs (Alexa, Bixby, Cortana, Google Assistant and Siri), and responses were evaluated according to a rubric based on literature. We focus this study in Portuguese language as an additional contribution, since previous work are mainly focused in the English language, and we believe that VAs cannot be optimized to foreign languages. RESULTS Results show that Google Assistant has a better overall performance, and only this VA and Samsung Bixby achieved high scores on question understanding in the Portuguese language. Regarding the obtained answers, the study also shows the best Google Assistant overall performance. CONCLUSIONS Under the urgent context of COVID-19 vaccination, this work can help to understand how VAs must be improved to be more useful to the society and how careful people must be when considering VAs as a source of health information. Although VAs show to perform well regarding comprehension and user-friendness, this work proves that they must be better integrated to information sources to be useful as health information tools.

Quality of media reporting following a celebrity suicide in India

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vikas Menon ◽  
Sujita Kumar Kar ◽  
Natarajan Varadharajan ◽  
Charanya Kaliamoorthy ◽  
Jigyansa Ipsita Pattnaik ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Data Extraction ◽  
Online News ◽  
Warning Signs ◽  
World Health ◽  
Media Reporting ◽  
Local Language ◽  
Celebrity Suicide ◽  
Health Organization

Abstract Background Celebrity suicides have the potential to trigger suicide contagion, particularly when media reporting is detailed and imbalanced. We aimed to assess the quality of media reporting of suicide of a popular Indian entertainment celebrity against the World Health Organization (WHO) suicide reporting guidelines. Methods Relevant news articles that reported the actor’s suicide were retrieved from online news portals of regional and English language newspapers and television channels in the immediate week following the event. Deductive content analysis of these articles was done using a pre-designed data extraction form. Results A total of 573 news articles were analyzed. Several breaches of reporting were noted in relation to mentioning the word ‘celebrity’ in the title of report (14.7%), inclusion of the deceased’s photograph (88.5%), detailed descriptions of the method (50.4%) and location of suicide (70.6%); local language newspapers were more culpable than English newspapers. Helpful reporting characteristics such as mentioning warning signs (4.1%), including educational information (2.7%) and suicide support line details (14.0%) were rarely practiced. Conclusion Media reporting of celebrity suicide in India is imbalanced and poorly adherent to suicide reporting recommendations. Local language news reports display more frequent and serious violations in reporting as opposed to English news articles.

scholarly journals Frequency of four-dimensional oral health problems across dental fields – A comparative survey of Slovenian and international dentists

2021 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 210-220
Author(s):  
Stella Sekulić ◽  
Mike T. John ◽  
Katrin Bekes ◽  
Mohammad H. Al-Harthy ◽  
Ambra Michelotti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oral Health ◽  
English Language ◽  
Sampling Strategy ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
World Health ◽  
Electronic Survey ◽  
Related Quality ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Health Organization

Abstract Objectives To compare the frequency of patients’ oral health problems and prevention needs among Slovenian and international dentists with the aim to validate the four oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) dimensions across six clinical dental fields in all World Health Organization (WHO) regions. Methods An anonymous electronic survey in the English language was designed using Qualtrics software. A probability sampling for Slovenia and a convenience sampling strategy for dentist recruitment was applied for 31 countries. Dentists engaged in six dental fields were asked to categorize their patients’ oral health problems and prevention needs into the four OHRQoL dimensions (Oral Function, Orofacial Pain, Orofacial Appearance, and Psychosocial Impact). Proportions of patients’ problems and prevention needs were calculated together with the significance of Slovenian and international dentists’ differences based on dental fields and WHO regions. Results Dentists (n=1,580) from 32 countries completed the survey. There were 223 Slovenian dentists (females: 68%) with a mean age (SD) of 41 (10.6) years and 1,358 international dentists (females: 51%) with a mean age (SD) of 38 (10.4). Pain-related problems and prevention needs were the most prevalent among all six dental fields reported by dentists; Slovenian (37%) and 31 countries (45%). According to Cohen, differences between Slovenia, the broader European Region, and 31 countries were considered non-significant (<0.1). Conclusion According to the dentists’ responses, the frequency of patients’ oral health problems and prevention needs are proportionate between Slovenia and 31 countries, regionally and globally. The four OHRQoL dimensions can be considered universal across all dental fields.

