scholarly journals Employing Media Messaging Strategies to Respond to COVID-19 Misinformation

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Field ◽  
Gul Saeed ◽  
Mariana Villada Rivera ◽  
Sabrina Campanella ◽  
Lauren Tailor
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
World Health ◽  
Wide Audience ◽  
University Of Toronto ◽  
Public Health Information ◽  
Media Messaging ◽  
Health Organization

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed critical gaps in the public’s knowledge of infectious diseases. Experts, including the World Health Organization, acknowledge that an “infodemic” of misinformation is spreading at the same time as the pandemic. Furthermore, 13% of Canadians age 50 and younger reported using social media as their primary source of information about COVID-19. Thus, in January 2020, the Infectious Disease Working Group (IDWG) was formed by a group of students at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto. The IDWG’s Media Messaging Team (MMT) uses Knowledge Translation (KT) strategies to increase access to evidence-based information related to public health and COVID-19. Specifically, MMT uses virtual platforms, including Twitter and Instagram (@infectious_info), to disseminate information to a wide audience. Objectives: The MMT aims to produce content to dispel pervasive and harmful myths about COVID-19, raise public awareness, and advocate for health equity. Methods: The team creates 2-4 pieces of original content per week on topics such as Ontario Government legislation updates, myth-busting series, and “Wednesday Series” (summaries of novel research findings). The IDWG employs an equity lens to ensure that the content takes into account the experiences and needs of diverse groups, and that graphics are representative of a diverse audience. Health communication strategies are used to promote audience engagement through compelling and bold content design. Results: The Instagram account has over 4,400 followers, with some posts surpassing 50,000 views. Qualitative feedback from social media followers indicates that this project is addressing an emerging gap in knowledge resulting from unclear messaging from official bodies, the spread of mis/disinformation, and disparities in health literacy levels. Conclusions: The findings can inform the development and implementation of KT strategies to reach a wide audience and increase the uptake of public health information.

scholarly journals Misinformation, chiropractic, and the COVID-19 pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Iben Axén ◽  
Cecilia Bergström ◽  
Marc Bronson ◽  
Pierre Côté ◽  
Casper Glissmann Nim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Collective Responsibility ◽  
Economic Consequences ◽  
Best Interests ◽  
World Health ◽  
Chiropractic Treatment ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background In March 2020, the World Health Organization elevated the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic to a pandemic and called for urgent and aggressive action worldwide. Public health experts have communicated clear and emphatic strategies to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Hygiene rules and social distancing practices have been implemented by entire populations, including ‘stay-at-home’ orders in many countries. The long-term health and economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic are not yet known. Main text During this time of crisis, some chiropractors made claims on social media that chiropractic treatment can prevent or impact COVID-19. The rationale for these claims is that spinal manipulation can impact the nervous system and thus improve immunity. These beliefs often stem from nineteenth-century chiropractic concepts. We are aware of no clinically relevant scientific evidence to support such statements. We explored the internet and social media to collect examples of misinformation from Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand regarding the impact of chiropractic treatment on immune function. We discuss the potential harm resulting from these claims and explore the role of chiropractors, teaching institutions, accrediting agencies, and legislative bodies. Conclusions Members of the chiropractic profession share a collective responsibility to act in the best interests of patients and public health. We hope that all chiropractic stakeholders will view the COVID-19 pandemic as a call to action to eliminate the unethical and potentially dangerous claims made by chiropractors who practise outside the boundaries of scientific evidence.

scholarly journals Infodemic Signal Detection During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Development of a Methodology for Identifying Potential Information Voids in Online Conversations

10.2196/30971 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. e30971
Author(s):  
Tina D Purnat ◽  
Paolo Vacca ◽  
Christine Czerniak ◽  
Sarah Ball ◽  
Stefano Burzo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
World Health ◽  
Aggregated Data ◽  
Response Planning ◽  
Online Conversations ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Social Listening

