scholarly journals Social Media Surveillance in Schools: Rethinking Public Health Interventions in the Digital Age (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin Burke ◽  
Cinnamon Bloss
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Surveillance Systems ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Private Companies ◽  
Digital Surveillance ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
Student Safety

UNSTRUCTURED Growing public concern about student safety and well-being has led schools and school districts to contract private companies to implement new technologies that target and surveil students’ activity on social media websites. Although innovative solutions for addressing student safety and health are needed, it is unclear whether the implementation of social media surveillance in schools is an effective strategy. Currently, there is no evidence to support the claims made by social media surveillance companies, as well as the schools that hire them, that these technologies can address the myriad of public health issues facing today’s students. Instead, these digital surveillance systems may only serve to exacerbate the problems that youth—especially those from historically marginalized groups—already face.

scholarly journals Social Media Surveillance in Schools: Rethinking Public Health Interventions in the Digital Age

10.2196/22612 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (11) ◽  
pp. e22612
Author(s):  
Colin Burke ◽  
Cinnamon Bloss
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Surveillance Systems ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Private Companies ◽  
Digital Surveillance ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
Student Safety

Growing public concern about student safety and well-being has led schools and school districts to contract private companies to implement new technologies that target and surveil students’ activity on social media websites. Although innovative solutions for addressing student safety and health are needed, it is unclear whether the implementation of social media surveillance in schools is an effective strategy. Currently, there is no evidence to support the claims made by social media surveillance companies, as well as the schools that hire them, that these technologies can address the myriad of public health issues facing today’s students. Instead, these digital surveillance systems may only serve to exacerbate the problems that youth—especially those from historically marginalized groups—already face.

scholarly journals Social Media– and Internet-Based Disease Surveillance for Public Health

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison E. Aiello ◽  
Audrey Renson ◽  
Paul N. Zivich
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Disease Surveillance ◽  
Data Science ◽  
Digital Data ◽  
Surveillance Systems ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Digital Surveillance ◽  
Health Tracking ◽  
Public And Private Partnerships

Disease surveillance systems are a cornerstone of public health tracking and prevention. This review addresses the use, promise, perils, and ethics of social media– and Internet-based data collection for public health surveillance. Our review highlights untapped opportunities for integrating digital surveillance in public health and current applications that could be improved through better integration, validation, and clarity on rules surrounding ethical considerations. Promising developments include hybrid systems that couple traditional surveillance data with data from search queries, social media posts, and crowdsourcing. In the future, it will be important to identify opportunities for public and private partnerships, train public health experts in data science, reduce biases related to digital data (gathered from Internet use, wearable devices, etc.), and address privacy. We are on the precipice of an unprecedented opportunity to track, predict, and prevent global disease burdens in the population using digital data.

scholarly journals Top Concerns of Tweeters During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Infoveillance Study (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alaa Abd-Alrazaq ◽  
Dari Alhuwail ◽  
Mowafa Househ ◽  
Mounir Hamdi ◽  
Zubair Shah
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Latent Dirichlet Allocation ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Crisis Response ◽  
Economic Losses ◽  
Surveillance Systems ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
The Mean