Quality of media reporting of suicide in Iraq

2021 ◽  
pp. 002076402110039
Author(s):  
S M Yasir Arafat ◽  
Araz Ramazan Ahmad ◽  
Ayoob Kareem Saeed ◽  
Vikas Menon ◽  
Sheikh Shoib ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Suicidal Behavior ◽  
English Language ◽  
World Health ◽  
Search Term ◽  
Prevention Strategies ◽  
News Reporting ◽  
News Reports ◽  
Arabic And English ◽  
Health Organization

Background: Mass media has an important role in influencing the suicidal behavior of the general population. However, the quality of news reporting of suicide has not been assessed in Iraq. Aim: We aimed to assess the quality of news reports in Iraq while reporting the suicidal behaviors. Methods: The search was done on Google in November and December 2020 with the search term ‘suicide news in Iraq’ and accessible news reports distributed in Kurdish, Arabic, and English languages were taken out. We scrutinized the news reports to identify the reporting characteristics and compared them with the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. Results: A total of 130 news reports were analyzed; among them 23.8% were Kurdish, 63.8% were Arabic, and 12.3% were in the English language. About 31.5% of the reports mentioned the name and 40.8% mentioned the occupation. The name of method was mentioned in 88.5%, mono-causality was found in about 34.6%, the term ‘suicide’ was mentioned in the headline in 94.6%, and method of suicide was mentioned in the headline of about 27.7% of the reports. Only 5.4% of the reports traced mental illness, 6.9% mentioned expert opinion, and none of the reports mentioned prevention program, and educative information. Conclusion: The study revealed that news reports of suicidal behavior in Iraq are poorly adherent to the WHO reporting guidelines. Further studies are warranted to identify the responsible factors and culture-specific prevention strategies.

scholarly journals Groundwater Quality Analysis for Human Consumption: A Case Study of Sukkur City, Pakistan

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 2616-2620 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. N. Laghari ◽  
Z. A. Siyal ◽  
D. K. Bangwar ◽  
M. A. Soomro ◽  
G. D. Walasai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Underground Water ◽  
World Health ◽  
Quality Analysis ◽  
Human Consumption ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Sodium Magnesium ◽  
Safe Limits ◽  
Health Organization

Drinking water quantity and quality is of the utmost importance. If the drinking water gets contaminated, it can result in severe health problems. For example, the continuous consumption of drinking water containing more than permissible amounts of fluoride can lead to bone deterioration and increased risk of bone fracture [1]. The present study was carried out to check the quality of underground water of Sukkur city. The analyzed parameters were fluoride, sodium, magnesium, calcium, potassium, iron, arsenic, TDS, pH, conductivity, odor, color and taste. World Health Organization (WHO) standards were followed in present study. Underground water samples were collected from 20 different populated locations of Sukkur city. Only arsenic, pH, iron and potassium were found to be within health safe limits while the rest of the parameters exceeded the permissible standards set out by WHO. The TDS, sodium, fluoride and magnesium were over the limits at some locations.

Alexithyme Patientenmerkmale und Lebensqualität – Eine Querschnittsstudie an 79 ambulanten Patienten mit Angststörungen

2013 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrin Leenen ◽  
Michael Rufer ◽  
Hanspeter Moergeli ◽  
Hans-Jörgen Grabe ◽  
Josef Jenewein ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
World Health ◽  
Life Questionnaire ◽  
World Health Organization Quality ◽  
Fand Sich ◽  
Quality Of Life Questionnaire ◽  
Organization Quality ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Tas 20

