COVIDiots and Cogency

2021 ◽  
pp. 62-85
Author(s):  
Roy Schwartzman ◽  
Jenni M. Simon
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Heuristics And Biases ◽  
Health Campaigns ◽  
Broadcast Media ◽  
Attitudes And Behaviors ◽  
And Behaviors ◽  
Public Health Campaigns ◽  
Health Experts

The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States spawns a perplexing polemic. Intransigent coronavirus skeptics who defy public health recommendations often get cast as ideological zealots or as perniciously ignorant. Both characterizations overlook a more fundamental epistemic opposition. The authors recast the conflict between COVID-19 skeptics and public health advocates as the rhetorical incompatibility between the deliberative, scientifically grounded public health experts and the intuitive, emotion-driven mental heuristics of the non-compliant. This study examines the discourse of COVID-19 misinformation purveyors on broadcast media and online. Their main contentions rely on heuristics and biases that collectively not only undermine trust in particular medical experts, but also undercut trust in the institutions and reasoning processes of science itself. The findings suggest ways that public health campaigns can become more effective by leveraging some of the intuitive drivers of attitudes and behaviors that scientists and argumentation theorists routinely dismiss as fallacious.

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviors Related to Sodium Intake and Reduction Among Adult Consumers in the United States

2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deesha Patel ◽  
Mary E. Cogswell ◽  
Katherine John ◽  
Stephanie Creel ◽  
Carma Ayala
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Health Professional ◽  
Sodium Intake ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Professional Advice ◽  
Attitudes And Behaviors ◽  
Reduce Sodium Intake ◽  
And Behaviors ◽  
Respondent Characteristics

Purpose. To describe the prevalence and determinants of sodium-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors among U.S. adults Design. A cross-sectional survey was used. Setting. The study was set in the United States in 2012. Subjects. Participants were 6122 U.S. adults. Measures. Sodium-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors were measured. Analysis. Chi-squared tests were used to determine differences in sodium-related knowledge, attitude, and behaviors by respondent characteristics; multiple logistic regression was used to examine associations between selected respondent characteristics and health professional advice, reported action, or knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors (adjusted for all other respondent characteristics). Results. About three-fourths of respondents answered eating too much sodium is “somewhat” or “very” harmful to their health. Twenty-six percent reported receiving health professional advice, and 45% reported taking action to reduce their sodium intake. The prevalence of reported action was highest among adults receiving advice, those with hypertension, blacks, and those aged ≥65 years. Sixty-two percent who reported action agreed that most of their sodium comes from processed or restaurant foods. Of those reporting action, the most common tactics to reduce sodium intake were checking nutrition labels, using other spices than salt, and choosing low-sodium foods; requesting lower-sodium options when eating out was the least common tactic. Conclusion. Results suggest almost half of adults overall and the vast majority of those receiving health professional advice are taking some action to watch or reduce sodium intake. Although a substantial proportion report using recommended tactics to lower intake, many are not using the most effective tactics. In order to reach the general population, health communication messages could be simpler and focus on the most effective tactics to reduce sodium intake. Furthermore, health professionals can help reduce sodium intake by discussing the benefits of sodium reduction and tactics to do so, regardless of a hypertension diagnosis.

Factors That Influence Where Babies Sleep in the United States

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen Kendall-Tackett ◽  
Zhen Cong ◽  
Thomas Hale
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Parenting Practices ◽  
The United States ◽  
Age At First Birth ◽  
Health Campaigns ◽  
Safe Sleep ◽  
Sleep Behavior ◽  
Partner Status ◽  
Education Levels ◽  
Public Health Campaigns

