scholarly journals Ensuring Effective Public Health Communication: Insights and Modeling Efforts From Theories of Behavioral Economics, Heuristics, and Behavioral Analysis for Decision Making Under Risk

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darren J. Edwards
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Cognitive Bias ◽  
Predictive Power ◽  
Decision Making Under Risk ◽  
Behavioral Economic ◽  
Public Health Communication ◽  
The Public ◽  
Psychological Theories ◽  
Effective Public Health

Public health (PH) messaging can have an enormous impact on shaping how individuals within society behave, and can ensure it is in a safe and responsible way, consistent with up-to-date evidence-based PH guidelines. If done effectively, messaging can save lives and improve the health of those within society. However, unfortunately, those within Government PH bodies typically have little training about how to effectively represent PH messages in a way that is consistent with psychological theories of cognitive bias, in order to avoid cognitively biasing the public through their messages. As a result of this, inadequate representation of PH messages can result, which can often lead to cognitive bias in those from the public who read or listen to the message information. This can lead to poor decision making of the pubic as a whole, which can then further lead to harm and even death of public members as a result of these poor decisions. One way to minimize the problem of bias in decision making is to explore psychology theories that model how bias can occur from PH messaging, and identify ways in which PH agencies can utilize such approaches to improve the effectiveness of their messages. Previous focus has been largely on behavioral economic theories, however, here, other accounts are offered in addition to these. These include theories of heuristics and theories from the behavior analysis domain, which may increase the predictive power of modeling bias, and have applications for how best to represent PH message information which minimize bias.

scholarly journals 28.I. Workshop: Communication in public health: neglected but essential

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Communication ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Common View ◽  
Public Health Communication ◽  
The Public ◽  
Essential Components ◽  
Communication Modalities ◽  
Effective Public Health ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The realization that not only research but also effective communication is essential to promoting and protecting the health of the public was a fundamental milestone in the emerging discipline of public health communication. Although we are beginning to talk more and more about health communication, it is, in the common view, still too often identified as a soft skill of the individual professional, and therefore as a minor competence in public health. Fortunately, many of today's public health leaders realize that promoting health and protecting the public require effective public health communication - as emerged clearly during EUPHA2019 conference in Marseille. The essential components of the communication process (channel, source, receiver, and message) are dynamic and change continuously in public health: emergencies follow one another rapidly, and communication channels evolve very quickly in the digital era. The impact, trust, and authority of traditional media are in decline. People are also willing to actively participate and share their views and information, including on health issues, through social networks. This explains the emergence of the new social media (blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok) as a central space for communicating and re-connecting with the public. Websites were mentioned as widely used to convey health messages, like ongoing health campaigns addressed to different groups (e.g. campaign on seasonal influenza vaccination) or during crisis communication (e.g. absolutely up to date is the example of coronavirus disease 2019). This workshop aims to explore the importance of appropriate communication by analysing practical examples of the diversity of communication modalities, language, target audiences and objectives. Furthermore, public health communication, to be effective, requires an integrated approach to engage the relevant stakeholders such as research institutes, health professionals, partner organisations (e.g. private institutions), policymakers, associations (e.g. population representatives, patients' associations, CSOs/NGOs, citizens associations protecting the poor) and individuals. The use of health communication principles is fundamental at all levels, from government organizations and agencies at central and sub-national level to individuals and citizens: public health experts need to advocate policymakers and all stakeholders, who interact with each other determine the health system and its governance and are involved in the decision-making process, to empower the population, that never more than now require to be the principal actor in their own health decision. Key messages Public health communication is an essential component of any effective public health strategy and initiative, yet it is often neglected and under-resourced. Communication in public health is multifaceted: it is required in a diverse range of scenarios; it may target different population groups and engage various institutions and experts.

scholarly journals Panic and Trust during COVID-19: A Cross-Sectional Study on Immigrants in South Korea

Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 199
Author(s):  
Myeong Sook Yoon ◽  
Israel Fisseha Feyissa ◽  
So-Won Suk
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
South Korea ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Native Community ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Public ◽  
Marginalized Groups ◽  
Local Media ◽  
Effective Public Health

