COVID-19 and the Media in Nigeria

This chapter provides a Nigerian perspective to the global COVID-19 public health crisis that began in 2019. Two approaches were used to explain the impact of COVID-19 on the media in Nigeria and the effect of the latter on the spread/containment of the virus. The pandemic directly limited the operations of the media in many ways: socially, economically, and otherwise. On the other hand, both mainstream and social media was instrumental in curtailing the spread of COVID-19 through information, education, and infotainment.

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Investigating Community Pharmacy Take Home Naloxone Dispensing during COVID-19: The Impact of One Public Health Crisis on Another

Pharmacy ◽

10.3390/pharmacy9030129 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (3) ◽

pp. 129

Author(s):

George Daskalakis ◽

Ashley Cid ◽

Kelly Grindrod ◽

Michael A. Beazely

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Community Pharmacy ◽

Online Survey ◽

Comfort Level ◽

Future Research ◽

Health Crisis ◽

Public Health Crisis ◽

Pharmacy Technicians ◽

The Impact ◽

Overdose Deaths

A recent report found that the number of opioid-related deaths in Ontario in the first 15 weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic was 38.2% higher than in the 15 weeks before the pandemic. Our study sought to determine if pharmacy professionals self-reported an increase or decrease in naloxone provision due to the pandemic and to identify adjustments made by pharmacy professionals to dispense naloxone during the pandemic. A total of 231 Ontario community pharmacy professionals completed an online survey. Pharmacy professionals’ barriers, facilitators, and comfort level with dispensing naloxone before and during the pandemic were identified. The sample consisted of mostly pharmacists (99.1%). Over half (51.1%) reported no change in naloxone dispensing, while 22.9% of respondents reported an increase and 24.7% a decrease. The most common adjustments made during the pandemic were training patients how to administer naloxone over video or phone, delivering naloxone kits, and pharmacy technicians offering naloxone at prescription intake. Over half (55%) of participants said the top barrier for dispensing was that patients did not request naloxone. Naloxone distribution through pharmacies could be further optimized to address the increased incidence of overdose deaths during the pandemic. Future research should investigate the reasons for changes in naloxone dispensing.

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Most Often Motivated by Social Media: The Who, the What, and the How Much—Experience from Poland

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su132011193 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (20) ◽

pp. 11193

Author(s):

Karol Król ◽

Dariusz Zdonek

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Intrinsic Motivation ◽

Statistical Methods ◽

The Other ◽

Public Expression ◽

Other Hand ◽

The Impact ◽

The Way

Content published in social media (SM) can be motivating. It can induce action, stimulate demand, and shape opinions. On the other hand, it can demotivate, cause helplessness, or overwhelm with information. Still, the impact of SM is not always the same. The paper aims to analyse the relations between sex, personality, and the way social media is used and motivation to take specific actions. The conclusions are founded on a survey (n = 462). The data were analysed with statistical methods. The study revealed that the use of SM has a significant impact on the motivation to act. Browsing through descriptions and photographs of various achievements posted by others in SM increased the intrinsic motivation of the respondents. Positive comments and emojis had a similar effect. Moreover, women and extraverts noted a significantly greater impact of SM on their intrinsic motivation concerning health and beauty effort, travel, hobby, and public expression of opinions than men and introverts. The results can be useful to recruiters. Extravert women that are open to cooperation, thorough, and well-organised are more likely to be active in SM.

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COVID-19 as an “Infodemic” in Public Health: Critical Role of the Social Media

Frontiers in Public Health ◽

10.3389/fpubh.2021.610623 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

Author(s):

Debanjan Banerjee ◽

K. S. Meena

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Social Media ◽

Critical Role ◽

Global Public Health ◽

Sources Of Information ◽

Multiple Sources ◽

Health Crisis ◽

Digital Platforms ◽

The Impact

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has emerged as a significant and global public health crisis. Besides the rising number of cases and fatalities, the outbreak has also affected economies, employment and policies alike. As billions are being isolated at their homes to contain the infection, the uncertainty gives rise to mass hysteria and panic. Amidst this, there has been a hidden epidemic of “information” that makes COVID-19 stand out as a “digital infodemic” from the earlier outbreaks. Repeated and detailed content about the virus, geographical statistics, and multiple sources of information can all lead to chronic stress and confusion at times of crisis. Added to this is the plethora of misinformation, rumor and conspiracy theories circulating every day. With increased digitalization, media penetration has increased with a more significant number of people aiding in the “information pollution.” In this article, we glance at the unique evolution of COVID-19 as an “infodemic” in the hands of social media and the impact it had on its spread and public reaction. We then look at the ways forward in which the role of social media (as well as other digital platforms) can be integrated into social and public health, for a better symbiosis, “digital balance” and pandemic preparedness for the ongoing crisis and the future.

