scholarly journals Mobilising Information and Cancer Prevention: A Comparative Content Analysis of Online Cancer News (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Hongjie Zhang ◽  
Jen Sern Tham

BACKGROUND Cancer is a severe health issue in Malaysia. Different media channels, especially digital media outlets play an essential role as a health educator to disseminate cancer health information, as well as persuade and mobilise cancer prevention in the community. However, little is known about the knowledge of mobilising information (calls to action) in online cancer news, especially from Asian media outlets. OBJECTIVE This study aimed at analysing cancer news articles that contain mobilising information and its news components on the selected Malaysian English and Chinese newspapers with online versions. METHODS The Star Online and Sin Chew Online were selected for analysis because the two newspaper websites enjoy the highest circulation and readership in the English-language and the Chinese-language streams respectively. Two bilingual coders searched the cancer news articles based on sampling keywords, after that read and coded each news article accordingly. Six coding variables were conceptualised from previous studies (i.e., cancer type, news type, news source, news focus, cancer risk factors and mobilising information), and a perfect consistency using Cohen’s Kappa was built between coders (k=.73-.97). Descriptive analysis was used to examine the frequency and percentage of each coding item; Chi-square test was applied to analyse the differences between two newspaper websites, and the associations between examined variables and the presence of mobilising information were examined through binary logistic regression. RESULTS Among 841 analysed news articles, 69.6% (585/841) presented mobilising information. News distributions were unbalanced throughout the year in both English and Chinese newspaper websites; some months occupied the peak (i.e., February and October), but cancer issues and mobilising information for cancer prevention received minimal attention in other months. The news articles from The Star Online and Sin Chew Online were significantly different in several news components, such as the present rates of mobilising information (x^2=9.25, p=.003), providing different types of mobilising information (Interactive MI: x^2=12.08, p=.001), interviewing different news sources (Government Agency: x^2=12.05, p=.001), concerning different news focus (Primary Cancer Prevention: x^2=10.98, p=.001), and mentioning different cancer risks (Lifestyle Risks: x^2=7.43, p=.007). Binary logistic regression results reported that online cancer news articles were more likely to provide mobilising information when interviewed NGOs, focused on topics related to primary cancer prevention, and highlighted lifestyle risks (OR: 2.77, 95% CI: 1.89-4.05; OR: 97.70, 95% CI: 46.97-203.24; OR: 186.28; 95% CI: 44.83-773.96; p=.001; respectively). CONCLUSIONS This study provided new understandings regarding mobilising information in cancer news coverage. It could wake and trigger the individuals’ pre-existing attitudes and intentions on cancer prevention. Thus, health professionals, health journalists, and health campaign designers should be concentrated on mobilising information when distributing health information to the community.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vivian Colón-López ◽  
Vilnery Rivera-Figueroa ◽  
Glizette O Arroyo-Morales ◽  
Diana T Medina-Laabes ◽  
Roxana Soto-Abreu ◽  
...  

Abstract BackgroundIn August 2018, Puerto Rico (PR) became the 4th state or territory in the United States to adopt a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine school-entry requirement, for students 11-12 years old. Evidence suggests that the content of media coverage may impact people's perception of HPV vaccine and their willingness to vaccinate. This study aimed to analyze the content of digital news coverage related to the implementation of the policy in PR.MethodsA content review was conducted of digital media published from January 2017 through December 2018. The content reviewed was carried out in two steps: 1) creating a matrix to summarize each article’s content about the policy and 2) qualitative analysis using a grounded theory approach. ResultsThe search resulted in 34 articles in 17 online local and international news outlets that reported on the implementation of the policy. Analyses showed that 61% of the news articles did not mention the number of required doses, and 79% discussed the new policy concerning cancer prevention. In 2017, news coverage focused mostly on describing the policy, while 2018 coverage focused on controversies surrounding the implementation. Negative emergent codes included: 1) infringement to patient and parental autonomy; 2) Hesitancy from the political sector 3) Hesitancy from groups and coalitions. Positive content included: 1) knowledge and acceptance of HPV vaccine for cancer prevention; 2) importance of education and protective sexual behaviors; and 3) new vaccination law proposal. Neutral emergent codes included: 1) Description of the policy; 2) Information about HPV related cancers; and 3) General information about HPV vaccine.ConclusionsMost of the media coverage in PR was neutral and included limited information related to the vaccine, HPV, and HPV-related cancers. Neutral and negative themes could influence public concerns regarding the new policy, as well as HPV vaccination rates in PR.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Edmond Ofori