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has been accompanied by an infodemic: excess information, including false or misleading information, in digital and physical environments during an acute public health event. This infodemic is leading to confusion and risk-taking behaviors that can be harmful to health, as well as to mistrust in health authorities and public health responses. The World Health Organization (WHO) is working to develop tools to provide an evidence-based response to the infodemic, enabling prioritization of health response activities. Objective In this work, we aimed to develop a practical, structured approach to identify narratives in public online conversations on social media platforms where concerns or confusion exist or where narratives are gaining traction, thus providing actionable data to help the WHO prioritize its response efforts to address the COVID-19 infodemic. Methods We developed a taxonomy to filter global public conversations in English and French related to COVID-19 on social media into 5 categories with 35 subcategories. The taxonomy and its implementation were validated for retrieval precision and recall, and they were reviewed and adapted as language about the pandemic in online conversations changed over time. The aggregated data for each subcategory were analyzed on a weekly basis by volume, velocity, and presence of questions to detect signals of information voids with potential for confusion or where mis- or disinformation may thrive. A human analyst reviewed and identified potential information voids and sources of confusion, and quantitative data were used to provide insights on emerging narratives, influencers, and public reactions to COVID-19–related topics. Results A COVID-19 public health social listening taxonomy was developed, validated, and applied to filter relevant content for more focused analysis. A weekly analysis of public online conversations since March 23, 2020, enabled quantification of shifting interests in public health–related topics concerning the pandemic, and the analysis demonstrated recurring voids of verified health information. This approach therefore focuses on the detection of infodemic signals to generate actionable insights to rapidly inform decision-making for a more targeted and adaptive response, including risk communication. Conclusions This approach has been successfully applied to identify and analyze infodemic signals, particularly information voids, to inform the COVID-19 pandemic response. More broadly, the results have demonstrated the importance of ongoing monitoring and analysis of public online conversations, as information voids frequently recur and narratives shift over time. The approach is being piloted in individual countries and WHO regions to generate localized insights and actions; meanwhile, a pilot of an artificial intelligence–based social listening platform is using this taxonomy to aggregate and compare online conversations across 20 countries. Beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, the taxonomy and methodology may be adapted for fast deployment in future public health events, and they could form the basis of a routine social listening program for health preparedness and response planning.

scholarly journals Sentiment Analysis and Topic Modeling of Indonesian Public Conversation about COVID-19 Epidemics on Twitter

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-30
Author(s):  
Muhammad Habibi ◽  
Adri Priadana ◽  
Muhammad Rifqi Ma’arif
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Topic Modeling ◽  
Latent Dirichlet Allocation ◽  
World Health ◽  
The Public ◽  
Response Strategies ◽  
Existing Problems ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in more than six million confirmed cases and more than 371,000 deaths globally on June 1, 2020. The incident sparked a flood of scientific research to help society deal with the virus, both inside and outside the medical domain. Research related to public health analysis and public conversations about the spread of COVID-19 on social media is one of the highlights of researchers in the world. People can analyze information from social media as supporting data about public health. Analyzing public conversations will help the relevant authorities understand public opinion and information gaps between them and the public, helping them develop appropriate emergency response strategies to address existing problems in the community during the pandemic and provide information on the population's emotions in different contexts. However, research related to the analysis of public health and public conversations was so far conducted only through supervised analysis of textual data. In this study, we aim to analyze specifically the sentiment and topic modeling of Indonesian public conversations about the COVID-19 on Twitter using the NLP technique. We applied some methods to analyze the sentiment to obtain the best classification method. In this study, the topic modeling was carried out unsupervised using Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA). The results of this study reveal that the most frequently discussed topic related to the COVID-19 pandemic is economic issues.

scholarly journals An Instagram-Based Study to Understand Betel Nut Use Culture in Micronesia: Exploratory Content Analysis