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Biological Tools to Deal with Pollution : Selected Advances and Novel Perspectives

International Journal of Public Health Science (IJPHS) ◽

10.11591/ijphs.v3i1.4675 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 57

Author(s):

Abdelaziz Ghanemi ◽

Besma Boubertakh

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Raw Materials ◽

Economic Benefits ◽

The Other ◽

Environment And Public Health ◽

The Public ◽

Other Hand ◽

Metabolic Properties ◽

Living Organisms ◽

The Impact

Pollution represents a problem common to economy and public health. Indeed, the public health, because of the divers’ type of pollutions, is facing divers challenges for which urgent solutions are required.The biology provides approaches not only to deal with the pollution, but also to obtain economic benefits. Some living organisms have particular metabolisms that allow them to assimilate and metabolite the polluting agents and thus reduce the impact they have on both environment and public health. On the other hand, the metabolic properties of specific organisms make the polluting elements raw materials to synthesize other elements that are benefits for economy and non-toxic for the ecology and the biohealth. Yet, other options such as the regulations and laws are required to improve the efficiency of these approaches.

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Digital Media and Memory Balkanization

Memories of Tiananmen ◽

10.5117/9789463728447_ch08 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Francis L.F. Lee ◽

Joseph M. Chan

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Hong Kong ◽

Collective Memory ◽

Digital Media ◽

Negative Impact ◽

The Other ◽

Other Hand ◽

Political Forces ◽

The One ◽

The Impact

Chapter 8 discusses the impact of digital media on collective memory. The chapter examines both the positive and negative impact of digital and social media. On the one hand, the analysis notes how digital media provided the channels for memory mobilization and the archives for memory transmission. On the other hand, the analysis examines the problematics of memory balkanization. It explicates how political forces have shaped the development of digital and social media in Hong Kong and how competing representations of the Tiananmen Incident and commemoration activities are articulated and reinforced within distinctive memory silos.

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Policy response, social media and science journalism for the sustainability of the public health system amid the COVID-19 outbreak: The Vietnam lessons

10.31235/osf.io/cfw8x ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Viet-Phuong La ◽

Thanh-Hang Pham ◽

Toan Manh Ho ◽

NGUYỄN Minh Hoàng ◽

Nguyen Phuc Khanh Linh ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Social Media ◽

High Volume ◽

Policy Response ◽

Sources Of Information ◽

Science Journalism ◽

Health Crisis ◽

Science Community ◽

The Media ◽

The Government

Having geographical proximity and a high volume of trade with China, the first country to record an outbreak of the new Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Vietnam was expected to have a high risk of transmission. However, as of 4 April 2020, in comparison to attempts to containing the disease around the world, responses from Vietnam are seen as prompt and effective in protecting the interests of its citizens, with 239 confirmed cases and no fatalities. This study analyzes the situation in terms of Vietnam’s policy response, social media and science journalism. A self-made web crawl engine was used to scan and collect official media news related to COVID-19 between the beginning of January and April 4, yielding a comprehensive dataset of 14,952 news items. The findings shed light on how Vietnam—despite being under-resourced—has demonstrated political readiness to combat the emerging pandemic since the earliest days. Timely communication on any developments of the outbreak from the government and the media, combined with up-to-date research on the new virus by the Vietnamese science community, have altogether provided reliable sources of information. By emphasizing the need for immediate and genuine cooperation between government, civil society and private individuals, the case study offers valuable lessons for other nations concerning not only the concurrent fight against the COVID-19 pandemic but also the overall responses to a public health crisis.

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Self-reported compliance and attitudes about social distancing during the COVID-19 outbreak

10.31219/osf.io/bv28d ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Brauer Group Lab

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Health Crisis ◽

Social Distancing ◽

Public Health Crisis ◽

Self Reports ◽

Long Time ◽

Public Health Officials ◽

The Media ◽

Nationally Representative ◽

News Networks

We studied self-reports of social distancing in a nationally representative survey of U.S. adults. We found that younger, less educated individuals who do not see social distancing as effective or the norm are currently less likely to fully comply with social distancing recommendations. Barriers such as not being able to tolerate social distancing for a long time prevent individuals from doing so, while seeing how distancing can help one's family and others is a potential benefit that could be made salient to encourage compliance. Communication campaigns aimed at increasing social distancing should use trusted sources such as public health officials and should work through national news networks and social media, as these are the media most used by the individuals whose behavior we need to change to address the current public health crisis.

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How to Quarantine False Information: What the U.S. Government May Do as False Information Spread on Social Media during a Public Health Crisis Becomes a Biosecurity Threat

Journal of Biosecurity Biosafety and Biodefense Law ◽

10.1515/jbbbl-2021-2005 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 0 (0) ◽

Author(s):

Sonam James

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Social Media ◽

Hate Speech ◽

Health And Safety ◽

False Information ◽

Safety Measures ◽

Health Crisis ◽

Public Health Crisis ◽

Global Spread ◽

Public Health And Safety

Abstract With the global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, misinformation about the pandemic spread prolifically on social media. False or harmful information about the coronavirus pandemic spread on social media included hate-speech, vaccine misinformation, and misinformation about public health and safety measures. In the midst of a serious public health crisis, where public cooperation for mandated health and safety measures hinges on trust in government and facts, false information rapidly spread through social media becomes a biosecurity threat. This article explores whether false or harmful information can be regulated during a serious public health emergency.

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