In the COVID-19 pandemic, marginalized groups like migrants are disproportionately affected. As panic, fear of neglect, and mistrusting institutions in these groups are presumed to be apparent, their detachment to health services still needs to be investigated. This study comparatively analyzed the level of panic and trust between South Koreans and immigrants who are living within highly affected areas of South Korea. Mann–Whitney-U-Test and Pearson correlation showed panic is more pronounced in the Korean group while having a similar panic display pattern with the immigrants. The immigrant group appears to highly trust the Korean health system, health institutions, local media, and the local native community. Beyond conventional expectations, participant’s average panic score showed a statistically significant positive correlation with items of the trust scale, indicating a level of individual reliance amid the pandemic panic. Thus, ascertaining institutional trust and matured citizenry are identified as factors for effective public health outcomes. During such a pandemic, this study also reminded the public health needs of immigrants as secondary citizens, and presumptions of immigrants’ mistrust in such settings might not always be true.

scholarly journals The Use of 'No Evidence' Statements in Public Health

2015 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Cummings
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Risk ◽  
Health Communication ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Human Health Risk ◽  
Public Health Communication ◽  
The Public

Public health communication makes extensive use of a linguistic formulation that will be called the “no evidence” statement. This is a written or spoken statement of the form “There is no evidence that P” where P stands for a proposition that typically describes a human health risk. Danger lurks in these expressions for the hearer or reader who is not logically perspicacious, as arguments that use them are only warranted under certain conditions. The extent to which members of the public are able to determine what those conditions are will be considered by examining data obtained from 879 subjects. The role of “no evidence” statements as cognitive heuristics in public health reasoning is considered.

Online Opinion Leaders in the Health Promotion Digital Era

2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 295-309
Author(s):  
Joyce Cheah Lynn-Sze ◽  
◽  
Azlina Kamaruddin ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Health Communication ◽  
Opinion Leader ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Opinion Leaders ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Public

Health opinion leaders have widely embraced social media for health promotion and public health communication which can make a strong influence on the public decision making. However, despite the growing relevance of public health threats such as infectious diseases, pandemic influenza and natural disasters, research has paid little attention to the qualities of opinion leaders. Moreover, there is limited evidence that public health organisations use social media appropriately to engage in meaningful conversations with audiences. Thus, the aims of the study are to describe principles of communication practised by online opinion leaders to promote health issues, to discuss the strategies of social media used, to explain the opinion leaders’ influence attributes in health decision making and finally to develop a model of online opinion leader in the contemporary health promotion era. Content analysis was conducted on Facebook postings of five selected health opinion leaders. In addition, semi-structured interviews with 10 followers were conducted. The findings of the study revealed that there are three principles of communication practised by online opinion leaders, which are language, interaction and themes. There are three strategies opinion leaders use to influence the public: social connectivity, social support and social consultation. Furthermore, there are five opinion leaders’ attributes that influence the public’s decision making, namely personality, authenticity, trust/credibility, professional knowledge and social position. The model would be beneficial in educating and guiding the current public health opinion leaders in order to establish health and social well-being. Keywords: Online opinion leader, online health communication, public health, two-step flow theory, decision making.

SCADA Systems Cyber Security for Critical Infrastructures

2020 ◽  
pp. 446-464
Author(s):  
Suhaila Ismail ◽  
Elena Sitnikova ◽  
Jill Slay
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Data Acquisition ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Cyber Security ◽  
Cyber Attacks ◽  
Critical Infrastructures ◽  
Physical Injury ◽  
The Public ◽  
Psychological Theories ◽  
Scada Systems

Past cyber-attacks on Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) Systems for Critical infrastructures have left these systems compromised and caused financial and economic problems. Deliberate attacks have resulted in denial of services and physical injury to the public in certain cases. This study explores the past attacks on SCADA Systems by examining nine case studies across multiple utility sectors including transport, energy and water and sewage sector. These case studies will be further analysed according to the cyber-terrorist decision-making theories including strategic, organisational and psychological theories based on McCormick (2000). Next, this study will look into cyber-terrorist capabilities in conducting attacks according to Nelson's (1999) approach that includes simple-unstructured, advance-structured and complex-coordinated capabilities. The results of this study will form the basis of a guideline that organisations can use so that they are better prepared in identifying potential future cybersecurity attacks on their SCADA systems.

