COVID-19 has had a devastating impact and efforts are being made to speed up vaccinations. The growing problem of vaccine hesitancy may affect the uptake of COVID-19 vaccine. We examined the ...individual, communication and social determinants associated with vaccines uptake.
Data come from a nationwide online probability-based panel of 1012 representative adults in the United States and the survey was conducted before the vaccines were available. People under the federal poverty level and racial and ethnic minorities were oversampled. Our outcome variables of interest were likelihood of vaccinating self and likelihood of vaccinating people under one's care (such as children) measuring behavioral intentions. Independent variables included perceptions of risk, exposure to different media for COVID-19 news, political party identification, confidence in scientists and social determinants of health. Logistic regression analysis was used to ascertain the effects of independent variables on the two outcome variables.
The results indicated that 68 and 65% agreed to get the vaccine for themselves and people under their care, respectively. Risk perceptions (severity of and susceptibility to COVID-19) were significantly associated with vaccine uptake. People who relied on "conservative" news outlets, Republicans, and who had low confidence in scientists are least likely to vaccinate self or children. Non-Hispanic Blacks and those with least schooling were also less likely to receive vaccine for themselves or people in their care.
Our study identified race/ethnicity, risk perceptions, exposure to different media for COVID-19 news, party identification and confidence in scientists as factors that would be affecting COVID-19 vaccine uptake. The good news is that these are addressable through strategic public health communications, but a lot of work remains to be done with some urgency.
•The physical properties of the fuel greatly affects the combustion characteristics.•The engine was able to run on 100% plastic oil without any modifications.•PO25 gives almost similar performance ...characteristics.•The peak pressure and heat release for plastic oil and its blends are high.•Combustion duration and ignition delay reduces with decrease in blend fraction.
An experimental investigation was carried out to assess the effects of using plastic oil in a DI diesel engine. Plastic oil was synthesized from plastic waste, collected from municipal landfill areas, by pyrolysis process. PO25 (25% plastic oil and 75% diesel in volume), PO 50 and PO75 blends were prepared using plastic oil and the reference diesel fuel. In this present work the combustion characteristics of a constant speed diesel engine were studied under variable loading conditions. The results indicate that the thermal efficiency of all blends and neat plastic oil is lower than diesel at all loading conditions. At full load, the peak cylinder pressure, heat release, combustion duration and ignition delay of plastic oil and its blends were higher than that of diesel. The peak pressure of the engine running on neat plastic oil was increased by about 6% but it showed poor thermal efficiency. Based on test results it can be noticed that the combustion characteristics are greatly affected by the physical properties of the fuel.
•Analysis of DEE addition in a diesel engine fuelled with plastic oil.•Comparison of Plastic Oil-DEE blends against diesel fuel.•PD15 gave better performance characteristics than other blends.•NOx, ...Smoke and CO decreases and UHC increases with blend ratio.•Ignition delay increased with addition of DEE.
An experimental investigation was performed to assess the effects using diethyl ether additive in a diesel engine fuelled with waste plastic oil. The variations in the performance, combustion and emission characteristics of the engine using plastic oil and its 5%, 10% and 15% blends with DEE were examined and compared with reference fuel. The experimental results show that the brake thermal efficiency increases with increasing percentage of DEE in the blends and also BSEC reduced considerably while using blended fuels. The combustion was delayed for DEE blends when compared to neat plastic oil and diesel. A drastic reduction in the levels of smoke and NOX was noted for blends at maximum brake power. There was an improvement in the CO emissions while operating with PO-DEE blends, however the UHC emissions were slightly higher. PD15 showed better performance and combustion characteristics with cleaner emissions.
Advances in communications technology, particularly with regards to computer-based media, have opened up exciting possibilities to intervene and influence the trajectory of cancer control, from ...disease prevention to survivorship, and to reduce the cancer burden. The resulting explosion in cancer information in the mass media and on the Internet, however, also offers challenges in terms of equality in access to information and the ability to act on it, as well as in making sure that it is accurate, readily available and easy to use.