Purpose The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of the Ponzi schemes and revocation of licences of some financial institutions in Ghana on financial threat. Design/methodology/approach The study adopted a quantitative research approach. Convenient sampling method was used to select 435 individuals from three regions in Ghana. Standardize questionnaire developed by the researcher was used as the main data collection instrument. The binary logistic regression was used to test the relationship between the dependent variable and the independent variables. Findings The results of the study showed a positive relationship between financial threat and job loss, general health, information search and loss of investment. However, negative relationship was identified between financial threat and total debt, stress, economic hardship and anxiety. Findings from this study imply that job loss, general health, information search and loss of investment are major factors that determined financial threat in Ghana. Practical implications This indicates that individuals in Ghana have become uncertain regarding the use of current and future financial services in Ghana because most individuals have lost their jobs in the financial institutions, cannot get access to safe drinking water and education, need to gather more information before investing in financial institutions in Ghana and losing of funds invested. Originality/value This study is the first to test the effects of the Ponzi schemes and the revocation of licences of some financial institutions in Ghana on financial threat using binary logistic regression.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vivian Colón-López ◽  
Vilnery Rivera-Figueroa ◽  
Glizette O. Arroyo-Morales ◽  
Diana T. Medina-Laabes ◽  
Roxana Soto-Abreu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background In August 2018, Puerto Rico (PR) became the 4th state or territory in the United States to adopt a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine school-entry requirement, for students 11–12 years old. Evidence suggests that the content of media coverage may impact people’s perception of HPV vaccine and their willingness to vaccinate. This study aimed to analyze the content of digital news coverage related to the implementation of the policy in PR. Methods A content review was conducted of digital media published from January 2017 through December 2018. The content reviewed was carried out in two steps: 1) creating a matrix to summarize each article’s content about the policy and 2) qualitative analysis using a grounded theory approach. Results The search resulted in 34 articles obtained from 17 online local and international news outlets that reported the policy's implementation. Analyses showed that 61% of the news articles did not mention the number of required doses, and 79% discussed the new policy concerning cancer prevention. In 2017, news coverage focused mostly on describing the policy, while 2018 coverage focused on controversies surrounding the implementation. Neutral emergent codes included: 1) Description of the policy; 2) Information about HPV related cancers; and 3) General information about HPV vaccine. Negative emergent codes included: 1) infringement to patient and parental autonomy; 2) Hesitancy from the political sector, and 3) Hesitancy from groups and coalitions. Positive content included: 1) knowledge and acceptance of HPV vaccine for cancer prevention; 2) importance of education and protective sexual behaviors; and 3) new vaccination law proposal. Conclusions Most of the media coverage in PR was neutral and included limited information related to the vaccine, HPV, and HPV-related cancers. Neutral and negative themes could influence public concerns regarding the new policy, as well as HPV vaccination rates in PR.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  

Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus is a condition that affects many pregnancies and ethnicity appears to be a risk factor. Data indicate that approximately 18% of Tamil women are diagnosed with gestational diabetes mellitus. Today, approximately 50,000 of Tamils live in Switzerland. To date, there is no official tool available in Switzerland that considers the eating and physical activity habits of this migrant Tamil population living in Switzerland, while offering a quick overview of gestational diabetes mellitus and standard dietetics management procedures. The NutriGeD project led by Bern University of Applied Sciences in Switzerland aimed at closing this gap. The aim of this present study was to evaluate the implementation potential of the tools developed in the project NutriGeD for dietetic counseling before their wide scale launch in Swiss hospitals, clinics and private practices. Method: An online survey was developed and distributed to 50 recruited healthcare professionals working in the German speaking region of Switzerland from October – December 2016 (31% response rate). The transcultural tools were sent to participants together with the link to the online survey. The evaluation outcome was analysed using binary logistic regression and cross tabulation analysis with IBM SPSS version 24.0, 2016. Results: 94% (N=47) respondents believed that the transcultural tools had good potential for implementation in hospitals and private practices in Switzerland. A binary logistic regression analysis revealed that the age of participants had a good correlation (42.1%) on recommending the implementation potential of the transcultural tool. The participants with age group 34- 54 years old where the highest group to recommend the implementation potential of the transcultural tool and this was found to be statistically significant (p=0.05). 74% (34 out of 50) of the respondents clearly acknowledged the need for transcultural competence knowledge in healthcare practices. 80% (N =40) of the respondents agreed that the information presented in the counseling display folder was important and helpful while 60% (N= 30) agreed to the contents being clinically applicable. 90% (N=45) participants recommended the availability of the evaluated transcultural tools in healthcare settings in Switzerland. Conclusion: The availability in healthcare practice of the evaluated transcultural tools was greatly encouraged by the Swiss healthcare practitioners participating in the survey. While they confirmed the need for these transcultural tools, feed-backs for minor adjustments were given to finalize the tools before their official launch in practice. The developed materials will be made available for clinical visits, in both hospitals and private practices in Switzerland. The Migmapp© transcultural tool can serve as a good approach in assisting healthcare professionals in all fields, especially professionals who practice in areas associated with diet - related diseases or disorders associated with populations at risk.


2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (Spring 2019) ◽  
pp. 157-173
Author(s):  
Kashif Siddique ◽  
Rubeena Zakar ◽  
Ra’ana Malik ◽  
Naveeda Farhat ◽  
Farah Deeba

The aim of this study is to find the association between Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) and contraceptive use among married women in Pakistan. The analysis was conducted by using cross sectional secondary data from every married women of reproductive age 15-49 years who responded to domestic violence module (N = 3687) of the 2012-13 Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey. The association between contraceptive use (outcome variable) and IPV was measured by calculating unadjusted odds ratios and adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals using simple binary logistic regression and multivariable binary logistic regression. The result showed that out of 3687 women, majority of women 2126 (57.7%) were using contraceptive in their marital relationship. Among total, 1154 (31.3%) women experienced emotional IPV, 1045 (28.3%) women experienced physical IPV and 1402 (38%) women experienced both physical and emotional IPV together respectively. All types of IPV was significantly associated with contraceptive use and women who reported emotional IPV (AOR 1.44; 95% CI 1.23, 1.67), physical IPV (AOR 1.41; 95% CI 1.20, 1.65) and both emotional and physical IPV together (AOR 1.49; 95% CI 1.24, 1.72) were more likely to use contraceptives respectively. The study revealed that women who were living in violent relationship were more likely to use contraceptive in Pakistan. Still there is a need for women reproductive health services and government should take initiatives to promote family planning services, awareness and access to contraceptive method options for women to reduce unintended or mistimed pregnancies that occurred in violent relationships.


