scholarly journals Mode and Frequency of Covid-19 Information Updates, Political Values, and Future Covid-19 Vaccine Attitudes

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siobhan McAndrew ◽  
Daniel Allington
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Media Consumption ◽  
Political Values ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Information Updates ◽  
The Uk ◽  
British Sample

The effect of social media consumption on perceptions of the seriousness of the Covid-19 pandemic, attitudes to public health requirements, and intentions towards a future Covid-19 vaccine are of live public health interest. There are also public health and security concerns that the pandemic has been accompanied and arguably further amplified by an ‘infodemic’ spreading misinformation. Tests of the effect of social media consumption on future Covid-19 vaccine intentions using population samples have been relatively few to date. This study contributes to the evidence base by examining social media consumption and vaccine intentions using British and US population samples.Methods: Data were gathered on 1,663 GB adults and 1,198 US adults from an online panel on attitudes towards a future vaccine alongside self-reported social and legacy broadcast and print media consumption. Ordered and binomial logit models were used to assess reported intentions regarding a future Covid-19 vaccine, testing the effects of media consumption type. Respondents were categorised in terms of their media consumption using a fourfold typology, as less frequent social, less frequent legacy media consumers (low-low); high social, low legacy media consumers (high-low); low social, high legacy (low-high); and high social, high legacy (high-high).Results: In the British sample, regression results indicate that those who receive Covid-19 updates more frequently via legacy media (low-high), and those being updated more than daily via both online and legacy media consumers, tend to provide significantly less Covid-19 vaccine-hesitant responses than low-low consumers. There is no significant difference between high social, low legacy media consumers and low-low consumers. In the US sample, membership of the low-high group is associated with lower Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy compared with low-low consumers. However, respondents consuming both social and legacy media several times daily exhibit similar vaccine intentions on average to those consuming social media daily and legacy media less often, providing a contrast with the UK sample. We also identify differences in Covid-19 vaccine intentions relating to demographics and political values.Conclusions: Differences in vaccine attentions are associated with the extent and balance of consumption of news relating to Covid-19 and its source. Political values and ethnic identity also appear to structure attitudes to a future Covid-19 vaccine.

scholarly journals A comparison of health communication effectiveness and the improvement of management strategies: taking two Chinese traditional medicine hospitals’ WeChat public accounts as examples

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Wang ◽  
Lanting Wu
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Health Communication ◽  
Traditional Medicine ◽  
Health Knowledge ◽  
Health Care Service ◽  
Mobile Internet ◽  
Chinese Traditional Medicine ◽  
Public Account ◽  
Significant Difference

Abstract Background In the light of “Internet plus”, hospitals are following the trend of using mobile internet and adopting a strategy of spreading public health knowledge through mobile terminals. WeChat is a social media with the largest number of users in China. Its public account has become the most popular service among the public. Methods We examine the health communication of medical institutions on social media platforms. The WeChat public accounts of Zhejiang Provincial Chinese Traditional Medicine Hospital and Jiangxi Provincial Chinese Traditional Medicine Hospital were taken as cases to measure the communication effect from the following dimensions: update interval, content positioning and design, numbers of clicks and likes as well as topic types. Results The update interval of WeChat public account of Jiangxi Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine was regular, compared with that of the other hospital. The accounts of the two hospitals both set up special sections to facilitate patients to obtain medical services online. There is an extremely significant difference between the two hospitals’ mean numbers of clicks (p < 0. 001), compared with no significant difference between their mean numbers of likes. One-way analysis of variance suggests the type of topic on posts is significantly correlated with the number of clicks. Moreover, there is an extremely significant difference between public health knowledge and news propaganda. Conclusion The development of hospitals’ WeChat public accounts can promote people’s health and equity in accessing medical information and service, and also boost “Internet plus health care” service. The topic type of hospital’s news publicity is paid a relatively lower attention by users. Therefore, hospitals’ WeChat public accounts need to adjust their strategy from propaganda-oriented to users-centered, with topic planning and posts designed to fulfill users’ needs.

Understanding vaccine hesitancy: the evidence

2021 ◽  
Vol 32 (7) ◽  
pp. 282-287
Author(s):  
Alison While
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Herd Immunity ◽  
Public Health Intervention ◽  
Health Intervention ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Important Public Health ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
The Uk

Vaccine hesitancy is a concern both globally and within the UK. Alison While reviews the evidence relating to vaccine hesitancy, its underlying factors and the sociodemographic variations Vaccination is an important public health intervention, but its effectiveness depends upon the uptake of vaccination reaching sufficient levels to yield ‘herd’ immunity. While the majority of the UK hold positive attitudes about vaccination, some people, including health professionals, decline vaccinations. This article reviews the evidence relating to vaccine hesitancy, its underlying factors and the sociodemographic variations.

scholarly journals Antecedents of Vaccine Hesitancy in WEIRD and East Asian Contexts

