public health campaigns
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2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Barnabas Szaszi ◽  
Nandor Hajdu ◽  
Peter Szecsi ◽  
Elizabeth Tipton ◽  
Balazs Aczel

AbstractKnowing who to target with certain messages is the prerequisite of efficient public health campaigns during pandemics. Using the COVID-19 pandemic situation, we explored which facets of the society—defined by age, gender, income, and education levels—are the most likely to visit social gatherings and aggravate the spread of a disease. Analyzing the reported behavior of 87,169 individuals from 41 countries, we found that in the majority of the countries, the proportion of social gathering-goers was higher in male than female, younger than older, lower-educated than higher educated, and low-income than high-income subgroups of the populations. However, the data showed noteworthy heterogeneity between the countries warranting against generalizing from one country to another. The analysis also revealed that relative to other demographic factors, income was the strongest predictor of avoidance of social gatherings followed by age, education, and gender. Although the observed strength of these associations was relatively small, we argue that incorporating demographic-based segmentation into public health campaigns can increase the efficiency of campaigns with an important caveat: the exploration of these associations needs to be done on a country level before using the information to target populations in behavior change interventions.


Children ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 103
Author(s):  
Robert J. Wellman ◽  
Catherine M. Sabiston ◽  
Matthis Morgenstern

Adolescents who engage in heavy episodic drinking (HED—i.e., 5+ drinks on a single occasion) increase risks for psychopathology, alcohol dependence, and similar negative consequences in adulthood. We explored associations among depressive symptoms, positive alcohol beliefs, and progression of heavy episodic drinking (HED) in 3021 German adolescents (M(SD) age at baseline = 12.4 (1.0)) followed for 30 months in 4 waves, using a conditional parallel process linear growth model, with full information maximum likelihood estimation. By wave 4, 40.3% of participants had engaged in HED more than once; 16.4% had done so ≥5 times. Depressive symptoms were indirectly related to baseline values of HED (through positive beliefs and wave 1 drinking frequency and quantity) and to the rate of growth in HED (through positive beliefs and wave 1 quantity). Adolescents with higher levels of depressive symptoms and positive alcohol beliefs drink more frequently and at greater quantities, which is associated with initiating HED at a higher level and escalating HED more rapidly than peers with similar depressive symptoms who lack those beliefs. This suggests that, to the extent that positive alcohol beliefs can be tempered through public health campaigns, education and/or counseling, HED among depressed adolescents might be reduced.


2022 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafael Pinto ◽  
Lyrene Silva ◽  
Ricardo Valentim ◽  
Vivekanandan Kumar ◽  
Cristine Gusmão ◽  
...  

Evaluating the success of a public health campaign is critical. It helps policy makers to improve prevention strategies and close existing gaps. For instance, Brazil's “Syphilis No!” campaign reached many people, but how do we analyze its real impact on population awareness? Are epidemiologic variables sufficient? This study examined literature on using of information technology approaches to analyze the impact of public health campaigns. We began the systematic review with 276 papers and narrowed it down to 17, which analyzed campaigns. In addition to epidemiological variables, other types of variables of interest included: level of (i) access to the campaign website, (ii) subject knowledge and awareness, based on questionnaires, (iii) target population's interest, measured from both online search engine and engagement with Social Network Service, and (iv) campaign exposure through advertising, using data from television commercials. Furthermore, we evaluated the impact by considering several dimensions such as: communication, epidemiology, and policy enforcement. Our findings provide researchers with an overview of various dimensions, and variables-of-interest, for measuring public campaign impact, and examples of how and which campaigns have used them.


Author(s):  
Olaf Gefeller ◽  
Sonja Mathes ◽  
Wolfgang Uter ◽  
Annette B. Pfahlberg

