Ambiguity and unintended inferences about risk messages for COVID - 19

The World Health Organization established that the risk of suffering severe symptoms from COVID-19 is higher for some groups, but this does not mean their chances of infection are higher. However, public health messages often highlight the “increased risk” for these groups such that the risk could be interpreted as being about contracting an infection rather than suffering severe symptoms from the illness (as intended). Stressing the risk for vulnerable groups may also prompt inferences that individuals not highlighted in the message have lower risk than previously believed. In five studies, we investigated how UK residentsinterpreted such risk messages about COVID-19 (n = 396, n = 399, n = 432, n = 474) and a hypothetical new virus (n = 454). Participants recognised that the risk was about experiencing severe symptoms, but over half also believed that the risk was about infection, and had a corresponding heightened perception that vulnerable people were more likely to be infected. Risk messages that clarified the risk event reduced misinterpretations for a hypothetical newvirus, but existing misinterpretations of coronavirus risks were resistant to correction. We discuss the need for greater clarity in public health messaging by distinguishing between the two risk events.r

Social Media Use, Disbelief and (Mis)information During a Pandemic: An Examination of Young Adult Nigerians’ Interactions with COVID-19 Public Health Messaging

This study contributes to transdisciplinary understanding of the COVID-19 pandemic through an examination of perceptions of public health messages as consumed primarily through social media by a purposively enlisted set of young adult Nigerians. The research used focus group discussions and in-depth interviews to elicit the views of 11 young adults, aged 21 to 24, resident in Ajegunle, a low-income community in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital. The study identifies the centrality of social media platforms to the respondents’ processes of meaning-making, and draws on Hall’s (1980) encoding/decoding model in order to bring to the fore their oppositional interpretations of public health messages. The study also identifies respondents’ varying levels of disbelief about the realities of COVID-19, their mistrust of the government officials conveying and enforcing decisions to combat the pandemic, and the propensity for the social media messages they consume and propagate to serve as channels of misinformation.

Big Suppla: Challenging the common view of the supplements and herbs industry impacts the willingness to try and recommend their products

Resorting to complementary/alternative medical (CAM) therapies can lead to bad health outcomes or interfere with officially recommended therapies. CAM use is, nevertheless, widespread and growing. This could be partially due to the perception of the CAM industry as powerless and non-profit oriented, in contrast to the pharmaceutical industry (“Big Pharma”). In reality, both industries are highly profitable and powerful; to highlight this similarity, science communicators coined the term “Big Suppla”. Drawing from the sample of 242 participants upon all exclusions, we experimentally tested whether varying these attributes in presenting the industries impacts consumers’ evaluation of the two categories of products (herbs and supplements) and their willingness to try and recommend them. We also tested whether the effect is moderated by conspiratorial thinking, and whether it is due to a change in trust. All hypotheses were pre-registered. As expected, participants who read the Big Suppla vignette decreased the endorsement of both supplements and herbs, whilst, in contrast to our hypotheses, there were no significant changes in endorsement in the Baby Suppla group. Conspiratorial thinking was related to more endorsement of CAM, but it did not moderate the experimental effects. We also did not observe the expected mediation by trust. Our most robust results corroborate the idea that challenging the myth of benevolence of the CAM industry makes people more critical in evaluating its products or considering their usage. They support the intuitions of science communicators who coined the term Big Suppla, and can help in tailoring public health messages.

COVID-19 Anti-Vaccine Sentiments: Analyses of Comments from Social Media

Purpose: This study analyzed the insights and sentiments of COVID-19 anti-vaccine comments from Instagram feeds and Facebook postings. The sentiments related to the acceptance and effectiveness of the vaccines that were on the verge of being made available to the public. Patients and methods: The qualitative software QSR-NVivo 10 was used to manage, code, and analyse the data. Results: The analyses uncovered several major issues concerning COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. The production of the COVID-19 vaccine at an unprecedented speed evoked the fear of skipping steps that would compromise vaccine safety. The unknown long-term effects and duration of protection erode confidence in taking the vaccines. There were also persistent concerns with regard to vaccine compositions that could be harmful or contain aborted foetal cells. The rate of COVID-19 death was viewed as low. Many interpreted the 95% effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine as insufficient. Preference for immunity gains from having an infection was viewed as more effective. Peer-reviewed publication-based data were favoured as a source of trust in vaccination decision-making. Conclusions: The anti-COVID-19 vaccine sentiments found in this study provide important insights for the formulation of public health messages to instill confidence in the vaccines.

What influences people’s responses to public health messages for managing risks and preventing infectious diseases? A rapid systematic review of the evidence and recommendations