BACKGROUND The recent coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is taking a toll on the world’s health care infrastructure as well as the social, economic, and psychological well-being of humanity. Individuals, organizations, and governments are using social media to communicate with each other on a number of issues relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. Not much is known about the topics being shared on social media platforms relating to COVID-19. Analyzing such information can help policy makers and health care organizations assess the needs of their stakeholders and address them appropriately. OBJECTIVE This study aims to identify the main topics posted by Twitter users related to the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS Leveraging a set of tools (Twitter’s search application programming interface (API), Tweepy Python library, and PostgreSQL database) and using a set of predefined search terms (“corona,” “2019-nCov,” and “COVID-19”), we extracted the text and metadata (number of likes and retweets, and user profile information including the number of followers) of public English language tweets from February 2, 2020, to March 15, 2020. We analyzed the collected tweets using word frequencies of single (unigrams) and double words (bigrams). We leveraged latent Dirichlet allocation for topic modeling to identify topics discussed in the tweets. We also performed sentiment analysis and extracted the mean number of retweets, likes, and followers for each topic and calculated the interaction rate per topic. RESULTS Out of approximately 2.8 million tweets included, 167,073 unique tweets from 160,829 unique users met the inclusion criteria. Our analysis identified 12 topics, which were grouped into four main themes: origin of the virus; its sources; its impact on people, countries, and the economy; and ways of mitigating the risk of infection. The mean sentiment was positive for 10 topics and negative for 2 topics (deaths caused by COVID-19 and increased racism). The mean for tweet topics of account followers ranged from 2722 (increased racism) to 13,413 (economic losses). The highest mean of likes for the tweets was 15.4 (economic loss), while the lowest was 3.94 (travel bans and warnings). CONCLUSIONS Public health crisis response activities on the ground and online are becoming increasingly simultaneous and intertwined. Social media provides an opportunity to directly communicate health information to the public. Health systems should work on building national and international disease detection and surveillance systems through monitoring social media. There is also a need for a more proactive and agile public health presence on social media to combat the spread of fake news.

scholarly journals Top Concerns of Tweeters During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Infoveillance Study

10.2196/19016 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. e19016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alaa Abd-Alrazaq ◽  
Dari Alhuwail ◽  
Mowafa Househ ◽  
Mounir Hamdi ◽  
Zubair Shah
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Latent Dirichlet Allocation ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Crisis Response ◽  
Economic Losses ◽  
Surveillance Systems ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
The Mean

Background The recent coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is taking a toll on the world’s health care infrastructure as well as the social, economic, and psychological well-being of humanity. Individuals, organizations, and governments are using social media to communicate with each other on a number of issues relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. Not much is known about the topics being shared on social media platforms relating to COVID-19. Analyzing such information can help policy makers and health care organizations assess the needs of their stakeholders and address them appropriately. Objective This study aims to identify the main topics posted by Twitter users related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods Leveraging a set of tools (Twitter’s search application programming interface (API), Tweepy Python library, and PostgreSQL database) and using a set of predefined search terms (“corona,” “2019-nCov,” and “COVID-19”), we extracted the text and metadata (number of likes and retweets, and user profile information including the number of followers) of public English language tweets from February 2, 2020, to March 15, 2020. We analyzed the collected tweets using word frequencies of single (unigrams) and double words (bigrams). We leveraged latent Dirichlet allocation for topic modeling to identify topics discussed in the tweets. We also performed sentiment analysis and extracted the mean number of retweets, likes, and followers for each topic and calculated the interaction rate per topic. Results Out of approximately 2.8 million tweets included, 167,073 unique tweets from 160,829 unique users met the inclusion criteria. Our analysis identified 12 topics, which were grouped into four main themes: origin of the virus; its sources; its impact on people, countries, and the economy; and ways of mitigating the risk of infection. The mean sentiment was positive for 10 topics and negative for 2 topics (deaths caused by COVID-19 and increased racism). The mean for tweet topics of account followers ranged from 2722 (increased racism) to 13,413 (economic losses). The highest mean of likes for the tweets was 15.4 (economic loss), while the lowest was 3.94 (travel bans and warnings). Conclusions Public health crisis response activities on the ground and online are becoming increasingly simultaneous and intertwined. Social media provides an opportunity to directly communicate health information to the public. Health systems should work on building national and international disease detection and surveillance systems through monitoring social media. There is also a need for a more proactive and agile public health presence on social media to combat the spread of fake news.

