"As part of the process to develop food-based dietary guidelines (FBDGs) for Ghana, this rapid evidence review examined the nature, extent, sources, and medium of food and nutrition information dissemination and promotion in Ghana. PubMed, Cochrane, Google Scholar, and Open Access Theses Dissertatio
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ns (OATD) databases were searched systematically using keywords to identify relevant peer-reviewed and grey literature. The review included 31 documents, after excluding 1,302 documents for ineligibility (based on irrelevant title, abstract, and duplicates). Limited reporting of undernutrition was found in print and electronic media. Unhealthy foods, including sugar-sweetened beverages, snacks, yogurt, instant noodles, candy/chocolate, and ice cream were frequently advertised through various communication media. Children are highly exposed to food advertisements, which target them. Promotional characters, animation, billboards, and front-of-store displays; product-branded books, and toys are common strategies for food marketing and advertisement in Ghana. The most frequently reported sources of health and nutrition information were television, radio, social media, health professionals, families, and friends. Children and adults experienced changes in food preferences and choices as a result of exposure to food advertised on television. The commonly used traditional media were radio and television; printed newspaper use has declined tremendously in the past decade. Social media use (particularly WhatsApp, Facebook, and YouTube) is highest in urban areas, and is growing rapidly; young adults are the most active users of social media platforms. Experts recommend regulation as a mitigation for nutrition miscommunication and inaccurate promotion. The current review highlights the need for regulation of food marketing, and advertisement to safeguard a healthy food environment in Ghana." (Abstract)
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"The article analyzes the QAnon phenomenon and the anti-vaxxer movement of COVID-19 deniers as typological manifestations of conspiratorial “alternative rationality.” A number of hypotheses have been proposed: during a pandemic and a parallel infodemic, conspiracy thinking quickly becomes transb
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oundary; all conspiracy theories share certain features; they are discursive (according to Foucault) and underlain by the question of power; growing public distrust of the government is one of the fundamental reasons for the popularity of conspiracy theories. The article proves that the transboundary nature of information contributes to the global spread of conspiracy theories, but they cannot be universalized because they have local specifics in each country (region)." (Abstract)
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"This report takes stock of the early behavioural sciences literature on COVID-19 misinformation. Specifically, it addresses the following three main questions: (1) Who was most likely to believe or share COVID-19 misinformation? (2) What were the consequences of being exposed to or believing COVID-
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19 misinformation? (3) Which behavioural policy interventions were effective in countering COVID-19 misinformation? In addition to addressing these core questions, the report also provides a snapshot of the narratives of COVID-19 misinformation and the prevalence and spread of this misinformation. The report provides insights into policies that can help foster societal resilience against misinformation beyond the specific case of COVID-19, thereby contributing to policy preparation for future crises." (Abstract, page 1)
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"In this article we consider the notion of digital global public good and articulate our understanding of it. Against this conceptual foil, we examine the development of DHIS2 (District Health Information Software Version 2), a global health platform inspired by public goods, focusing on the paradox
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es that arise in the scaling process. We find that the scaling dynamics played out differently at the macro and micro levels, giving rise to the following paradoxes: addition of new functionalities to cater to the universe of users across the world (macro level) works counter to the needs of users in particular locations (micro level); responsiveness to the requests of the donors with a global view (macro level) distorts the production process, as the voices of users, situated in remote locations in developing countries, are not adequately heard; the system needs to be simultaneously relevant across the global (macro level) and the local (micro level), when the former calls for decontextualization and the later (re)contextualization. We then discuss challenges these paradoxes create with regard to attaining non-rivalry and non-exclusion, the defining characteristics of a public good." (Abstract)
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"This article examines how affective narratives of the COVID-19 pandemic on Chinese social media reinforce and challenge established scripts of national identity, political legitimacy, and international geopolitical imaginary. Taking theoretical insights from the scholarship on trauma, disaster nati
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onalism, and politics of emotions, I structure the analysis of social media posts from state media and private accounts around three emotional registers: grief as a crucial site of control and contestation during the initial stage of the outbreak; gandong (being moved in a positive way) associated with stories of heroic sacrifices, national unity, and mundane ‘heart-warming’ moments; and enmity in narratives of power struggles and ideological competition between China and ‘the West’, especially the United States. While state media has sought to transform the crisis into resources for strengthening national belonging and regime legitimacy through a digital reworking of the long-standing repertoire of disaster nationalism, alternative articulations of grief, rage, and vernacular memory that refuse to be incorporated into the ‘correct collective memory’ of a nationalised tragedy have persisted in digital space. Furthermore, the article explicates the ways in which popular narratives affectively reinscribe dominant ideas about the (inter)national community: such as the historical imagination of a continuous nationhood rising from disasters and humiliation, positive energy, and a dichotomous view of the international order characterised by Western hegemony and Chinese victimhood. The geopolitical narratives of the pandemic build on and exacerbate binary oppositions between China and ‘the West’ in the global imaginary, which are co-constructed through discursive practices on both sides in mutually reinforcing ways. The lens of emotion allows us to attend to the resonances and dissonances between official and popular narrativisations of the disaster without assuming a one-way determinate relationship between the two." (Abstract)
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"Le présent bulletin présente l’analyse des rumeurs récurrentes collectées au cours de la période allant de 01 au 20 mai 2022. Au cours de cette période, 156 rumeurs ont été collectées dont 36 sur les réseaux sociaux et 120 rumeurs dans la communauté. La plupart des rumeurs évaluées
