COVID-19 myth-busting: an experimental study

Have we found a solution for health misinformation? A ten-year systematic review of health misinformation literature 2013-2022

BACKGROUND

Health misinformation (HM) has emerged as a prominent social issue in recent years, driven by declining public trust, popularisation of digital media platforms and escalating public health crisis. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, HM has raised critical concerns due to its significant impacts on both individuals and society as a whole. A comprehensive understanding of HM and HM-related studies would be instrumental in identifying possible solutions to address HM and the associated challenges.

METHODS

Following the PRISMA procedure, 11,739 papers published from January 2013 to December 2022 were retrieved from five electronic databases, and 813 papers matching the inclusion criteria were retained for further analysis. This article critically reviewed HM-related studies, detailing the factors facilitating HM creation and dissemination, negative impacts of HM, solutions to HM, and research methods employed in those studies.

RESULTS

A growing number of studies have focused on HM since 2013. Results of this study highlight that trust plays a significant while latent role in the circuits of HM, facilitating the creation and dissemination of HM, exacerbating the negative impacts of HM and amplifying the difficulty in addressing HM.

CONCLUSION

For health authorities and governmental institutions, it is essential to systematically build public trust in order to reduce the probability of individuals acceptation of HM and to improve the effectiveness of misinformation correction. Future studies should pay more attention to the role of trust in how to address HM.

Vaccine communication strategies among healthcare workers as a reflection of the Israeli Ministry of Health's communication strategies before and after the COVID-19 pandemic

Background

Healthcare workers play a central role in communicating information to the public regarding vaccines. Most of the literature has focused on healthcare workers' hesitancy and doubts about getting the flu vaccine themselves. However, few studies have dealt with how they perceive their role in communicating information regarding vaccines, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objectives

(1) To identify the communication strategies used by the Israeli Ministry of Health regarding vaccines during epidemic crises (before and after the COVID-19 pandemic); (2) To identify the communication strategies used by healthcare workers regarding vaccines before and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

A qualitative study based on in-depth interviews was conducted among healthcare workers and used a semi-structured protocol as a research tool. A total of 18 healthcare workers were sampled using purposeful and snowball sampling.

Results

Despite healthcare workers' perception that there has been a decrease in trust in the Israeli Ministry of Health among the public following the COVID-19 outbreak, they still rely on the Israeli Ministry of Health as their primary source of information and use the same communication strategies (such as fear appeals and correcting information) as of the Israeli Ministry of Health to communicate with the public, healthcare providers, and other relevant stakeholders.

Conclusion

Healthcare workers have been shaped by the professional socialization processes within the health system, leading to a predominant reliance on established communication strategies and informational channels. This reliance underscores the importance of evolving these methods to better engage with the public. To address this, there is a compelling need to innovate and adopt new communication techniques that emphasize effective dialogue and transparent interactions. By doing so, healthcare professionals can ensure that their outreach is not only informative but also responsive to the diverse needs and preferences of the community.

Should Communication Campaigns Promoting Vaccination Address Misinformation Beliefs? Implications from a Nationally Representative Longitudinal Survey Study among U.S. Adults

Public health communication campaign planners must carefully consider whether misinformation beliefs are important to target and, ideally, correct. Guided by the reasoned action approach, we hypothesized that behavior-specific beliefs regarding COVID-19 vaccination would account for any observed relationship between general coronavirus misinformation beliefs (misinformation beliefs that are not specific to the anticipated consequences of COVID-19 vaccination) and subsequent vaccine uptake. To test our hypothesis, we used panel data from a two-wave nationally representative sample of U.S. adults pre- and post-vaccine availability (T1: July 2020, T2: April/June 2021, analytic sample: n = 665). Contrary to our hypothesis, we find a residual observed relationship between general coronavirus misinformation beliefs and subsequent vaccine uptake (AOR = 0.40, SE = 0.10). Intriguingly, our post-hoc analyses do show that after also adjusting for T2 behavioral beliefs, this association was no longer significant. With this and other justifications, we recommend that messages promoting vaccination prioritize targeting relevant behavioral beliefs.