10.2196/13954 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (7) ◽  
pp. e13954
Author(s):  
Wayne Buente ◽  
Francis Dalisay ◽  
Pallav Pokhrel ◽  
Hanae Kurihara Kramer ◽  
Ian Pagano
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Substance Use ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Social Engagement ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
World Health ◽  
Betel Nut ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Health Organization

Background A 2012 World Health Organization report recognizes betel nut use as an urgent public health threat faced by the Western Pacific region. However, compared with other addictive substances, little is known about how betel nuts are depicted on social media platforms. In particular, image-based social media platforms can be powerful tools for health communication. Studying the content of substance use on visual social media may provide valuable insights into public health interventions. Objective This study aimed to explore and document the ways that betel nut is portrayed on the photo-sharing site Instagram. The analysis focuses on the hashtag #pugua, which refers to the local term for betel nut in Guam and other parts of Micronesia. Methods An exploratory content analysis of 242 Instagram posts tagged #pugua was conducted based on previous research on substance use and Instagram and betel nut practices in Micronesia. In addition, the study examined the social engagement of betel nut content on the image-based platform. Results The study findings revealed content themes referencing the betel nut or betel nut tree, betel nut preparation practices, and the unique social and cultural context surrounding betel nut activity in Guam and Micronesia. In addition, certain practices and cultural themes encouraged social engagement on Instagram. Conclusions The findings from this study emphasize the cultural relevance of betel nut use in Micronesia. These findings provide a basis for empirically testing hypotheses related to the etiological roles of cultural identity and pride in shaping betel nut use behavior among Micronesians, particularly youths and young adults. Such research is likely to inform the development of culturally relevant betel nut prevention and cessation programs.

Social Media Campaign as a Tool for Patient Education of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

2022 ◽  
pp. 183-208
Author(s):  
María José Cabada García ◽  
Sofía I. Quezada Ramírez ◽  
Guillermo A. Negrete Gómez ◽  
Eduardo Villarreal Serrano ◽  
Diana Laura Colín García ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Disease Prevention ◽  
Traditional Approach ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Awareness Campaigns ◽  
Public Health Information ◽  
Prevention And Health Promotion ◽  
And Behavior

Public awareness campaigns have played a crucial role in improving the health of communities, as they directly affect people's perception and behavior towards a specific topic, especially on disease prevention and health promotion. This can be seen in campaigns focused on, for example, infectious disease prevention such as HIV, tuberculosis, dengue, and more recently, COVID-19. Formerly, awareness campaigns took a very traditional approach using printed promotional materials, in-person conferences, and television and radio commercials as their primary way of reaching their target audience. This chapter describes an alternative method for reaching new audiences, in a society where social media has taken over as the public's main source of information and entertainment. These platforms can be used to extend important public health information to connect with and educate the public. The authors believe that this approach may increase the public's response towards emerging public health concerns as well as aid the digitalization of medicine through the evolution of telemedicine.

scholarly journals An Instagram-Based Study to Understand Betel Nut Use Culture in Micronesia: Exploratory Content Analysis (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wayne Buente ◽  
Francis Dalisay ◽  
Pallav Pokhrel ◽  
Hanae Kurihara Kramer ◽  
Ian Pagano
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Substance Use ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Social Engagement ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
World Health ◽  
Betel Nut ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Health Organization

BACKGROUND A 2012 World Health Organization report recognizes betel nut use as an urgent public health threat faced by the Western Pacific region. However, compared with other addictive substances, little is known about how betel nuts are depicted on social media platforms. In particular, image-based social media platforms can be powerful tools for health communication. Studying the content of substance use on visual social media may provide valuable insights into public health interventions. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to explore and document the ways that betel nut is portrayed on the photo-sharing site Instagram. The analysis focuses on the hashtag #pugua, which refers to the local term for betel nut in Guam and other parts of Micronesia. METHODS An exploratory content analysis of 242 Instagram posts tagged #pugua was conducted based on previous research on substance use and Instagram and betel nut practices in Micronesia. In addition, the study examined the social engagement of betel nut content on the image-based platform. RESULTS The study findings revealed content themes referencing the betel nut or betel nut tree, betel nut preparation practices, and the unique social and cultural context surrounding betel nut activity in Guam and Micronesia. In addition, certain practices and cultural themes encouraged social engagement on Instagram. CONCLUSIONS The findings from this study emphasize the cultural relevance of betel nut use in Micronesia. These findings provide a basis for empirically testing hypotheses related to the etiological roles of cultural identity and pride in shaping betel nut use behavior among Micronesians, particularly youths and young adults. Such research is likely to inform the development of culturally relevant betel nut prevention and cessation programs.

