Sources of Information on Medicinal Products Among Physicians – A Survey Conducted Among Primary Care Physicians in Poland

Introduction: Primary care physicians need to have access to up-to-date knowledge in various fields of medicine and high-quality information sources, but little is known about the use and credibility of sources of information on medicinal products among Polish doctors. The main goal of this study was to analyze the sources of information on medicinal products among primary care physicians in Poland.Methods: A survey was conducted among 316 primary care physicians in Poland. The following information was collected: demographic data of participants, type and frequency of using data sources on medicinal products, barriers to access credible information, assessment of the credibility of the sources used, impact of a given source and other factors on prescription decisions.Results: The most frequently mentioned sources of information were medical representatives (79%), medical journals (78%) and congresses, conventions, conferences, and training (76%). The greatest difficulty in finding the latest information about medicinal products was the lack of time. The surveyed doctors considered clinical guidelines to be the most credible source of information, and this source also had the greatest impact on the choice of prescribed medicinal products.Conclusion: The study showed that clinicians consider clinical guidelines as the most credible source of information with the greatest impact on prescribing medicinal products. However, it is not the source most often mentioned by doctors for obtaining knowledge about medicinal products. There is a need to develop strategies and tools to provide physicians with credible sources of information.

COVID Appropriate Behaviour compliance and Vaccine Hesitancy: Findings from a COVID-19 Health Education Campaign in a Government Tertiary Care Hospital in Delhi, India

Introduction Public health measures remain the best available approach to tackle the COVID pandemic. However, little is currently known about the compliance and acceptance of these measures by people in India. Methods The Department of Community Medicine, VMMC and Safdarjung Hospital, a tertiary care hospital in New Delhi, organized a health education campaign for raising awareness on COVID-19 in the hospital premises over a period of 15 days in May2021. Educational and interactive sessions were conducted by medical residents, interns and staff. Data on compliance to public health measures was collected and analysed using SPSS 21. All quantitative variables were descriptively analysed while qualitative data was narratively analysed. Results 84(12.57%) of those observed were wearing their mask incorrectly. Social distancing was inadequate at 16 sites. 69(10.33%) reported to have received single or both doses of vaccine. Common reasons for not getting vaccinated included doubts about vaccine efficacy, eligibility, adverse events, availability and accessibility. Conclusions Mask usage was universal, but directives on correct protocol of wearing masks needs to be widely circulated. Credible information about vaccine safety, efficacy, availability and accessibility needs to be available to the community to build confidence in COVID-19 vaccination.

Do constituents know (or care) about the lawmaking effectiveness of their representatives?

Substantial evidence exists that members of the US Congress vary in their lawmaking effectiveness. Less known, however, is whether constituents are sufficiently informed and inclined to hold their representatives accountable, based on their effectiveness. We conduct two separate survey experiments, informing some constituents about lawmakers' effectiveness and comparing their responses to those with the baseline level of information. We find that voters demonstrate little knowledge of their elected officials' lawmaking effectiveness. When presented with objective and credible information about lawmaking effectiveness, however, respondents express greater approval of more effective lawmakers. Effects are strongest among ideological moderates, but are even pronounced among partisans, who approve of effective representatives of the opposing party, and disapprove of ineffective representatives from their own party.

Exploratory Study on Audience Perception of Information Credibility on Media Platforms in Ghana

Using a focus group discussion, this study sought to understand how media audiences perceive information in the media environment in Ghana. The study found out that the prevalence of fake news on social media platforms serves as a disincentive to consumers of media messages from giving attention to information from some media platforms. Legacy media, radio and television, for many of the participants, present credible information on its platform with the belief that rigorous scrutiny is done by the media organisation before information is shared with their audiences on air. Though participants in the group discussions are often dismissive of media information they have doubts about, they occasionally, not routinely, verify information from news portals they deem credible. Participants also rely on their intuition to assess the truthfulness or otherwise of a story.

Developing a mobile application to improve the quality of life among breast cancer survivors

Background In recent years, there has been a growing recognition of the value of mobile applications for health. The current study explored key factors that drive use of mobile applications among breast cancer survivors,. Methods We conducted in-depth interviews with a convenience sample of 14 ethnically diverse cancer survivors and individuals in their support systems. Interviewees included six breast cancer survivors, one survivor of a different type of cancer, and four individuals in their support systems (caregivers, clinical professionals, or research professionals). Interview transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results Themes emerged in two overarching categories: 1) finding meaningful support and 2) ensuring utility of a mobile application. In relation to meaningful support, participants identified three important themes: increasing social support and connection, motivation for self-care, and assistance navigating healthcare. In the area of application utility, participants identified three key themes: keeping a user-friendly interface, ensuring credible information, and using the data collected for the purposes intended. Conclusion It is important to consider factors associated with both meaning and utility when developing a mobile application for breast cancer survivors. Further research is needed with breast cancer survivors of additional ethnic minority groups to confirm or extend important areas for consideration.

