scholarly journals COVID-19: Pandemic of Cognitive Biases Impacting Human Behaviors and Decision-Making of Public Health Policies

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
François Lechanoine ◽  
Katlyn Gangi
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Cognitive Biases ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
Human Behaviors

Morality in the echo chamber: The relationship between belief in conspiracy theories, morality and support for COVID-19 public health policies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theofilos Gkinopoulos ◽  
Christian T. Elbaek ◽  
Panagiotis Mitkidis
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Cognitive Biases ◽  
Political Support ◽  
Policy Support ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Conspiracy Beliefs

Beliefs in conspiracy theories are a major problem, especially in the face of a pandemic, as these constitute a significant obstacle to public health policies, like the use of masks and vaccination. Indeed, during the COVID-19 pandemic, several ungrounded explanations regarding the origin of the virus or the effects of vaccinations have been rising, leading to vaccination hesitancy or refusal which poses as a threat to public health. Recent studies have shown that in the core of conspiracy theories lies a moral evaluation component; one that triggers a moral reasoning which reinforces the conspiracy itself. To gain a better understanding of how conspiracy beliefs about COVID-19 affect public health containment behaviours and policy support, we analysed comprehensive data from the International Collaboration on the Social & Moral Psychology (ICSMP) of COVID-19, consisting of more than 50.000 participants across 67 countries. We particularly explored the mediating role of two levels of morality: individual and group-based morality. Results show that believing in conspiracy theories reduces adoption of containment health-related behaviors and political support of public health measures and that this relationship is mediated by the two levels of morality. This means that beliefs in conspiracy theories do not simply constitute antecedents of cognitive biases or failures, nor maladaptive behaviors based on personality traits, but are morally infused and should be dealt as such. Based on our findings, we further discuss the psychological, moral, and political implications of endorsement of conspiracy theories in the era of the pandemic.

scholarly journals The Influence of Cultural and Policy Intervention on Medical Values: Based on Chinese Theories and Empirical Research

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei He ◽  
Huan liu ◽  
Tian Tian Hu
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Medical Treatment ◽  
Health Management ◽  
Traditional Culture ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
Policy Intervention ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
Disease Occurrence ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background People's view of value medical care has taken on a great change, and then transferred to medical treatment behaviors and medical decision-making.Methods Based on the data of the Chinese Health Service Survey and the CLHLS survey database, this paper empirically tests the impact of traditional culture and policy protection on value medical care from the perspective of disease occurrence and the laws of life course.Results The results show that cultural traditions have a greater impact on the medical values of urban residents than that of rural residents, and the income level has significantly increased the level of medical expenditures one month before the end of life. Borne by the spouse or children living together or subsidized by the state or collective, the elderly who have no money to pay for the medical consumption will have a significantly lower medical expenses in the month before death. Conclusions Based on this, the article explores the importance of constructing effective health management policies and medical consumption guidance from two aspects of health value concept and value medical treatment, in order to promote people to form better medical consumption habits and health management concepts .Highlights1.In the course of illness, there are more patients who seek medical treatment in the early stages of the disease, but at the end of life there is excessive consumption of medical resources.2.The medical consumption habits in a country ’s traditional culture will affect the current decision-making for medical treatment. At the same time, medical insurance policies and public health policies will also have a greater impact on their behavior, but the formation of a valued medical concept may be more affected by traditional culture. .3.Through the research on the impact of disease occurrence law and life course law on the formation of value medical concept, it provides reliable support for promoting multi-level medical insurance system and improving the protection of basic public health policies. Policy intervention needs to combine the medical habits under the traditional culture and implement it to the supply of primary health services, guide medical consumption behavior through protection policies, control medical consumption, and enhance the value of medical consumption.

scholarly journals Population simulations of COVID-19 outbreaks provide tools for risk assessment and continuity planning

JAMIA Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Peng ◽  
Rowland W Pettit ◽  
Christopher I Amos
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Emergency Response ◽  
Robustness Analysis ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
Command Line ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
Continuity Planning ◽  
Quantitative Estimates ◽  
Community Infection