Most studies addressing social media use as a normal social behavior with positive or negative effects on health-related outcomes have conceptualized and measured social media use and its effects in ...terms of dose–effect relations. These studies focus on measuring frequency and duration of use, and have seldom considered users’ emotional connections to social media use and the effects associated with such connections. By using a scale with two dimensions capturing users’integration of social media use into their social routines and their emotional connection to the sites’use, the present study has brought preliminary evidence that may help map where social media use, as a normal social behavior, may be considered beneficial or harmful. Data from a nationally representative sample (n = 1,027) of American adults showed that while routine use is associated with positive health outcomes, emotional connection to social media use is associated with negative health outcomes. These associations have been consistent across three health-related outcomes: social well-being, positive mental health, and self-rated health. The data also showed that the strength of the positive and negative associations of routine use and emotional connection with the health outcomes varies across socioeconomic and racial/ethnic population subgroups. Our findings suggest that the link between social media use and health may not only be captured by and explained in terms of conventional dose–effect approaches but may also require a more sophisticated conceptualization and measurement of the social media use behavior.
The first two years of life is a critical window for good nutrition. Promoting infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices in the first two years can help improve child survival and promote ...healthy growth and development. Assessment of IYCF practices is important, especially in developing countries like India where optimal IYCF practices can potentially prevent 12% of all deaths under 5 years of age, to promote awareness and intervene appropriately. The objective of our study is to generate evidence for the association between different types of mass media and appropriate IYCF practices in India, including optimal breastfeeding and appropriate complementary feeding practices. A positive association between them can point to intervention at scale. We analyzed data from India's National Family Health Survey 5 (NFHS-5), 2019-2021. Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine the association of appropriate IYCF practices with mass media exposure. After controlling for demographics and socioeconomic status, the analyses showed that, overall, women who had exposure to television followed by newspaper and movies, had higher odds of adopting the recommended IYCF practices. The results also showed that the association of media exposure varied for different IYCF practices by geography. For instance, in the rural areas, television exposure was positively associated with all the IYCF practices, but in the urban areas, television exposure was positively associated with only early initiation of breastfeeding OR 1.25; (95% CI 1.1-1.42). The study strengthens our understanding that an appropriate selection of mass media channels for intervention programs can promote IYCF practices at scale. Appropriately selecting the type of mass media to create awareness about different IYCF practices, in specific urban-rural settings, could help customize intervention programs to successfully influence IYCF behaviors.
Despite an increasing number of studies revealing both the benefits and harms of social media use on well-being, there is heterogeneity and a lack of consensus on how social media use is ...conceptualized, defined, and measured. Additionally, little is known whether existing literature focuses on ill-being or well-being outcomes and whether studies use theories.
The main objective of this review was to examine (1) how social media use has been conceptualized and measured, (2) what health and well-being outcomes have been focused on, and (3) whether studies used theories.
Studies were located through a comprehensive search strategy involving 4 steps. First, keyword searches were conducted on 6 major databases: PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO, Embase, ProQuest, and Annual Reviews. Second, a search was conducted on Google Scholar using the same sets of search terms, and the first 100 results were examined. Third, the reference sections of reviews identified in the first 2 rounds of searches were examined, and finally, the reference lists of the final set of papers included in the review were searched. Through a multistage screening, papers that met our inclusion criteria were analyzed.
The review included a total of 233 papers published between 2007 and 2020 in 51 different countries. While 66 (28%) of the studies investigated the effects of the problematic use or addiction of social media on health and well-being, 167 (72%) studied the effects of social media use as a "normal" behavior. Most of the studies used measures assessing the time users spend using social media. Most of the studies that examined the effects of problematic social media use or addiction used addiction scales. Most studies examined the association of social media use with mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety, self-esteem, and loneliness. While there are a considerable number of studies investigating physical health outcomes such as self-rated health, sleep, and sitting time or lack of physical activity, relatively a small number of studies examined social, psychological, and emotional well-being. Most of the studies 183 (79%) did not use any theory.