Communication in a pandemic: Concerns of agricultural and natural resources opinion leaders during early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic

During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic (March-April 2020), opinion leaders in agriculture and natural resources (ANR) were asked to participate in a survey about the impacts of the crisis on the ANR industry specifically about their concerns related to communication, economics, level of preparedness, and health during this crisis. Of the 225 ANR leaders who participated, the majority were concerned that members of the public were sharing inaccurate information about COVID-19; others they come into contact with were not taking appropriate measures to avoid contracting COVID-19; about the impact of COVID-19 on the U.S. economy, their state’s economy, and the global economy; and other countries’ level of preparedness to deal with COVID-19. ANR leaders were consistently the most concerned about items that were outside of their direct sphere of influence. Implications from this work are that ANR leadership programs should incorporate programing to help ANR leaders understand how to be influential during a crisis at a national and international level. For statewide ANR leadership programs, it is recommended to include programming sessions related to identifying and sharing credible information and enabling and inspiring those in their circle of influence to do the same.

Integrating the ISO 14034 standard as a platform for carbon capture and utilization technology performance evaluation

Independent testing and verification of emerging technologies are vital parts of the technology-commercialization process. With the rapid development of carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technologies, where existing standards and certifications do not exist, independent verification approaches and guidelines can provide a means to obtain credible information for an emerging market. The ISO 14034:2016—Environmental Management: Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) standard can serve as a foundational platform to ensure the consistency, quality and credibility of data on CCU technology performance, enabling direct comparisons between technologies and reducing risk to decision-makers regarding potential investment, future deployment and ultimate impacts of CCU innovations. Applying the fundamental principles of ISO 14034 to the evaluation of nine finalist CCU technologies competing in the NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE ensured that data used to evaluate competitors was of high quality, consistent across technologies and met the information needs of the XPRIZE and competition judges responsible for selecting winners. The approaches outlined here, including verification parameters and verification tasks for both XPRIZE-specific technology evaluations and full CCU technology evaluation by an accredited entity in conformance with the ISO 14034 standard, provide insight into the potential benefits—methodological consistency, high-quality data, independent oversight, methodological flexibility and broad applicability—and limitations—technology readiness and applicability, verification and instrumentation costs and lack of specificity—of the approach in an application for the evaluation of emerging technologies. Further application of the ISO 14034 standard and principles, developed through a consensus approach that incorporates other developing guidelines, can drive consistency and credibility for technology-performance evaluations across the CCU sector, ultimately leading to reduced risk and improved market access for new innovations.

Screening and Signaling Non-Cognitive Skills: Experimental Evidence from Uganda

We study how employers and job-seekers respond to credible information on skills that are difficult to observe, and how this affects matching in the labor market. We experimentally vary whether certificates on workers’ non-cognitive skills are disclosed to both sides of the market during job interviews between young workers and small firms in Uganda. The certificates cause workers to increase their labor market expectations, while high-ability managers revise their assessments of the workers’ skills upwards. The reaction in terms of beliefs leads to an increase in positive assortative matching and to higher earnings for workers, conditional on employment.

Polska literatura dziecięca w Chinach

Polish literature has been present in China since 1906. The first Polish literary text translated into Chinese was Latarnik (The Lighthouse Keeper) by Henryk Sienkiewicz. Contemporary fans of Polish novella and novel were reading indirect translations since the Chinese novelists, who did not speak Polish, usually based their translations on the Japanese versions. In my years of contact with Chinese culture and literature, I have never come across any mention of translations of Polish or Eastern European children’s literature. Once I started my research into this subject, I quickly learned what caused the lack of information on it. It turned out that it was quite difficult to find any credible information on what has been translated, in what volume it was published and what the reactions of young readers were.As a result, this article is merely an introduction to the research on Polish children’s literature in People’s Republic of China and focuses almost exclusively on latest publications, i.e. released in the twenty-first century. To a significant extent, it is based on data collected from people actively participating in promoting Polish culture in China via email. I received a lot of valuable data from Wojciech Widłak – one of the authors whose children’s books were published in China. The article is practically a short catalogue of books published on the Chinese market, but it also presents the few reviews I have managed to find in Chinese sources. There is also a presentation of the translators and it is worth noting that Polish children’s literature has been taken care of by the best among those studying Polish literature in China. I hope that this article will be the first of many on the position, popularity and reception of Polish children’s literature in China.

Infobotting COVID-19: A case study of Ask Nameesa in Egypt

With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, misinformation and unscientific interpretations flooded the internet. Seeking credible information in Egypt was paramount at the time. An answer to this quest was ‘Ask Nameesa’, an award-winning Egyptian-focused chatbot that utilizes Facebook Messenger to communicate with social media users in an individualized response engagement. It relies on information validated by WHO and the Egyptian Ministry of Health. This article examines the structure of Ask Nameesa as an example of infobots and studies the interactive engagement it offers users to provide health information. The study analyses data gathered by interviewing the founder and CEO of DXwand, the company that developed Ask Nameesa as well as content analysis of conversations with Ask Nameesa to assess its user engagement. The study aims at understanding the potential Ask Nameesa has in providing information literacy and tackling public demand for information.