More than twenty-five years ago the Global Solar UV index (UVI) has been introduced as a simple means of visualizing the intensity of ultraviolet radiation and to alert people to the need for sun protection. In our survey among directors of 436 kindergartens in southern Germany we investigated the level of awareness and knowledge about the UVI as well as the practical consequences for sun protection in kindergartens. Less than half of the directors (n=208, 47.7%) had ever heard of the UVI, and only a small minority of them (n=34, 8.7%) used the daily UVI information to adapt sun protective measures in their kindergartens. Detailed knowledge about the UVI was a rarity among the respondents. The proportion of respondents with self-perceived detailed UVI knowledge was five times higher than actual knowledge assessed by an in-depth structured interview using open-ended questions about the UVI (14.2% vs. 2.8%). No clear relationship of UVI awareness, knowledge, and use to directors' age and gender was found. The UVI-related variables also showed no association with directors' knowledge of risk factors for skin cancer and their attitudes towards tanned skin. Overall, the results paint a sobering picture regarding the penetration of the UVI into sun protection policies of German kindergartens. Future public health campaigns should target increasing awareness and understanding of the UVI as well as its importance for sun protection of children.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Denford ◽  
Fiona Mowbray ◽  
Lauren Towler ◽  
Helena Wehling ◽  
Gemma Lasseter ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The aim of this work was to explore barriers and facilitators to uptake of COVID-19 vaccines and to explore views and reactions to efforts to improve vaccine uptake among those who were vaccine hesitant. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with people between the age of 18-29 years who had not had a COVID-19 vaccine, and those between 30-49 years who have not received a second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine (more than 12 weeks after receiving a first). Results A total of 70 participants took part in the study, 35 participants had received one dose of the vaccine, and 35 had not received any vaccine. Participants described a possible willingness to be vaccinated to keep themselves and those around them safe, and to avoid restrictions and return to normal. Barriers to uptake included: 1) perceived lack of need for COVID-19 vaccinations, 2) concerns about the efficacy of vaccinations, 3) concerns about safety 4) access. Uptake appeared to be influenced by the age and health status of the individual, trust in government and knowledge and understanding of science. Introduction of vaccine passes may provide a motive for having a vaccine but may also be viewed as coercive. Conclusion Participants were hesitant, rather than opposed, and had questions about their need for, and the safety and efficacy of the vaccine. Young people did not consider themselves to be at risk of becoming ill from COVID-19, did not think the vaccination was effective in preventing infection and transmission, and did not think sufficient research had been conducted with regard to the possible long-term side-effects. These concerns were exacerbated by a lack of trust in the government and misunderstanding of science. In order to promote uptake, public health campaigns should focus on the provision of information from trusted sources that carefully explains the benefits of vaccination and addresses safety concerns more effectively. To overcome inertia in people with low levels of motivation to be vaccinated, appointments must be easily accessible.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elise M. Stevens ◽  
Coralia Vázquez-Otero ◽  
Xiaoyan Li ◽  
Monisha Arya ◽  
Donna Vallone ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Tobacco advertising disproportionately targets low socio-economic position (SEP) groups, causing higher rates of tobacco use in this population. Anti-tobacco public health education campaigns persuade against use. This study measured real-time exposure of pro- and anti-tobacco messages from low SEP groups in two American cities. Methods Individuals in low SEP groups (N = 95), aged 18–34 years old, who were smokers and non-smokers, from the Boston and Houston areas, took part in a mobile health study. They submitted images of tobacco-related messages they encountered via a mobile application for a 7-week period. Two coders analyzed the images for message characteristics. Intercoder reliability was established using Krippendorff’s alpha and data were analyzed descriptively. Results Of the submitted images (N = 131), 83 were pro-tobacco and 53 were anti-tobacco. Of the pro-tobacco messages, the majority were cigarette ads (80.7%) seen outside (36.1%) or inside (30.1%) a convenience store or gas station and used conventional themes (e.g., price promotion; 53.2%). Of the anti-tobacco messages, 56.6% were sponsored by public health campaigns or were signage prohibiting smoking in a public area (39.6%). Most focused on the health harms of smoking (28.3%). Conclusion Low SEP groups in this study encountered more pro-tobacco than anti-tobacco messages at places that were point-of-sale using price promotions to appeal to this group. Anti-tobacco messages at point-of-sale and/or advertising regulations may help combat tobacco use.


Author(s):  
Awais Ahmed Juno ◽  
Mirza Tasawer Baig ◽  
Aisha Jabeen ◽  
Shahzada Azam Khan ◽  
Saleem Ahmed Khoso ◽  
...  