Abstract Objectives We developed COVID-19 Outbreak Simulator (https://ictr.github.io/covid19-outbreak-simulator/) to quantitatively estimate the effectiveness of preventative and interventive measures to prevent and battle COVID-19 outbreaks for specific populations. Materials and methods Our simulator simulates the entire course of infection and transmission of the virus among individuals in heterogeneous populations, subject to operations and influences, such as quarantine, testing, social distancing, and community infection. It provides command-line and Jupyter notebook interfaces and a plugin system for user-defined operations. Results The simulator provides quantitative estimates for COVID-19 outbreaks in a variety of scenarios and assists the development of public health policies, risk-reduction operations, and emergency response plans. Discussion Our simulator is powerful, flexible, and customizable, although successful applications require realistic estimation and robustness analysis of population-specific parameters. Conclusion Risk assessment and continuity planning for COVID-19 outbreaks are crucial for the continued operation of many organizations. Our simulator will be continuously expanded to meet this need.

scholarly journals Characterization of death from colorectal cancer in Mato Grosso State/Legal Amazon/Brazil, 2000-2016

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
R S Caló ◽  
B S N Souza ◽  
N D Galvão ◽  
R A G Souza ◽  
J C S Oliveira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Colorectal Cancer ◽  
International Classification Of Diseases ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
Rectosigmoid Junction ◽  
Mato Grosso ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Classification Of Diseases ◽  
Using Data

Abstract Background Colorectal cancer has been one of the cancers that most contributed to mortality, in both sexes in the world. In Brazil, cancer is among the top five causes of death and colorectal cancer is ranked on the fifth position. Of the Federative Units belonging to the Legal Amazon, Mato Grosso stands out for the higher adjusted incidence of colorectal cancer for both sexes. Thus, the objective is to characterize deaths from colorectal cancer, according to sociodemographic variables in Mato Grosso from 2000 to 2016. Methods A descriptive study was carried out, using data from the Mortality Information System, made available by the Department of Health of the Mato Grosso State. Deaths of all ages were selected, whose basic cause was identified by the codes from the International Classification of Diseases: (C.18) colon cancer, (C.19) rectosigmoid junction cancer, (C.20) rectal cancer or (C.21) anus cancer. Results Between 2000 and 2016, 31,607 deaths from cancer were registered. Of these, 1,750 (5.6%) were due to colorectal cancer. An increased number of deaths was observed at the end of the period, with a variation from 46 deaths in 2000 from 173 in 2016. Highest frequency was verified in men (51.3%), people aged 60 years or older (59.7%), black (54.6%), married (52.3%) and those with primary education (55.2%). According to Brazilian occupation classification options or those answers filled out on the death certificate, highest frequency were for “Retired” (26.2%), “Housewife” (23.1%), Agricultural/Forestry and Fisheries” (11.3%) and “Production of Industrial Goods and Services” (10.3%). Conclusions This study evidenced the increased number of deaths due to colorectal cancer in Mato Grosso State, and identified priority groups for interventions through public health policies which should include screening and early diagnosis to cope with the disease. Key messages Evidenced the increased number of deaths due to colorectal cancer in Mato Grosso State. Identified priority groups for interventions through public health policies.

Epidemiological surveillance and performance assessment: the two roles of health indicators during the COVID-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 186-203
Author(s):  
Nathan Genicot
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Performance Assessment ◽  
Health Indicators ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
Epidemiological Surveillance ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
History Of ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The One ◽  
Massive Development

AbstractThe COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to the massive development and use of health indicators. Drawing on the history of international public health and of the management of infectious disease, this paper attempts to show that the normative power acquired by metrics during the pandemic can be understood in light of two rationales: epidemiological surveillance and performance assessment. On the one hand, indicators are established to evaluate and rank countries’ responses to the outbreak; on the other, the evolution of indicators has a direct influence on the content of public health policies. Although quantitative data are an absolute necessity for coping with such disasters, it is critical to bear in mind the inherent partiality and precarity of the information provided by health indicators. Given the growing importance of normative quantitative devices during the pandemic, and assuming that their influence is unlikely to decrease in the future, they call for close scrutiny.

The effects of public health policies on health inequalities: a review of reviews

The Lancet ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 390 ◽  
pp. S12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie Thomson ◽  
Frances Hillier-Brown ◽  
Adam Todd ◽  
Courtney McNamara ◽  
Tim Huijits ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Inequalities ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
Review Of Reviews
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document