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Sisco HKF, Brummette J. mRNA Vaccine Hesitancy: Spreading Misinformation Through Online Narratives. JOURNAL OF HEALTH COMMUNICATION 2024:1-10. [PMID: 39018340 DOI: 10.1080/10810730.2024.2379954] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/19/2024]
Abstract
This research examined the themes that emerge from online discussions of the COVID-19 vaccines to assist health communicators and officials in combating misinformation in health-related discussions. Using framing theory and the diffusion of innovation framework, this study presents findings from a semantic network analysis of 3842 tweets collected during the first week of February 2022. The authors calculated betweenness and page rank centrality scores for Twitter users participating in the online dialogue and identified 36 semantic themes. Findings revealed that the most influential dialogue participants were retired health and medical professionals, data analysts, journalists, online advocates, and politicians. The frames identified in the study contained several misinformation narratives about the COVID-19 vaccines. The authors discuss the implications of these findings for health officials and communicators as well as the theoretical implications of the diffusion of misinformation and framing as a tool to reiterate untruths.
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Buhl C, Jacobsen R, Almarsdóttir AB, Abtahi S, Andersen A, Deligianni E, Dermiki-Gkana F, Kontogiorgis C, Oikonomou C, Kursite M, Poplavska E, Hegger I, van der Goot M, Sousa Ferreira PB, Ribeiro-Vaz I, Silva AM, Kos M, Lipovec NČ, van Vliet E, Alves TL. Public's perspective on COVID-19 adenovirus vector vaccines after thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS) reports and associated regulatory actions - A cross-sectional study in six EU member states. Vaccine 2024; 42:556-563. [PMID: 38182460 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2023.12.065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2023] [Revised: 12/20/2023] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/07/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE In 2021, thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS) was confirmed by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) as a rare side effect of the COVID-19 adenovirus vector vaccines Vaxzevria® and Jcovden®. This study aimed to describe the public's knowledge of TTS and how it affected the willingness to be vaccinated with COVID-19 vaccines and other vaccines in six European countries. METHODS From June to October of 2022, a multi-country cross-sectional online survey was conducted in Denmark, Greece, Latvia, Netherlands, Portugal, and Slovenia. The minimum target of participants to be recruited was based on the size of the country's population. The results were analysed descriptively. RESULTS In total, 3794 respondents were included in the analysis; across the six countries, 33.3 %-68.3 % reported being familiar with signs and symptoms of TTS, although 3.1-61.4 % of those were able to identify the symptoms correctly. The reported changes in willingness to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and with other vaccines varied per country. The largest reported change in the willingness to be vaccinated with Vaxzevria® and Jcovden® was observed in Denmark (61.2 %), while the willingness to be vaccinated with other COVID-19 vaccines changed most in Slovenia (30.4 %). The smallest decrease in willingness towards future vaccination against COVID-19 was reported in the Netherlands (20.9 %) contrasting with the largest decrease observed in Latvia (69.1 %). CONCLUSION Knowledge about TTS seemed to have influenced the public's opinion in Europe resulting in less willingness to be vaccinated with Vaxzevria® and Jcovden®. Willingness for vaccination against COVID-19 with other vaccines and widespread use of vaccines to prevent other diseases also differed and seemed to be determined by the approaches taken by national health authorities when reacting to and communicating about COVID-19 vaccination risks. Further investigation of optimal risk communication strategies is warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline Buhl
- Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Ramune Jacobsen
- Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Anna Birna Almarsdóttir
- Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
| | - Shahab Abtahi
- Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Clinical Pharmacology, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Armin Andersen
- Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Elena Deligianni
- Laboratory of Hygiene and Environmental Protection, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, Democritus University of Thrace, Alexandroupolis, Greece
| | - Foteini Dermiki-Gkana
- Laboratory of Hygiene and Environmental Protection, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, Democritus University of Thrace, Alexandroupolis, Greece
| | - Christos Kontogiorgis
- Laboratory of Hygiene and Environmental Protection, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, Democritus University of Thrace, Alexandroupolis, Greece
| | - Chara Oikonomou