Pediatric is the field of medicine that is concerned with the health of infants, children and adolescents. Globally, many infectious diseases have been controlled in the 20th century by improving People’s standard of living through public health campaigns and the use of various antimicrobial agents. Evidence suggests that the manner in which Primary Healthcare centers prescribe drugs has contributed to the high rise in Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR). The extent of the resistance is determined by the site of antibiotic application and in this study oral usage of antibiotics was found to be the highest contributor to Anti-Microbial Resistance.  A systematic review of the published literature on the conduct and reporting of meta-analyses in observational studies was done using databases searched included MEDLINE, Educational Resources Information Center, PsycLIT (http://www.wesleyan.edu/libr), Google Scholar, EMBASE, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts and the Current Index to Statistics. It was concluded that most of the articles reported that cephalosporin were widely used antibiotics and therefore its use must be rational; to avoid its abuse which may result to high level of resistance.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 323-347
Author(s):  
Luísa Reis-Castro

Abstract The Aedes aegypti mosquito, known as the vector for Zika, dengue, chikungunya, and yellow fever viruses, has historically been targeted by public health campaigns as an enemy to be eliminated. However, new strategies, such as the transgenic approach, biologically modify the A. aegypti so that they can be deployed to control their own population—here, mosquito breeding and mating is operationalized as an insecticide. In this case, the insect must be simultaneously a friend and an enemy, cared for and killed, and it must establish encounters and nonencounters. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork at a “biofactory” in the northeast of Brazil dedicated to mass-producing these transgenic mosquitoes, this article investigates the new forms of labor and value produced through these contrasting human-mosquito relations. The author also examines how the project is implemented within broader geopolitics of experimentation and more-than-human gendered conceptions. Analyzing the multispecies relationships engendered under the premise that it is possible to produce nonencounters, she identifies the historical conditions and promissory claims of transforming the A. aegypti ’s reproductive capacity into labor for killing. Such recasting yields what the author calls the “nonencounter value” within the scientific remaking of mosquitoes, their becoming and being.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (11) ◽  
pp. e006397
Author(s):  
Hamid Jafari ◽  
Kristin N Saarlas ◽  
W William Schluter ◽  
Marcos Espinal ◽  
Kashef Ijaz ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  

Background: There has been an unprecedented global effort to produce safe and effective vaccines for COVID-19. In less than a year, several pharmaceutical companies and research organizations have developed vaccines that effectively bring about an immune response. However, COVID-19 vaccines have not been accepted by a large percentage of the general population, especially among those excluded from the clinical trials of potential vaccines, such as pregnant women. The current study was aimed to identify predictors of vaccine acceptance in an international sample of pregnant women. Methods: In 2020, data were collected from pregnant women via an anonymous, online, cross-sectional survey. The survey was hosted on the Pregistry platform for COVID-19 studies and was advertised through a variety of social media platforms and parenting forums in 16 countries. Data related to demographics and likelihood of accepting a COVID-19 vaccine were collected. Results: In total, 5,356 women were included in the study. Vaccine acceptance increased as perceived vaccine efficacy increased. If the vaccine was found to be 90% effective, 30% of our sample indicated that they would be ‘very likely’ to get vaccinated, 11% ‘fairly likely’ and 12% ‘somewhat likely’. Ten percent of respondents felt that they were ‘very well informed’ about COVID-19 vaccines, while 8% were ‘very confident’ that these vaccines are safe and/or effective. Over 50% held the opinion that vaccination was ‘very important’ for their country and that the majority of the population should be vaccinated. In a multivariate model, being a college graduate (odds ratio [OR]: 1.20, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.07-1.35), >30 years of age (OR: 1.11, CI: 1.00-1.23), and residing in Africa (OR: 2.37, CI: 1.52-3.73), Asia (OR: 3.63, CI: 2.96-4.48), Europe (OR: 1.17, CI: 1.03-1.33), and South America (OR: 2.22, CI: 1.92-2.58) were associated with increased vaccine acceptance. White Hispanic, Asian, Black/ Black Hispanic, and Hispanic participants had increased odds of accepting the vaccine compared with those who self-identified as White; however, when stratified by region, this increase only held in North America for Hispanic participants. Conclusion: Only half of our international sample of pregnant women indicated that they would be ‘somewhat likely’, ‘fairly likely’, or ‘very likely’ to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Acceptance differed by region, race and ethnicity, age, and education. This fairly low acceptance suggests a need for public health campaigns that can increase confidence among pregnant women.


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