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel S. Courtney ◽  
Ana-Maria Bliuc
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
East Asian ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Mmr Vaccine ◽  
Specific Context ◽  
Vaccination Rates ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Effective Science

Following decreasing vaccination rates over the last two decades, understanding the roots of vaccine hesitancy has become a public health priority. Vaccine hesitancy is linked to scientifically unfounded fears around the MMR vaccine and autism which are often fuelled by misinformation spread on social media. To counteract the effects of misinformation about vaccines and in particular the falling vaccination rates, much research has focused on identifying the antecedents of vaccine hesitancy. As antecedents of vaccine hesitancy are contextually dependent, a one-size-fits-all approach is unlikely to be successful in non-WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich, and Democratic) populations, and even in certain (non-typical) WEIRD sub-populations. Successful interventions to reduce vaccine hesitancy must be based on understanding of the specific context. To identify potential contextual differences in the antecedents of vaccine hesitancy, we review research from three non-WEIRD populations in East Asia, and three WEIRD sub-populations. We find that regardless of the context, mistrust seems to be the key factor leading to vaccine hesitancy. However, the object of mistrust varies across WEIRD and non-WEIRD populations, and across WEIRD subgroups suggesting that effective science communication must be mindful of these differences.

scholarly journals Incidence of clinically suspected venous thromboembolism in British Indian patients

2018 ◽  
Vol 100 (5) ◽  
pp. 413-416 ◽  
Author(s):  
BM Siddiqui ◽  
MS Patel ◽  
S Rudge ◽  
A Best ◽  
J Mangwani
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Venous Thromboembolism ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
Major Public Health Issue ◽  
Vein Thrombosis ◽  
Indian Patients ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The World ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Deep Vein

Introduction Venous thromboembolism (VTE) remains a major public health issue around the world. Ethnicity is known to alter the incidence of VTE. To our knowledge, there are no reports in the literature investigating the incidence of VTE in British Indians. The aim of this study was to investigate the rates of symptomatic VTE in British Indian patients in the UK. Methods Patients referred to our institution between January 2011 and August 2013 with clinically suspected VTE were eligible for inclusion in the study. Those not of British Indian or Caucasian ethnicity were excluded. A retrospective review of these two cohorts was conducted. Results Overall, 15,529 cases were referred to our institution for suspected VTE. This included 1,498 individuals of British Indian ethnicity. Of these, 182 (12%) had confirmed VTE episodes. A further 13,159 of the patients with suspected VTE were coded as Caucasian, including 2,412 (16%) who had confirmed VTE events. VTE rates were a third lower in British Indians with clinically suspected VTE than in the equivalent Caucasian group. The British Indian cohort presented with VTE at a much earlier age than Caucasians (mean 57.0 vs 68.0 years). Conclusions This study suggests that British Indian patients have a lower incidence of VTE and are more likely to present at an earlier age than Caucasians. There was no significant difference in VTE type (deep vein thrombosis vs pulmonary embolism) among the ethnic groups. Clinicians should be aware of variations within ethnicities but should continue to adhere to existing VTE prevention guidance.

scholarly journals Harnessing Twitter data to survey public attention and attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccines in the UK

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Seena Fazel ◽  
Le Zhang ◽  
Babak Javid ◽  
Isabell Brikell ◽  
Zheng Chang
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Vaccine Development ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Potential Contribution ◽  
Public Attention ◽  
Media Campaigns ◽  
News Announcements ◽  
News Announcement ◽  
Socio Demographic Factors ◽  
The Uk

AbstractAttitudes to COVID-19 vaccination vary considerably within and between countries. Although the contribution of socio-demographic factors to these attitudes has been studied, the role of social media and how it interacts with news about vaccine development and efficacy is uncertain. We examined around 2 million tweets from 522,893 persons in the UK from November 2020 to January 2021 to evaluate links between Twitter content about vaccines and major scientific news announcements about vaccines. The proportion of tweets with negative vaccine content varied, with reductions of 20–24% on the same day as major news announcement. However, the proportion of negative tweets reverted back to an average of around 40% within a few days. Engagement rates were higher for negative tweets. Public health messaging could consider the dynamics of Twitter-related traffic and the potential contribution of more targeted social media campaigns to address vaccine hesitancy.

scholarly journals Conversations and Medical News Frames on Twitter: Infodemiological Study on COVID-19 in South Korea

10.2196/18897 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. e18897 ◽  
Author(s):  
Han Woo Park ◽  
Sejung Park ◽  
Miyoung Chong
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
South Korea ◽  
Medical Information ◽  
Systematic Research ◽  
News Frames ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Significant Difference