Examining the accuracy of estimated smartphone use: How well-being and usage level predict discrepancies between estimated and actual use

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig Sewall ◽  
Daniel Rosen ◽  
Todd M. Bear
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Mobile Device ◽  
Screen Time ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Actual Use ◽  
Smartphone Use ◽  
Usage Level

The increasing ubiquity of mobile device and social media (SM) use has generated a substantial amount of research examining how these phenomena may impact public health. Prior studies have found that mobile device and SM use are associated with various aspects of well-being. However, a large portion of these studies relied upon self-reported estimates to measure amount of use, which can be inaccurate. Utilizing Apple’s “Screen Time” application to obtain actual iPhone and SM use data, the current study examined the accuracy of self-reported estimates, how inaccuracies bias relationships between use and well-being (depression, loneliness, and life satisfaction), and the degree to which inaccuracies were predicted by levels of well-being. Among a sample of 393 iPhone users, we found that: a.) participants misestimated their weekly overall iPhone and SM use by 22.1 and 16.6 hours, respectively; b.) the correlations between estimated use and well-being variables were consistently stronger than the correlations between actual use and well-being variables; and c.) the amount of inaccuracy in estimated use is associated with levels of participant well-being as well as amount of use. These findings suggest that estimates of device/SM use may be biased by factors that are fundamental to the relationships being investigated. **This manuscript is currently under review**

scholarly journals Whose Health in Whose City? A Systems Thinking Approach to Support and Evaluate Plans, Policies, and Strategies for Lasting Urban Health

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (21) ◽  
pp. 12225
Author(s):  
Silvio Cristiano ◽  
Samuele Zilio
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Urban Planning ◽  
Systems Thinking ◽  
Urban Health ◽  
Urban Governance ◽  
Well Being ◽  
World Health ◽  
Urban Systems ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
The Impact

An increasing interest has been present in scientific literature and policy making for the links between urban environments and health, as also learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic. Collaboration between urban planning and public health is therefore critical for enhancing the capabilities of a city to promote the well-being of its people. However, what leverage potential for urban health can be found in existing plans, policies, and strategies that address urban health? Starting from the relationship between urban systems and health issues, the purpose of this contribution is to broaden the systemic knowledge of urban systems and health so as to try to figure out the impact potential of local urban governance on public health. Considering the systemic nature of health issues, as defined by the World Health Organisation, this is done through a systems thinking epistemological approach. Urban health proposals are studied and assessed in four European cities (Copenhagen, London, Berlin, and Vienna). Current criticalities are found, starting from the guiding goal of such proposals, yet a systemic approach is suggested aimed at supporting and evaluating lasting and healthy urban planning and management strategies.

Online Opinion Leaders in the Health Promotion Digital Era

2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 295-309
Author(s):  
Joyce Cheah Lynn-Sze ◽  
◽  
Azlina Kamaruddin ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Health Communication ◽  
Opinion Leader ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Opinion Leaders ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Public

Health opinion leaders have widely embraced social media for health promotion and public health communication which can make a strong influence on the public decision making. However, despite the growing relevance of public health threats such as infectious diseases, pandemic influenza and natural disasters, research has paid little attention to the qualities of opinion leaders. Moreover, there is limited evidence that public health organisations use social media appropriately to engage in meaningful conversations with audiences. Thus, the aims of the study are to describe principles of communication practised by online opinion leaders to promote health issues, to discuss the strategies of social media used, to explain the opinion leaders’ influence attributes in health decision making and finally to develop a model of online opinion leader in the contemporary health promotion era. Content analysis was conducted on Facebook postings of five selected health opinion leaders. In addition, semi-structured interviews with 10 followers were conducted. The findings of the study revealed that there are three principles of communication practised by online opinion leaders, which are language, interaction and themes. There are three strategies opinion leaders use to influence the public: social connectivity, social support and social consultation. Furthermore, there are five opinion leaders’ attributes that influence the public’s decision making, namely personality, authenticity, trust/credibility, professional knowledge and social position. The model would be beneficial in educating and guiding the current public health opinion leaders in order to establish health and social well-being. Keywords: Online opinion leader, online health communication, public health, two-step flow theory, decision making.