Aus Untersuchungen in der Normalbevölkerung ist bekannt, dass Menschen mit erhöhten Alexithymiewerten eine verminderte Lebensqualität (LQ) aufweisen. Für Patienten mit psychischen Störungen wurde dieser Zusammenhang jedoch kaum untersucht. Ziel dieser Studie war es, den möglichen Zusammenhang zwischen alexithymen Patientenmerkmalen und der LQ bei Patienten mit Angststörungen zu überprüfen. Bei 79 ambulanten Patienten mit Angststörungen wurden alexithyme Charakteristika mit der Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), die LQ mit der Kurzversion des World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire 100 (WHOQOL-BREF) erfasst. Darüber hinaus fand eine Erhebung der psychischen Symptombelastung (SCL-90-R) und depressiven Symptomatik (MADRS) statt. Mittels hierarchischer Regressionsanalysen wurde der Zusammenhang zwischen der alexithymen Charakteristika und den unterschiedlichen LQ-Domänen berechnet. Die Patienten zeigten eine im Vergleich zur Normalbevölkerung deutlich verminderte LQ. Als Hauptergebnis fand sich, auch nach Kontrolle von Depression, Ängstlichkeit und Geschlecht, ein signifikanter Zusammenhang zwischen den beiden TAS-20 Subskalen Schwierigkeiten, Gefühle zu identifizieren und zu beschreiben und vor allem der psychischen LQ. Unsere Ergebnisse sprechen dafür, bei der Diagnostik und Therapieplanung von Patienten mit Angststörungen alexithyme Merkmale einzubeziehen. Im Falle von ausgeprägten alexithymen Merkmalen sollten psychotherapeutische Interventionen zur Verbesserung der Schwierigkeiten Gefühle wahrzunehmen und zu kommunizieren in Betracht gezogen werden.

Flouride and Nitrate Status of Some Ground Waters in Chittor District of Rajasthan State (India)

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (9) ◽  
pp. 119
Author(s):  
Trapti Sharma ◽  
R. P. Nagar ◽  
R. C. Gaur ◽  
Pooja Gupta ◽  
Charanjit Kaur
Keyword(s):  
Point Of View ◽  
World Health ◽  
Indian Council ◽  
Standard Methods ◽  
Ground Waters ◽  
Drinking Waters ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Research World ◽  
Drinking Purpose

In Rajasthan state the ground waters of some areas like Ramganj-mandi, Morak, Barmer, Jaisalmer, Chittor and Udaipur etc. are susceptible from drinking point of view.To test the quality of groundwater in Chittor district 14, ground water samples were collected from various places and analyzed for pH, E.C., Fluoride and Nitrate parameters by standard methods (A.P.H. A., Washington, USA, 1995). The study revealed that none of the ground waters was found suitable completely from drinking point of view. Some are having electrical conductivity > 1.4 dS/m, some are having pH >8.5, some area having fluoride >1.5 ppm and some are having nitrate>45 ppm. These are the limits of various parameters permitted by various International authorities like Bureau of Indian Standard, Indian Council of Medical Research,world health Organization etc. for drinking waters. So, it is recommended to the residents of above areas to use water for drinking purpose only after reverse osmosis or adopting suitable method of removing excess of Fluoride and Nitrate for drinking water to avoid unwanted pathogenic diseases harmful for human health.

scholarly journals Quality of life in patients with narcolepsy: a WHOQOL-bref study

2008 ◽  
Vol 66 (2a) ◽  
pp. 163-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heloísa Rovere ◽  
Sueli Rossini ◽  
Rubens Reimão
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Patient Group ◽  
World Health ◽  
Control Group ◽  
World Health Organization Quality ◽  
Severe Impairment ◽  
Perception Of Quality ◽  
Social Domains ◽  
Health Organization

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the perception of Quality of Life (QL) in Brazilian patients with narcolepsy. METHOD: 40 adult patients aged between 20 and 72 years (mean=41.55; SD=14.50); (28 F; 12M), with the diagnosis of chronic narcolepsy were followed up at the outpatient clinic (Patient Group). The Control Group was composed of 40 adults. The instrument utilized was the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF). RESULTS: The two groups were homogeneous and no difference was found with regards to age, sex, and demographic characteristics. The perception of QL in physical, psychological and social domains showed lower scores in those patients with narcolepsy than in the control group (p<0.05). Concerning physical domain, all the aspects evaluated were significantly impaired, in patient group, including sleep satisfaction (p<0.001); energy for daily activities (p=0.039); capacity to perform activities (p=0.001); and capacity to work (p=0.001). CONCLUSION: The perception of QL showed severe impairment in patients with narcolepsy for physical, psychological and social domains.