Overview: Bedsharing is common in the United States in spite of numerous public health campaigns telling parents not to do it. This suggests that generic, never-bedshare messaging does not result in safe-sleep behavior. It also suggests we know little about the characteristics of mothers who bedshare. This study addresses this gap by examining demographic characteristics of mothers including race/ethnicity, income, education, partner status, and maternal age.Sample: The sample was the U.S. cohort (N = 4,789) of the Survey of Mothers’ Sleep and Fatigue.Results: Consistent with previous findings, we found that African American and American Indian mothers were more likely to bedshare, as were lower income and single mothers. We also found that bedsharing mothers were more likely to have lower education levels, be younger age at first birth, and were less likely to be currently employed. There were also striking racial/ethnic differences on location of night feeds, where mothers think babies should sleep, and their reasons for engaging in their nighttime parenting practices.Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the mothers’ demographics are related to bedsharing practices. Furthermore, simply describing bedsharing in terms of “cultural differences” oversimplifies a complex set of behaviors and beliefs. Safe sleep messaging, including safe bedsharing, needs to be tailored to address the various subgroups of mothers living in the United States.

scholarly journals Acculturation Strategy, Integration Paradoxes and Educational Adaptation—A Case Study of Chinese Visiting Scholar’s Family in the United States

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 39
Author(s):  
Weidong Li ◽  
Sisi Chen
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Cultural Difference ◽  
The United States ◽  
Academic Expectations ◽  
Attitudes And Behaviors ◽  
Mediated Effects ◽  
And Behaviors ◽  
Acculturation Strategy ◽  
The Relationship

In this case study, we developed a theoretical framework for examining the relationship between acculturation strategy and educational adaptation. By interviews and observations of one Chinese visiting scholar’s family in the United States, we found that the family utilized integration as the acculturation strategy to adapt to the US educational environment. However, we also found that the family’s perceived integration attitudes and behaviors were opposed to its actual integration attitudes and behaviors, which we called integration paradoxes. These integration paradoxes included the following four areas: a) cultural difference; b) academic and non-academic problem solving; c) academic expectations; and d) bicultural competence. The findings indicated potential moderated and/or mediated effects of the four integration paradoxes on the relationship between integration and educational adaptation.

Disregarding Theology in the Psychology of Religion: Some Examples

1989 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 329-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Donahue
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Psychology Of Religion ◽  
The United States ◽  
Attitudes And Behaviors ◽  
And Behaviors

Psychologists examining the effects of religiosity on other beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors have at times suffered from a lack of sophistication concerning the very real impact of differences in theology among various groups in the United States. Specific examples of this lack of sophistication are discussed. Recent findings concerning fundamentalism are then considered as examples of a more sophisticated approach. Lastly, a number of methodological and conceptual recommendations are offered to help bring theological perspectives to bear on research.

Industrial life insurance, public health campaigns, and public communication of science, 1908-1951

1992 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 347-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce V. Lewenstein
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Life Insurance ◽  
The United States ◽  
Private Life ◽  
Insurance Companies ◽  
Public Communication ◽  
Health Campaigns ◽  
History Of ◽  
Communication Of Science ◽  
Public Health Campaigns

During the first half of the twentieth century, private life insurance companies in the United States provided an important locus for the public communication of science, through their support of public health campaigns. This paper provides a history of how and why three companies (the Metropolitan, the Prudential, and the John Hancock life insurance companies) drew on their strength in `industrial' life insurance (sold to the lower classes at low, weekly rates) to engage in public health reforms. Only the Metropolitan and the Hancock, however, became active in public communication of health information. The paper suggests that four key factors provided the context for the companies' activities: (1) legislative and social pressure for reform; (2) increases in profits associated with healthier (and therefore longer-lived) customers; (3) ideals of social reform held by individuals in positions of bureaucratic power within the insurance organizations; and (4) organized machinery for weekly contact with and distribution of information to policyholders as a result of the nature of industrial life insurance.

Measles cases will spur US vaccines debate

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
New York ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
The United States ◽  
Health Campaigns ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Control And Prevention ◽  
Current Outbreak ◽  
Public Health Campaigns ◽  
Media Firms

Subject Measles cases and vaccinations in the United States. Significance The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in late May there had been 971 reported cases of measles in 2019, surpassing the previous US record of 963 in 1994. Measles is highly contagious but had been eliminated in the United States in 2000. Now, however, it is back. The current outbreak is particularly affecting parts of New York City and within that, the Orthodox Jewish community. Impacts Social media firms could face government and public pressure further to help with public health campaigns. There will likely be court cases against local governments’ legal moves to compel people to be vaccinated. If vaccination levels do not increase markedly, inroads could be created into the problem by increasing US border health checks.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document