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moyen risqué abordent les questions de théorie de complots ou de la corruption au tour de la gestion de la pandémie. Bien que les rumeurs collectées sur les réseaux sociaux dans la plupart un bas risque (83%), elles reflètent par contre soit le sentiment de frustration (43%), de tristesse (29%), de peur (14%) de la part de la population." (Page 1)
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"This paper examines China’s international communication strategy during the initial phase of the global COVID-19 pandemic. In the spring of 2020, Western governments and media began criticising the systematic lack of transparency and accountability in the Chinese political system in relation to t
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he failed containment of the Wuhan outbreak. Facing an unprecedented reputational crisis, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) mobilised its foreign-language media in an attempt to influence the international discourse on COVID-19. Surveying the English and Chinese editions of the People’s Daily, this study identifies CCP discourses aimed at foreign audiences and traces their evolution during the early stages of the pandemic. Overall, the study provides a comprehensive map of Chinese narratives on COVID-19 and generates fresh insights into CCP crisis communication." (Abstract)
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"Die überwiegende Mehrheit der Beiträge in russischen staatlichen Medien über Impfkampagnen im Westen haben eine negative Konnotation. Die Übertreibung der negativen Folgen einer Impfung mit Präparaten von BionTech/Pfizer und Moderna sowie die Überzeichnung der angeblich massenhaften Unzufried
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enheit sind dabei die wichtigsten Narrative der russischen regierungsfreundlichen Medien. Die russische Medienpolitik hinsichtlich der Berichterstattung über westliche Impfstoffe entspricht der allgemeinen staatlichen Linie des Kreml, Russlands herausragende Stellung in der Welt und die Unzulänglichkeiten des Westens hervorzuheben." (Schlussfolgerungen, Seite 4)
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"This study employed three machine learning algorithms, Naïve Bayes, SVM, and a Balanced Random Forest to build a sentiment model that can detect Muslim sentiment about Muslim clerics’ anti-misinformation campaign on YouTube. Overall, 9701 comments were collected. An LDA-based topic model was als
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o employed to understand the most expressed topics in the YouTube comments. Results: The confusion matrix and accuracy score assessment revealed that the balanced random forest-based model demonstrated the best performance. Overall, the sentiment analysis discovered that 74 percent of the comments were negative, and 26 percent were positive. An LDA-based topic model also revealed the eight most discussed topics associated with ten keywords in those YouTube comments. Practical implications: The sentiment and topic model from this study will particularly help public health professionals and researchers to better understand the nature of vaccine misinformation and hesitancy in the Muslim communities." (Abstract)
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"This communication for immunization manual is designed to give step-by-step information on how to design and implement an immunization communication strategy. It guides the reader from creating messages and identifying potential communication barriers, to talking to the media and different stages o
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f what happens during communicating in a crisis, offering tools and ideas on planning, implementing and evaluating a communications strategy, big or small. Taken into an account the current COVID-19 pandemic, a chapter on COVID-19 and crises communication has been included. This manual can be used as a step-by-step document where the reader can start from the first chapter and finish on the last. It can also be used as a guidance for a single action, be it arranging a press conference or looking at how to select target groups. The references to other documents give direction towards further reading. The steps and actions described in the manual are real life examples. The focus is on the how rather than the theories behind. However, to have an idea of theories behind practice, the main overarching theory is described briefly. Each chapter highlights examples of theories behind the tools, bringing in the importance of learning from previous successes, challenges, and failures." (Introduction)
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"This document is intended for health authorities designing RCCE interventions in the context of the current monkeypox outbreak in Europe. It supplements the ‘Interim advice on Risk Communication and Community Engagement during the monkeypox outbreak in Europe, 2022’ jointly published by ECDC an
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d the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe. It provides examples and approaches for RCCE, while building on experience from past outbreaks. These examples can be used to inspire countries in the European Region to develop community engagement approaches and risk communication strategies adapted to the national, regional and/or local context and specific target audiences in their response to the ongoing monkeypox outbreak." (Introduction)
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"VillageReach has started to work with governments in Africa to improve access to primary health care, including immunization programs. One method is to systematically monitor and respond to vaccine questions and misinformation in public discourse through a process called social listening. The appro
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ach applies a framework proposed by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and partners. It identifies the critical barriers to vaccine demand, including access and availability. The social listening analysis helps health systems prioritize responses to address information needs, gaps and emerging misinformation and rumors." (Page 1)
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"This collection of case studies on risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) from 18 different country/ area level public health partners in the WHO European Region provides evidence of numerous results achieved and lessons learned since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. RCCE has not tra
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ditionally been an area where evidence of challenges and solutions was documented. With this compendium, we wanted to collect and share this evidence to support decision-making in this area of work." (Foreword)
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"This guidance is based on the latest evidence and practical experience with IM in the WHO European Region and is designed to provide stakeholders with operational support for IM preparedness, readiness and response in public health emergencies. The intended readership is mainly response authorities