The study of Iranian children and adolescents’ physical activity: a systematic review and meta-analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adel Alizadeh ◽  
Reza Negarandeh ◽  
Fahimehe Bagheri Amiri ◽  
Zahra Yazdani
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
World Health ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
The Status ◽  
Newcastle Ottawa Scale ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Iranian Children

Abstract Objectives This systematic and meta-analysis review was conducted to determine the status of Iranian children and adolescents’ physical activity. Content All the related articles which were published in the major databases, including Pubmed, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, Magiran, SID from the beginning of 2010 to the end of 2019, were reviewed by researchers. The Newcastle-Ottawa scale was also used to evaluate the quality of articles. Moreover, I 2 index and chi-square were used to assess the heterogeneity between the results. Summary 490 articles were found as a result of the search in the selected international and local databases, where finally, 10 articles were included into the meta-analysis after the elimination of the duplicated articles and applying inclusion and exclusion criteria. The results indicated that 29.5% of the girls were considered active according to WHO criteria (16.1–42.8: 95% CI) and also 20.5% of the boys (7.3–33.7: 95% CI). Outlook Overall, this study’s findings showed that a large percentage of Iranian children and adolescents do not achieve the level of physical activity recommended by the World Health Organization. This can lead to undesirable consequences for this group of population that is considered as the human capital of any country; consequently, it seems necessary to take basic measures at the micro and macro levels in order to reduce such problems in the society.

scholarly journals Psychometric validation of the Chinese version of the PaArticular Scales among elderly residents in long-term care facilities with joint contractures

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi-chang Chen ◽  
Keh-chung Lin ◽  
Chen-Jung Chen ◽  
Shu-Hui Yeh ◽  
Ay-Woan Pan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
World Health Organization ◽  
Long Term Care ◽  
Chinese Version ◽  
World Health ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Joint Contractures ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization

Abstract Background Joint contractures, which affect activity, participation, and quality of life, are common complications of neurological conditions among elderly residents in long-term care facilities. This study examined the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the PaArticular Scales in a population with joint contractures. Methods A cross-sectional study design was used. The sample included elderly residents older than 64 years with joint contractures in an important joint who had lived at one of 12 long-term care facilities in Taiwan for more than 6 months (N = 243). The Chinese version of the PaArticular Scales for joint contractures was generated from the English version through five stages: translation, review, back-translation, review by a panel of specialists, and a pretest. Test-retest reliability, internal consistency reliability, construct validity, and criterion validity were evaluated, and the results were compared with those for the World Health Organization Quality of Life scale and the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule. Results The Chinese version of the PaArticular Scales had excellent reliability, with a Cronbach α coefficient of 0.975 (mean score, 28.98; standard deviation, 17.34). An exploratory factor analysis showed three factors and one factor with an eigenvalue > 1 that explained 75.176 and 62.83 % of the total variance in the Activity subscale and Participation subscale, respectively. The subscale-to-total scale correlation analysis showed Pearson correlation coefficients of 0.881 for the Activity subscale and 0.843 for the Participation subscale. Pearson’s product-moment correlation revealed that the correlation coefficient (r) between the Chinese version of the PaArticular Scales and the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule was 0.770, whereas that for the World Health Organization Quality of Life scale was − 0.553; these values were interpreted as large coefficients. Conclusions The underlying theoretical model of the Chinese version of the PaArticular Scales functions well in Taiwan and has acceptable levels of reliability and validity. However, the Chinese version must be further tested for applicability and generalizability in future studies, preferably with a larger sample and in different clinical domains.

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