- Laboratory of Hygiene and Environmental Protection, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, Democritus University of Thrace, Alexandroupolis, Greece
| | - Mirdza Kursite
- Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, Riga Stradins University, Riga, Latvia
| | - Elita Poplavska
- Department of Applied Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy & Institute of Public Health, Riga Stradins University, Riga, Latvia
| | - Ingrid Hegger
- Medicines Department, Centre for Health Protection, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands
| | - Marloes van der Goot
- Medical Technology Department, Centre for Health Protection, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands
| | - Paula Barão Sousa Ferreira
- Department of Pharmacy, Pharmacological Sciences and Health Technologies, Faculty of Pharmacy of University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Inês Ribeiro-Vaz
- MEDCIDS - Department of Community Medicine, Health Information and Decision, Faculty of Medicine of University of Porto, Porto, Portugal; CINTESIS - Centre for Health Technology and Services Research, Faculty of Medicine of University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Ana Marta Silva
- MEDCIDS - Department of Community Medicine, Health Information and Decision, Faculty of Medicine of University of Porto, Porto, Portugal; CINTESIS - Centre for Health Technology and Services Research, Faculty of Medicine of University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Mitja Kos
- University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Social Pharmacy, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Nanča Čebron Lipovec
- University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Social Pharmacy, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Ella van Vliet
- Medical Technology Department, Centre for Health Protection, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands
| | - Teresa Leonardo Alves
- Medicines Department, Centre for Health Protection, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands
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Peres F. Health literacy in ChatGPT: exploring the potential of the use of artificial intelligence to produce academic text. CIENCIA & SAUDE COLETIVA 2024; 29:e02412023. [PMID: 38198321 DOI: 10.1590/1413-81232024291.02412023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2023] [Accepted: 03/15/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024] Open
Abstract
The aim of this study was to identify and analyze the main constituent elements of text generated by ChatGPT in response to questions on an emerging topic in the academic literature in Portuguese - health literacy - and discuss how the evidence produced can contribute to improving our understanding of the limits and challenges of using artificial intelligence (AI) in academic writing. We conducted an exploratory descriptive study based on responses to five consecutive questions in Portuguese and English with increasing levels of complexity put to ChatGPT. Our findings reveal the potential of the use of widely available, unrestricted access AI-based technologies like ChatGPT for academic writing. Featuring a simple and intuitive interface, the tool generated structured and coherent text using natural-like language. Considering that academic productivism is associated with a growing trend in professional misconduct, especially plagiarism, there is a need too take a careful look at academic writing and scientific knowledge dissemination processes mediated by AI technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frederico Peres
- Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública Sergio Arouca, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. R. Leopoldo Bulhões 1480, Manguinhos. 21041-210 Rio de Janeiro RJ Brasil.
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Lessons from COVID'S Vaccination: External-Internal Frictions and Efficiency. Vaccines (Basel) 2023; 11:vaccines11020248. [PMID: 36851126 PMCID: PMC9967920 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines11020248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2022] [Revised: 01/10/2023] [Accepted: 01/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
This paper explores some economic variables that determine the emerging of new COVID-19 variants and the determinants of vaccination advances in 108 countries during a quarterly period from March 2020 to March 2022. We found that more people being fully vaccinated and more education (measured as schooling years) decrease the probability of the emergence of new COVID-19 variants, but more crowded cities and higher percentages of urban population increase that probability. Furthermore, we found that the percentage of fully vaccinated people depends positively on the country's preparation to respond to a health crisis, educational levels, and the index of economic complexity (which measures how diverse in the production of goods and services a country is and the level of its infrastructure), and it depends negatively on the percentage of rural populations (which makes vaccination more difficult).
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