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, stakeholders and partners in countries in the Region in both the coordination and operations, including in communities. It provides practical ways to guide IM and best practices in the technical area of RCCE. Rather than offering specific, one-size-fits-all recommendations, it offers options and approaches that may be applied in each context. The guidance applies primarily to the WHO European Region because of differences among the WHO regions in organizational, structural, cultural and other dimensions of implementation of RCCE and IM, although other regions, headquarters or other stakeholders may use, apply or adapt it." (Executive summary)
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"In the first part, Understanding the problem, the Toolkit provides an overview of the health misinformation landscape, particularly in relation to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), and expands on the roles of gatekeepers and sources before describing the problem as multilayered and requiring compreh
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ensive and coordinated solutions. In the second part, Consulting stakeholders, the Toolkit expands on the roles and initiatives currently taken by governments and international organizations, traditional media and social media platforms, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and experts, to provide an extensive understanding of the angles at which the problem of health misinformation is being approached. In the third and final part, The way forward, the Toolkit describes how different stakeholders have collaborated during COVID-19 to tackle the infodemic, and how that spirit and approach can and should be taken forward to other types of health misinformation." (Executive summary, page viii)
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"Few studies have examined the relationships between the different aspects of vaccination communication and vaccine attitudes. We aimed to evaluate the influence of three unique messaging appeal framings of vaccination from two types of messengers on COVID-19 vaccine acceptance in India. We surveyed
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534 online participants in India using Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) from December 2021 through January 2022. We assessed participants' perception of three messaging appeals of vaccination -COVID-19 disease health outcomes, social norms related to vaccination, and economic impact of COVID-19 - from two messengers, healthcare providers (HCP) and peers. Using a multivariable multinomial logistic regression, we examined participants' ad preference and vaccine hesitancy. Participants expressed a high level of approval for all of the ads, with >80% positive responses for all questions across ads. Overall ads delivered by health care workers were preferred by a majority of participants in our study (n = 381, 71.4%). Ad preference ranged from 3.6% (n=19) social norm/peer ad to 32.4% (n = 173) health outcome/ HCP ad and half of participants preferred the health outcome ad (n = 279, 52.3%). Additionally, vaccine hesitancy was not related to preference (p = .513): HCP vs. peer ads (p = .522); message type (p =.284). The results suggest that all three appeals tested were generally acceptable, as well as the two messenger types, although preference was for the health care provider messenger and health outcome appeal. Individuals are motivated and influenced by a multitude of factors, requiring vaccine messaging that is persuasive, salient, and induces contextually relevant action." (Abstract)
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"This systematic review examines the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of community engagement interventions on outcomes related to childhood immunisation in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and identifies contextual, design and implementation features that may be associated with effectiv
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eness. We identified 61 quantitative and mixed methods impact evaluations and 47 associated qualitative studies related to community engagement interventions for inclusion in the review. For cost-effectiveness analysis 14 of the 61 studies had the needed combination of cost and effectiveness data. The 61 included impact evaluations were concentrated in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa and spread across 19 LMICs. The review found that community engagement interventions had a small but significant, positive effect on all primary immunisation outcomes related to coverage and their timeliness. The findings are robust to exclusion of studies assessed as high risk of bias. Qualitative evidence indicates appropriate intervention design, including building in community engagement features; addressing common contextual barriers of immunisation and leveraging facilitators; and accounting for existing implementation constraints and practicalities on the ground are consistently cited as reasons for intervention success." (Abstract)
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"We aimed to synthesize the existing research on misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines spread on social media platforms and its effects. The secondary aim was to gain insight and gather knowledge about whether misinformation about autism and COVID-19 vaccines is being spread on social media platfor
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ms [...] The search yielded 757 records, with 45 articles selected for this review. We identified 3 main themes of misinformation: medical misinformation, vaccine development, and conspiracies. Twitter was the most studied social media platform, followed by Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. A vast majority of studies were from industrialized Western countries. We identified 19 studies in which the effect of social media misinformation on vaccine hesitancy was measured or discussed. These studies implied that the misinformation spread on social media had a negative effect on vaccine hesitancy and uptake." (Abstract)
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"This study aims to explore the perspectives of policymakers involved in ongoing efforts to boost vaccine confidence in the Philippines following a 2017 Dengvaxia scare and the current COVID-19 pandemic. Between August and November 2020, we conducted 19 semi-structured narrative interviews with purp
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osively selected policymakers from governmental agencies and nongovernmental organizations in the Philippines. Interviews were conducted online, transcribed, and analyzed following the tenets of reflexive thematic analysis. We present results as an emerging model that draws on a chronology conveyed by policymakers in their own words. The Dengvaxia scare proved ‘a decisive wedge’ that splintered Filipino society and pitted governmental agencies against one another. The scare stoked distorted vaccination narratives, which were ‘accelerated rapidly’ via social media, and ignited feelings of uncertainty among policymakers of how to convey clear, accurate health messaging and how to prevent drops in care-seeking more broadly." (Abstract)
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