Health and disease

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Emerson ◽  
Hussein Solomon
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Original Source ◽  
Economic Issues ◽  
International Borders ◽  
Security Challenge ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
Disease Epidemics ◽  
Globalized World

More often viewed as a developmental or a humanitarian challenge rather than a security challenge, addressing the vast array of African public health problems has increasingly come to be seen as a critical human security priority. While many have criticized the securitization of health issues, the cross-cutting linkages to other political, social, and economic issues are real and so too are their implications for security. In addition, most health challenges in Africa were previously seen as localized problems threatening only the well-being of specific populations, but in today’s globalized world they can have profound negative implications far beyond the original source of the problem. While some international public health threats, such as disease pandemics, are nothing new the ability of new disease epidemics to transcend international borders and continents at a speed and breadth is heretofore unknown in human history.

scholarly journals How do Norwegian adolescents experience the role of social media in relation to mental health and well-being: a qualitative study

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gunnhild Johnsen Hjetland ◽  
Viktor Schønning ◽  
Randi Træland Hella ◽  
Marius Veseth ◽  
Jens Christoffer Skogen
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Practical Significance ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Mental Health Issues ◽  
Health And Well Being

Abstract Background During the last decade, social media has permeated most parts of society. Adolescents are particularly active users of social media, and their use has been suggested as a contributing factor to mental health issues in this group. Quantitative studies have found associations between the frequency and/or duration of social media use and more mental health issues. However, most studies are cross-sectional and the identified associations are weak and of questionable practical significance. The aim of this study was to investigate adolescents’ lived experiences of using social media, focusing on both negative and positive aspects, using a qualitative approach. Qualitative research enables in-depth explorations of the experiences of individuals, nuance quantitative findings, and offer the perspective of adolescents into policies regarding social media use. Methods Experiences and perspectives of 27 adolescents from two senior high schools in Norway were gathered using focus group interviews (mean age 16.8, range 15–18). The data were analysed using thematic analysis. Results According to the participants, social media use catalyse changes to how people communicate and relate to each other (theme 1). Some changes were positive, in terms of facilitating social connectedness, while others were negative, such as people behaving worse than in face-to-face interactions. Further, social media use affected the participants at the individual level (theme 2); positively in terms of a sense of belonging and social support, and negatively in terms of perceived stress, body pressure, and displacing other activities such as sleep and homework. The motivations for using, or not using, social media were multifaceted (theme 3), reflecting the positive and negative aspects of social media in terms of interpersonal and personal consequences. Conclusion Social media was described as an important part of the participants’ everyday life, with both a positive and negative impact on their mental health and well-being. Considering the compelling nature of social media and adolescents’ relatively limited self-regulatory capacities, efforts to modify social media use should avoid relying on self-regulation, while also recognizing the importance of social media as an arena for peer interaction.

Public Health and Tourism; A Personalist Approach to Community Well-being: A Narrative Review

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Habib ALIPOUR ◽  
Hamed REZAPOURAGHDAM ◽  
Banafshe ESMAEILI
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Medical Tourism ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Journal Articles ◽  
The Public ◽  
Spillover Theory ◽  
Individual Health Status ◽  
Broaden And Build Theory

Given concerns over the public and individual health status of modern society and the scarcity of research on mobility and the health nexus, taking a personalist perspective grounded in spillover theory integrated with broaden-and-build theory, this study uses preventive science ideology and explores the links between tourism and public health through the illustration of the effects of travel on people’s personal, mental, and social wellbeing (PMS-web). A comprehensive review of the literature which is based on themes initiated from WHO (1948) statement: “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” was adopted. Physical, mental, and social (PMS) well-being and tourism/travel keywords were used to search top tier journal articles via the Web of Science and google scholars’ search engines. Findings revealed that a positive linkage exists between travel/tourism and the PMS well-being of individuals that contribute considerably to their state of health per se and is vital to the public health in societies. Although the reviewed tourism literature includes plentiful studies on health/medical tourism or the health issues of host/guests, the lack of focus on the nexus of tourism and public health is sensible.

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