The Pandemics of Mass Destruction: A Comparative Analysis of HIV/AIDS and Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Historically, humanity has suffered and endured deadly pandemics of varying mortality rates. Irrefutably, research shows that the outbreak of pandemics is flooded by mythical and fallacious information among the public, hence stifling the prevention, treatment, and management of diseases. This paper focused on comparing selected aspects of the two pandemics, that is, HIV/AIDS and Coronavirus. This comparative analysis is important for drawing informative lessons for effective response and management of pandemics in the future. Through a literature review analysis, the paper established that both pandemics have more similarities than distinctions. The etiology and epidemiology of the diseases assume a similar cascading trajectory; the public health information about the diseases is characterized by myths, conspiracy theories, illusions, and delusions from the public. The myths associated with pandemics prevail around causation, disease transmission, and cure. The pandemics present economic paradoxes, though arguably the negatives outdo the positives. There is a need for the governments and international health custodians to be richly prepared for the pandemics in the future. This implies having special budgetary allocations for possible pandemic outbreaks, investing in vaccine development and disease surveillance, and training and skilling personnel in all social-health-related sectors.

Effective correction of misinformation

This paper reviews correction effectiveness, highlighting which factors matter, which do not, and where further research is needed. To boost effectiveness, we recommend using detailed corrections and providing an alternative explanation wherever possible. We also recommend providing a reminder of the initial misinformation and repeating the correction. Presenting corrections pre-emptively (i.e., prebunking) or after misinformation exposure is unlikely to greatly impact correction effectiveness. There is also limited risk of repeating misinformation within a correction or that a correction will inadvertently spread misinformation to new audiences. Further research is needed into which correction formats are most effective, whether boosting correction memorability can enhance effectiveness, the effectiveness of discrediting a misinformation source, and whether distrusted correction sources can contribute to corrections backfiring.

From Emergence to Endemicity: A Comprehensive Review of COVID-19

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), later renamed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), was first identified in Wuhan, China, in early December 2019. Initially, the China office of the World Health Organization was informed of numerous cases of pneumonia of unidentified etiology in Wuhan, Hubei Province at the end of 2019. This would subsequently result in a global pandemic with millions of confirmed cases of COVID-19 and millions of deaths reported to the WHO. We have analyzed most of the data published since the beginning of the pandemic to compile this comprehensive review of SARS-CoV-2. We looked at the core ideas, such as the etiology, epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical symptoms, diagnostics, histopathologic findings, consequences, therapies, and vaccines. We have also included the long-term effects and myths associated with some therapeutics of COVID-19. This study presents a comprehensive assessment of the SARS-CoV-2 virology, vaccines, medicines, and significant variants identified during the course of the pandemic. Our review article is intended to provide medical practitioners with a better understanding of the fundamental sciences, clinical treatment, and prevention of COVID-19. As of May 2023, this paper contains the most recent data made accessible.

The Common Way in Which the Ministry of Health Conveys Information to the Public: A Simulation Among Israeli Parents with Different Attitudes and Behaviors Regarding Vaccination During a Measles Outbreak in Israel

BACKGROUND

Despite several empirical studies that have emphasized the problematic and ineffective way in which health organizations 'correct' information which does not come from them, they have not yet found ways to properly address vaccine hesitancy.

OBJECTIVES

(1) Examining the responses of groups with different attitudes/ behaviors regarding vaccination; (2) Examining the effect of the common methods of correcting information regarding the response of subgroups, while examining issues of reliability, satisfaction, and information seeking, as well as how health organization tools aid the decision-making process regarding vaccines.

METHODS

A simulation study that included 150 parents of kindergarten children was carried out.

RESULTS

Significant difference was found among the various groups (with respect to vaccination behavior) regarding the extent of their trust in the Ministry of Health (χ2(3) = 46.33; P < 0.0001), the reliability of the Ministry of Health's response (χ2(3) = 31.56; P < 0.0001), satisfaction with the Ministry of Health's response (χ2(3) = 25.25; P < 0.0001), and the level of help they felt the Ministry of Health's tools provided them regarding vaccine-related decision making (χ2(3) = 27.76; P < 0.0001).

CONCLUSION

It is important for health organizations to gain the public's trust, especially that of pro-vaccination groups with hesitant attitudes, while addressing the public's fears and concerns.

Myth and Misinformation on COVID-19 Vaccine: The Possible Impact on Vaccination Refusal Among People of Northeast Ethiopia: A Community-Based Research

Background

To prevent the spread of COVID-19 and carry out a successful vaccination program especially in low-income countries, people must have faith on scientists and health experts. The most significant challenge to vaccination programs’ efficacy is now regarded to be a lack of information and trust in immunization due to myths and misinformation spread in the community. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the myth and misconceptions that are propagated about the COVID-19 vaccine, the refusal rate of the vaccine and determine the factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine refusal.