Most studies conceptualized social media use as a "normal" behavior and mostly used time-spent measures, whereas a considerable number of studies conceptualized social media use as an addiction and used various addiction measures. The studies disproportionately focused on investigating the associations of social media use with negative health and well-being outcomes. The findings suggest the need for going beyond time spent to more sophisticated measurement approaches that consider the multiplicity of activities that users perform on social media platforms and the need for more theory-based studies on the association of social media use with not only negative well-being or "ill-being" but also with positive health and well-being outcomes.
•Effective utilization of plastic waste by energy recovery.•WPO synthesis using pyrolysis technique.•Assessment of PO and its blends as an alternative for diesel fuel.•PB25 gave better performance ...characteristics than other blends.•Drastic reduction in the amount of NOX and Smoke for PB25.
The demand for plastic is ever increasing and has produced a huge amount of plastic waste. The management and disposal of plastic waste have become a major concern, especially in developing cities. The idea of waste to energy recovery is one of the promising techniques used for managing the waste plastic. This paper assesses the potential of using Waste Plastic Oil (WPO), synthesized using pyrolysis of waste plastic, as an alternative for diesel fuel. In this research work, the performance and emission characteristics of a single cylinder diesel engine fuelled with WPO and its blends with diesel are studied. In addition to neat plastic oil, three blends (PO25, PO50 and PO75) were prepared on a volumetric basis and the engine was able to run on neat plastic oil. Brake thermal efficiency of blends was lower compared to diesel, but PO25 showed similar performance to that of diesel. The emissions were reduced considerably while using blends when compared to neat plastic oil. The smoke and NOX were reduced by 22% and 17.8% respectively for PO25 than that of plastic oil.
Objective Communication inequalities deepen health disparities even when internet access is achieved. The goal of this study is to understand how a range of barriers may inhibit individuals from low ...socioeconomic position (SEP) from engaging with online health information even when it is freely available.
Materials and methods Detailed data were collected from 118 low-SEP individuals from a randomized controlled trial providing internet access. Measures triangulated the health-seeking experience through internet use tracked in real-time, call log data, and self-reported barriers. Negative binomial regression models were fitted with technology and perceived predictors, and our outcome, health information seeking, and then stratified by medical status.
Results Participants experienced a median of two computer issues (median 6 days) and two internet issues (median 6.5 days). Duration of internet problems was associated with a decrease in the rate of internet health information seeking by a factor of 0.990 (P = .03) for each additional day. Participants with a medical problem who were frustrated in their search for health information had half the rate of health information seeking of those who were not frustrated (incidence rate ratio = 0.395, P = .030).
Discussion Despite IT support, participants still experienced internet connectivity issues that negatively impacted their health information seeking. Frustration in their search to find information may serve as an additional barrier to those who have medical issues.
Conclusion After initial internet access, a second-level digital divide emerged due to connectivity issues, highlighting the need to understand the complex network of barriers experienced by low-SEP internet users.
Three-and-a-half decades on, no cure or vaccine is yet on the horizon for HIV, making effective behavior change communication (BCC) the key preventive strategy. Despite considerable success, HIV/AIDS ...BCC efforts have long been criticized for their primary focus on the individual-level field of influence, drawing on the more reductionist view of causation at the individual level. In view of this, we conducted a series of studies that employed a household survey, field experiment, and textual content analysis, and explored the macro-social-level effects of HIV/AIDS-related media and messages on HIV/AIDS cognitive and affective outcomes in Ethiopia. Against a backdrop of epidemiological and socioecological differences, urban versus rural residence has emerged as an important community-level factor that impacts HIV/AIDS-related media and message consumption processes and associated outcomes. The central thread crossing through the six studies included in this paper demonstrates that urban and rural people in high HIV prevalence contexts differ in their concern about and information needs on HIV/AIDS, HIV/AIDS-related media use, and HIV/AIDS-related cognitive and affective outcomes, as well as in their reaction to differently designed/framed HIV prevention messages. This paper proposes that HIV prevention media and message effects in high epidemic situations should be considered from a larger community-level perspective and calls for a socioecological approach to AIDS communication in the hard-hit sub-Saharan Africa. With a number of concrete recommendations to current and future HIV/AIDS BCC efforts in the region, the study joins an emerging body of health communication literature and theorizing that suggests the need to consider media and message effects from a macro-social perspective.
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