Risk Communication and Social Media

2021 ◽  
pp. 150-171
Author(s):  
Hikmet Tosyalı ◽  
Furkan Tosyalı
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Risk Communication ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Health Belief ◽  
World Health ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Twitter Account ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Belief Model

The new form of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020. Then, the citizens were required to stay in their homes. In this process, social media has become the users' window to the global village. With the prolongation of the isolation process, the use and importance of these platforms in communication, entertainment, socialization, and access to instant information about the pandemic have increased. People and institutions responsible for pandemic management have started to frequently benefit from social media platforms in risk communication activities to create public awareness about the disease and reinforce individuals' beliefs to comply with the precautions. In this study, the person responsible for COVID-19 pandemic planning and response in Turkey, the Minister of Health's, Twitter account was analyzed. The posts shared by the Minister of Health were subjected to content analysis, and the messages conveyed to the citizens were examined from the perspective of the health belief model.

scholarly journals CONTAMINATION OF COMMERCIALLY PACKAGED SACHET WATER AND THE PUBLIC HEALTH IMPLICATIONS: AN OVERVIEW

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
OO Oludairo ◽  
JO Aiyedun
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
World Health ◽  
Coliform Bacteria ◽  
Strict Adherence ◽  
Faecal Contamination ◽  
Health Implications ◽  
The Public ◽  
Health Organization

Quality water should be colourless, tasteless, odourless and free from faecal contamination. This study investigates the level of contamination of commercially vended packaged water and their public health implications. Published baseline information and data were used in the study. Using different isolation techniques, coliform bacteria of up to 100% and faecal contamination of up to 40% were reported. The consumption of contaminated commercially packaged water by the public has led to different disease conditions and death of millions of people all over the world. This calls for strict adherence to good management practices (GMP) by producers of packaged water, improved monitoring and enforcement of guidelines of production by regulatory bodies according to World Health Organization (WHO) standards, increased public awareness and sensitivity to the presence and dangers of consuming such water and creating easy, always potent reporting channels through which disease cases and suspected contaminated water manufacturers could be reported to the authority so as to prevent infection from consumption of such packaged water, diseases and deaths.

Should Public Health and Policy Communities Interact With the Food Industry? It Depends on Context Comment on "Towards Preventing and Managing Conflict of Interest in Nutrition Policy? An Analysis of Submissions to a Consultation on a Draft WHO Tool"

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Cullerton ◽  
Jean Adams ◽  
Martin White
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Conflict Of Interest ◽  
Policy Process ◽  
Food Industry ◽  
Nutrition Policy ◽  
World Health ◽  
Business Goals ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Intractable Problem ◽  
Policy Communities

The issue of public health and policy communities engaging with food sector companies has long caused tension and debate. Ralston and colleagues’ article ‘Towards Preventing and Managing Conflict of Interest in Nutrition Policy? An Analysis of Submissions to a Consultation on a Draft WHO Tool’ further examines this issue. They found widespread food industry opposition, not just to the details of the World Health Organization (WHO) tool, but to the very idea of it. In this commentary we reflect on this finding and the arguments for and against interacting with the food industry during different stages of the policy process. While involving the food industry in certain aspects of the policy process without favouring their business goals may seem like an intractable problem, we believe there are opportunities for progress that do not compromise our values as public health professionals. We suggest three key steps to making progress.

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