Methods

A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from December 7 to January 25, 2022. Face-to-face interviews with a standardized questionnaire were used to collect data on the variables. Data were entered into the statistical tool Epi data version 3.1 and then exported to SPSS version 25 for analysis. Binary logistic regression, both bivariable and multivariable, was conducted. In the multivariable binary logistic regression model, the adjusted odds ratio with 95% confidence interval was used to declare statistically significant factors based on a p value less than 0.05.

Results

Out of the total 574 respondents, 60.3% [95% CI (55.5, 64.2)] of them refused to take COVID-19 vaccine. In this study, respondent’s age [AOR = 2.1 at 95% CI: (1.8, 4.9)], perception on COVID-19 vaccine [AOR = 3.0 at 95 CI: (1.9, 4.6)], eHealth literacy [AOR = 2.7 at 95% CI: (1.7, 4.1)], source of information about the vaccine [AOR = 2.9 at 95% CI: (1.9, 4.4)], computer literacy [AOR = 2.8 at 95 CI: (1.8, 4.2)] and frequency of internet use [AOR = 2.2 at 95 CI: (1.8, 5.3)] were identified as determinant factors for COVID-19 vaccine acceptance.

Conclusion

Factors like eHealth literacy, source of information about the vaccine, frequency of internet use, respondent’s perception about the vaccine and computer literacy were found to be determinant factors for COVID-19 vaccine acceptance.

Therapeutic strategies to address monkeypox

Introduction

Monkeypox is a viral zoonosis, with symptoms similar to those seen in smallpox patients, although the clinical presentation may be less severe. Until recently, human monkeypox infection was rare, and primarily occurred in Central and West Africa.

Areas covered

An international outbreak began in May 2022, and monkeypox has now been detected on every continent except Antarctica. The first recognized case from the current outbreak was confirmed in the United Kingdom on 6 May 2022, in an adult with travel links to Nigeria, but it has been suggested that cases had been spreading in Europe for months. On 23 July 2022 the Director-General of the World Health Organization declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.

Expert opinion

There are no treatments specifically for monkeypox virus infections. However, monkeypox and smallpox viruses are genetically similar, and therapeutics developed to combat smallpox may be used to treat monkeypox. This manuscripts reviews what is known about these potential treatments, including tecovirimat and brincidofovir, based on a literature search of PubMed through 9 August 2022, and explores how these therapeutics may be used in the future to address the expanding monkeypox pandemic.

A call for citizen science in pandemic preparedness and response: beyond data collection

The COVID-19 pandemic has underlined the need to partner with the community in pandemic preparedness and response in order to enable trust-building among stakeholders, which is key in pandemic management. Citizen science, defined here as a practice of public participation and collaboration in all aspects of scientific research to increase knowledge and build trust with governments and researchers, is a crucial approach to promoting community engagement. By harnessing the potential of digitally enabled citizen science, one could translate data into accessible, comprehensible and actionable outputs at the population level. The application of citizen science in health has grown over the years, but most of these approaches remain at the level of participatory data collection. This narrative review examines citizen science approaches in participatory data generation, modelling and visualisation, and calls for truly participatory and co-creation approaches across all domains of pandemic preparedness and response. Further research is needed to identify approaches that optimally generate short-term and long-term value for communities participating in population health. Feasible, sustainable and contextualised citizen science approaches that meaningfully engage affected communities for the long-term will need to be inclusive of all populations and their cultures, comprehensive of all domains, digitally enabled and viewed as a key component to allow trust-building among the stakeholders. The impact of COVID-19 on people's lives has created an opportune time to advance people's agency in science, particularly in pandemic preparedness and response.

Critical Consciousness in Vocational Psychology: A Vision for the Next Decade and Beyond

We offer a vision for a vocational psychology that places a larger focus on critical consciousness (CC) to be more responsive to marginalized communities (e.g., immigrants, low-income workers, Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color). CC describes how marginalized people analyze systems of oppression, act toward social justice, and become agentic and hopeful. In this article, we review extant theoretical frameworks that have laid a strong foundation for embedding critical consciousness in research, practice, education and training. We then offer suggestions for promoting critical consciousness within vocational psychology over the next decade. We highlight the promise of transformative, intersectional, and action research with and for marginalized communities; of career interventions that respond to oppression and liberation; and of training that prepares future vocational psychologists to engage in praxis in a complex world. We argue that a greater focus on CC is aligned with vocational psychology’s foundational social justice aspirations.