Author(s):  
Jeremy Freese

This article presents a method and program for identifying poorly fitting observations for maximum-likelihood regression models for categorical dependent variables. After estimating a model, the program leastlikely will list the observations that have the lowest predicted probabilities of observing the value of the outcome category that was actually observed. For example, when run after estimating a binary logistic regression model, leastlikely will list the observations with a positive outcome that had the lowest predicted probabilities of a positive outcome and the observations with a negative outcome that had the lowest predicted probabilities of a negative outcome. These can be considered the observations in which the outcome is most surprising given the values of the independent variables and the parameter estimates and, like observations with large residuals in ordinary least squares regression, may warrant individual inspection. Use of the program is illustrated with examples using binary and ordered logistic regression.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhixu Fang ◽  
Yuhang Li ◽  
Lingling Xie ◽  
Min Cheng ◽  
Jiannan Ma ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Dissociative (conversion) disorder in children is a complex biopsychosocial disorder with high rates of medical and psychiatric comorbidities. We sought to identify the characteristics and outcomes of children with dissociative (conversion) disorders in western China. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 66 children admitted with dissociative (conversion) disorders from January 2017 to July 2019, and analyzed their clinical characteristics, socio-cultural environmental variables, and personality and psychiatric/psychological characteristics. Binary logistic regression was used to analyze the variables associated with clinical efficacy. Results Of these 66 patients, 38 (57.6%) were male and 28 (42.4%) were female, 46 (69.7%) had an antecedent stressor, 30 (45.5%) were left-behind adolescents, and 16 (24.2%) were from single-parent families. In addition, 30 patients (45.5%) were not close to their parents, 38 patients (59.4%) had an introverted personality, and 34 (53.1%) had unstable emotions. Thirteen families (19.7%) were uncooperative with the treatment. Patients who had cormorbid anxiety or depression exhibited significantly lower cognitive ability (P < 0.01). Logistic regression found that better treatment outcomes were positively associated with having a close relationship with parents, parental cooperation with treatment, and having a father with a lower level of education (i.e., less than junior college or higher). Conclusions The characteristics and outcomes of children with dissociative (conversion) disorders are related to socio-cultural environmental variables and psychiatric/psychological factors. Timely recognition and effective treatment of dissociative (conversion) disorders are important.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dangui Zhang ◽  
Weixin Zhan ◽  
Chunwen Zheng ◽  
Jinsheng Zhang ◽  
Anqi Huang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Seeking online health information (OHI) has become a common practice globally. The information seekers could face health risks if they are not proficient in OHI literacy. The OHI-seeking behaviors and skills of Chinese college students, the largest proportion of college students in the world, are understudied. This study was aimed to describe OHI-seeking behaviors and skills of college students in Guangdong, China. Methods College students in the Guangdong province with OHI-seeking experience were invited via WeChat, QQ, and Sina Weibo using QR code posters and flyers for participation in this online anonymized questionnaire-based study. Data on demographics, OHI literacy, information resources, search approaches, and behaviors were collected. The relationship between perceived OHI literacy and high-risk behaviors was investigated by bivariate logistic regression analysis. Results Respondents were 1203 college students with a mean age of 20.6 years, females (60.2%), and undergraduates (97.2%). They sought health information via websites (20.3%), WeChat (2.6%), or both (77.1%). Baidu was the main search engine, and baike.baidu.com (80.3%), Zhihu.com (48.4%), and Zhidao.baidu.com (35.8%) were top three among 20 searched websites for information about self-care (80.7%), general health (79.5%), disease prevention (77.7%), self-medication (61.2%), family treatment (40.9%), drugs (37.7%), western medications (26.6%), hospitals (22.7%), physicians (21.4%), and Traditional Chinese Medicine (15.6%). Despite most respondents (78%) lacked confidence in the evidence quality and satisfaction with the results, only 32.4% further consulted doctors. Many (> 50%) would recommend the retrieved information to others. About 20% experienced hacking/Internet fraud. Cronbach’s alpha for the internal consistency of OHI literacy was 0.786. Bivariate logistic regression analysis showed that students who believed they can judge the evidence level of OHI were more likely to self-diagnose (OR = 2.2, 95%CI, 1.6–3.1) and look for drug usage (OR = 3.1, 95%CI, 1.9–5.0). Conclusions This study reveals Chinese college students’ heavy reliance on OHI to manage their own and others’ health without sufficient knowledge/skills to identify misinformation and disinformation. The apparent risky information-seeking behaviors of Chinese college students warrant the provision of regulated, accurate, and actionable health information; assurance of cybersecurity; and health information literacy promotion in colleges by concerned authorities.


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