Benzodiazepines Today and Tomorrow

2020 ◽  
pp. 193-215
Author(s):  
John J. Coleman
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Drug Abuse ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
The Public ◽  
Drug Substances ◽  
The Government ◽  
Public Health Strategies ◽  
Effective Public Health

Benzodiazepines (BZDs) and related drugs are widely used for treating a variety of conditions (with varying degrees of evidence-base), but their long-term use (more than 2–4 weeks) can be problematic. They were originally thought (or claimed) to be nonproblematic substitutes for barbiturates, but it is now clear that they have their own set of problems. In addition, they are commonly, albeit ill-advisedly, co-prescribed or used nonmedically in combination with other drug substances. The result of such combinations, particularly with the opioids, can be lethal. Administrative and statutory actions notwithstanding, it appears that reducing problems with BZDs will depend on a comprehensive approach that includes improved education for patients, prescribers, regulators, insurers, and the public. First and foremost, however, there is a pressing need for the government to improve its drug-abuse data collection, specifically how it monitors drug-related morbidity and mortality. This chapter reviews the information that demonstrates how an understanding of all of the dynamics is essential for designing effective public-health strategies to reduce BZD-associated problems.

scholarly journals Behavioral economic substitutability of e-cigarettes, tobacco cigarettes, and nicotine gum

2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (7) ◽  
pp. 851-860 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew W Johnson ◽  
Patrick S Johnson ◽  
Olga Rass ◽  
Lauren R Pacek
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Smoking Cessation ◽  
Tobacco Use ◽  
Market Value ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
Health Impacts ◽  
Nicotine Gum ◽  
Behavioral Economic ◽  
The Public ◽  
Fixed Price

The public health impact of e-cigarettes may depend on their substitutability for tobacco cigarettes. Dual users of e-cigarettes and tobacco cigarettes completed purchasing tasks in which they specified daily use levels under hypothetical conditions that varied the availability and price of e-cigarettes, tobacco cigarettes, and nicotine gum (for those with nicotine gum experience). When either e-cigarettes or tobacco cigarettes were the only available commodity, as price per puff increased, purchasing decreased, revealing similar reinforcement profiles. When available concurrently, as the price of tobacco puffs increased, purchasing of tobacco puffs decreased while purchasing of fixed-price e-cigarette puffs increased. Among those with nicotine gum experience, when the price of tobacco puffs was closest to the actual market value of tobacco puffs, e-cigarette availability decreased median tobacco puff purchases by 44% compared to when tobacco was available alone. In contrast, nicotine gum availability caused no decrease in tobacco puff purchases. E-cigarettes may serve as a behavioral economic substitute for tobacco cigarettes, and may be a superior substitute compared to nicotine gum in their ability to decrease tobacco use. Although important questions remain regarding the health impacts of e-cigarettes, these data are consistent with the possibility that e-cigarettes may serve as smoking cessation/reduction aids.

scholarly journals Analysis of the Socio-environmental Management of Covid 19 in Perú

2021 ◽  
Vol 259 ◽  
pp. 03003
Author(s):  
Sandra Cueto ◽  
Jorge Ferrer ◽  
Alvaro Guevara ◽  
Yensy Segovia
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Environmental Management ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Mortality Rate ◽  
Health System ◽  
Initial Phase ◽  
Public Health System ◽  
The Public ◽  
Cultural Heterogeneity ◽  
Scientific Support

The objective of this article is to analyze the management of Covid-19 from a socio-environmental perspective, with a scientific, holistic and adaptive approach. On March 16 of 2020, the Peruvian government began to implement measures to slow the spread of the virus and allow time to strengthen the public health system and after 9 months the results have placed the country among the first places in the mortality rate world level. The basic lines of action of the Peruvian government have been focused on: reducing crowds, stocking up with hospital supplies and detecting infected. However, we identified that the actions corresponding to such basic lines lacked scientific support, were academically biased and inappropriate to the context. Our analysis has been accompanied by proposals that should have been applied in the initial phase of the proliferation of the virus, each of these proposals are designed based on scientific interdisciplinarity and adapted to the geographical and cultural heterogeneity of Peru. It is concluded that decision making must be in accordance with the different realities of the country and that since it is a diverse country, these decisions must be approached seeking the benefit of the entire population.

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