BackgroundIndividual behaviour changes, such as hand hygiene and physical distancing, are required on a population scale to reduce transmission of infectious diseases such as COVID-19. However, little is known about effective methods of communicating risk reducing information, and how populations might respond.ObjectiveTo synthesise evidence relating to what (1) characterises effective public health messages for managing risk and preventing infectious disease and (2) influences people’s responses to messages.DesignA rapid systematic review was conducted. Protocol is published on Prospero CRD42020188704.Data sourcesElectronic databases were searched: Ovid Medline, Ovid PsycINFO and Healthevidence.org, and grey literature (PsyarXiv, OSF Preprints) up to May 2020.Study selectionAll study designs that (1) evaluated public health messaging interventions targeted at adults and (2) concerned a communicable disease spread via primary route of transmission of respiratory and/or touch were included. Outcomes included preventative behaviours, perceptions/awareness and intentions. Non-English language papers were excluded.SynthesisDue to high heterogeneity studies were synthesised narratively focusing on determinants of intentions in the absence of measured adherence/preventative behaviours. Themes were developed independently by two researchers and discussed within team to reach consensus. Recommendations were translated from narrative synthesis to provide evidence-based methods in providing effective messaging.ResultsSixty-eight eligible papers were identified. Characteristics of effective messaging include delivery by credible sources, community engagement, increasing awareness/knowledge, mapping to stage of epidemic/pandemic. To influence intent effectively, public health messages need to be acceptable, increase understanding/perceptions of health threat and perceived susceptibility.DiscussionThere are four key recommendations: (1) engage communities in development of messaging, (2) address uncertainty immediately and with transparency, (3) focus on unifying messages from sources and (4) frame messages aimed at increasing understanding, social responsibility and personal control. Embedding principles of behavioural science into public health messaging is an important step towards more effective health-risk communication during epidemics/pandemics.

Exploring the Interpretation of COVID-19 Messaging on Older Adults’ Experiences of Vulnerability

Public health messages and societal discourse during the COVID-19 pandemic have consistently indicated a higher morbidity and mortality risk for older people, particularly those with multiple health conditions. Older adults’ interpretations of pandemic messaging can shape their perceived vulnerability and behaviours. This study examined their perspectives on COVID-19 messaging. Eighteen community-dwelling older adults residing in Manitoba (Canada) participated in semi-structured telephone interviews between July and August 2020, a period of low COVID-19 cases within the province. Inductive thematic analysis was used to identify key themes that described participants’ processes of information interpretation when consuming pandemic-related messages, their emotional responses to messaging and consequent vulnerability, and the impacts of messaging on their everyday lives. Understanding how older adults have construed COVID-19 and pandemic-related messages, and the subsequent impact on their daily behaviours, is the first step towards shaping societal discourse and sets the stage for examining the pandemic’s long-term effects.

Avoiding isolation: Physical activity for persons with disabilities and Covid-19

It was aimed in this article to draw attention to the following issues: the importance of issuing guidelines on what countries can or should do in order for individuals with disabilities to maintain their daily exercises or physical activity routines, and informing the public about it; the importance of considering the needs of a person with disabilities in emergency preparedness and response plans of the countries affected by the Covid-19 pandemic; the importance of the dissemination of public health messages in plain language and accessible formats through all mass media channels; the importance of providing psychosocial support to persons with disabilities and their families; and, the importance of strengthening support networks for persons with disabilities. In the research, the literature on Covid-19 and physical activity in disabilities published in 2020 was scanned via Pubmed and Google Scholar, and the study was designed as a review. Analysis of the related literature showed that it is important to develop a habit of performing regular physical activity in disabilities and to continue these activities especially during the pandemic period. In this review, persons with disabilities should be informed about what they can or should do to maintain their daily exercise or physical activity routines.

The immune self, hygiene and performative virtue in general public narratives on antibiotics and antimicrobial resistance

This paper employs an assemblage lens to generate analyses of general public narratives on antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Global efforts to reduce AMR include communications aiming to promote general public awareness, provide knowledge, encourage careful antibiotics use, and discourage demands for them. These efforts are somewhat compromised by the assumptions they make of individual lack of knowledge and motivation and the manner in which the AMR problem is framed in isolation from the biological, social and economic structures that produce it. Conceptualising AMR as an effect of antimicrobial assemblages of which publics are but one part, we analysed interviews with the general public on the lived experience of infections, antibiotic treatments and AMR. Far from science and policy discourse on AMR, these narratives showed antibiotics to be partly solutions to the social and biomedical challenges of infection, framed by self-defensive immunity and hygiene, the affective benefits of ‘immune boosting’, and the imperative to sustain the moral standing of the healthy citizen. Failing public awareness and action on AMR can be attributed to public health messages that overlook the social, affective and moral dimensions of infection care and separate AMR from its socio-economic drivers.

Public knowledge and opinion of epigenetics and epigenetic concepts

The field of epigenetics is currently one of the most rapidly expanding in biology and has resulted in increasing public interest in its applications to human health. Epigenetics provides a promising avenue for both targeted individual intervention and public health messaging. However, to develop effective strategies for engagement, it is important to understand the public’s understanding of the relevant concepts. While there has been some research exploring the public’s understanding of genetic and environmental susceptibility to disease, limited research exists on public opinion and understanding of epigenetics and epigenetic concepts. Using an online questionnaire, this study investigated the Australian public’s understanding, views, and opinions of epigenetics and related concepts, including the concepts of the developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) and the first 1000 days. Over 600 questionnaires were completed, with 391 included in the analysis. The survey included questions on knowledge of epigenetics and perceptions of epigenetic concepts for self and for children. Data were analyzed using predominately descriptive statistics, with free-text responses scored based on concordance with predetermined definitions. While participants’ recognition of epigenetic terms and phrases was high, their understanding was limited. The DOHaD theory was more accurately understood than the first 1000 days or epigenetics itself. Female participants without children were more likely to recognize the term epigenetics, while age also had an impact. This research provides a solid foundation for further detailed investigation of these themes, all of which will be important data to help inform future public health messages regarding epigenetic concepts.