Background SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2) was spreading rapidly in South Korea at the end of February 2020 following its initial outbreak in China, making Korea the new center of global attention. The role of social media amid the current coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has often been criticized, but little systematic research has been conducted on this issue. Social media functions as a convenient source of information in pandemic situations. Objective Few infodemiology studies have applied network analysis in conjunction with content analysis. This study investigates information transmission networks and news-sharing behaviors regarding COVID-19 on Twitter in Korea. The real time aggregation of social media data can serve as a starting point for designing strategic messages for health campaigns and establishing an effective communication system during this outbreak. Methods Korean COVID-19-related Twitter data were collected on February 29, 2020. Our final sample comprised of 43,832 users and 78,233 relationships on Twitter. We generated four networks in terms of key issues regarding COVID-19 in Korea. This study comparatively investigates how COVID-19-related issues have circulated on Twitter through network analysis. Next, we classified top news channels shared via tweets. Lastly, we conducted a content analysis of news frames used in the top-shared sources. Results The network analysis suggests that the spread of information was faster in the Coronavirus network than in the other networks (Corona19, Shincheon, and Daegu). People who used the word “Coronavirus” communicated more frequently with each other. The spread of information was faster, and the diameter value was lower than for those who used other terms. Many of the news items highlighted the positive roles being played by individuals and groups, directing readers’ attention to the crisis. Ethical issues such as deviant behavior among the population and an entertainment frame highlighting celebrity donations also emerged often. There was a significant difference in the use of nonportal (n=14) and portal news (n=26) sites between the four network types. The news frames used in the top sources were similar across the networks (P=.89, 95% CI 0.004-0.006). Tweets containing medically framed news articles (mean 7.571, SD 1.988) were found to be more popular than tweets that included news articles adopting nonmedical frames (mean 5.060, SD 2.904; N=40, P=.03, 95% CI 0.169-4.852). Conclusions Most of the popular news on Twitter had nonmedical frames. Nevertheless, the spillover effect of the news articles that delivered medical information about COVID-19 was greater than that of news with nonmedical frames. Social media network analytics cannot replace the work of public health officials; however, monitoring public conversations and media news that propagates rapidly can assist public health professionals in their complex and fast-paced decision-making processes.

scholarly journals Beneficial or an unknown risk: Immunization hesitancy in Indian population

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 70-71
Author(s):  
Digjeet Kaur ◽  
Mahak Gera
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Virus Infection ◽  
Indian Population ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Effective Vaccine ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Unknown Risk ◽  
Rapid Spread ◽  
People’S Perception

The most victorious intervention in field of Public Health is immunization. It prevents 2-3 million deaths every year from diseases like diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, influenza, measles and currently to overcome the novel corona virus infection an effective vaccine is the most anticipated resolution. Despite the advancements and innovations in clinical research and healthcare, vaccine hesitancy is a threat globally. Social media has provided unmatched capacity for people to communicate but has also been a major tool for rapid spread of misconceptions and disingenuous information damaging to public health. This article aims to give an overview of vaccine hesitancy of various infectious diseases, people’s perception towards it, how social media has facilitated this movement and how to eliminate the misconception.

scholarly journals Lack of trust and social media echo chambers predict COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Will Jennings ◽  
Gerry Stoker ◽  
Hannah Willis ◽  
Viktor Valgardsson ◽  
Jen Gaskell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Vaccine Development ◽  
Population Control ◽  
Herd Immunity ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Media Impact ◽  
Media Companies ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
The Uk

AbstractAs COVID-19 vaccines are rolled out across the world, there are growing concerns about the role that trust, belief in conspiracy theories and spread of misinformation through social media impact vaccine hesitancy. We use a nationally representative survey of 1,476 adults in the UK between December 12 to 18, 2020 and five focus groups conducted in the same period. Trust is a core predictor, with distrust in vaccines in general and mistrust in government raising vaccine hesitancy. Trust in health institutions and experts and perceived personal threat are vital, with focus groups revealing that COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy is driven by a misunderstanding of herd immunity as providing protection, fear of rapid vaccine development and side effects, belief the virus is man- made and related to population control. Particularly those who obtain information from relatively unregulated social media sources such as YouTube that have recommendations tailored by watch history are less likely to be willing to become vaccinated. Those who hold general conspiratorial beliefs are less willing to be vaccinated. Since an increasing number of individuals use social media for gathering health information, interventions require action from governments, health officials and social media companies. More attention needs to help people understand their own risks, unpack complex concepts and fill knowledge voids.

scholarly journals Mining Flickr: a method for expanding the known distribution of invasive species

2019 ◽  
pp. 11-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Allain
Keyword(s):  
Data Mining ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Invasive Species ◽  
Fresh Water ◽  
Current Distribution ◽  
Image Sharing ◽  
Rate Of Spread ◽  
Online Social Media ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Uk

It is important to map invasive species in order to demonstrate their rate of spread and current distribution. Most recording schemes rely on opportunistic sightings and awareness to collect and gather data. Mining data from online social media and other data sharing platforms has become more prevalent in recent years as increasing numbers of users share more information. In this study, sightings from the image sharing platform Flickr were compared with the records submitted to the national recording scheme Record Pool. This study was completed to determine whether or not there was a significant difference between these two as sources for sightings of fresh water turtles across the UK.

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