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1.
J Community Health ; 47(2): 306-310, 2022 04.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-20232977

ABSTRACT

A number of the people who have recovered from the acute effects of COVID-19 are facing long term sequelae from the infection. As the COVID-19 pandemic is still evolving, so is knowledge of the long-term effects of the virus on patients who still experience symptoms. Clearly, news media play a crucial role in distributing information and this distribution of information can, in turn, influence the actions of the public. The purpose of this study was to describe the content of news coverage of COVID-19 long haul symptoms currently posted on the internet. This study utilized Google News, a news aggregator service, and included the first 100 English language pieces of news. Video content and news article content were coded in depth for information on COVID-19 long haul symptoms. A total of 41% of news reports mentioned the length of time that the COVID-19 related symptoms persist. The length of time was reported to range from 1 month to more than 1 year. The symptom most commonly mentioned was tiredness or fatigue (74%), followed by difficulty breathing or shortness of breath (62 cases; 62%), and difficulty thinking or concentrating (50 cases; 50%). Other symptoms were mentioned less frequently. There were no statistically significant differences in any of the content including having video, written news reports, or both video and written news reports by source of the news reports based on consumer, professional, or television or internet-based news (p = .14). More complete coverage by online news media of the long-term effects of COVID-19 enhances public awareness of the post-acute syndromes, augments health providers' awareness of the range of chronic COVID-19 effects and the possibility of a second infection, increases the probability of patients' seeking and obtaining the proper care for their symptoms, and contributes to preventive actions for enhancing public health.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Humans , Mass Media , Pandemics , SARS-CoV-2 , Television
2.
Hum Vaccin Immunother ; 19(1): 2202091, 2023 12 31.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2317575

ABSTRACT

YouTube is a highly popular social media platform capable of widespread information dissemination about COVID-19 vaccines. The aim of this mini scoping review was to summarize the content, quality, and methodology of studies that analyze YouTube videos related to COVID-19 vaccines. COVIDENCE was used to screen search results based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. PRISMA was used for data organization, and the final list of 9 articles used in the mini review were summarized and synthesized. YouTube videos included in each study, total number of cumulative views, results, and limitations were described. Overall, most of the videos were uploaded by television and internet news media and healthcare professionals. A variety of coding schemas were used in the studies. Videos with misleading, inaccurate, or anti-vaccination sentiment were more often uploaded by consumers. Officials seeking to encourage vaccination may utilize YouTube for widespread reach and to debunk misinformation and disinformation.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Social Media , Humans , Communication , COVID-19/prevention & control , COVID-19 Vaccines , Information Dissemination/methods
3.
J Community Health ; 46(5): 913-917, 2021 10.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2260104

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic first became evident at the end of 2019, and because of the many unknown aspects of this emerging infectious disease, the internet quickly became a source of information for consumers. It is important for any vital information to be written unambiguously, and at a level that can be understood by all people regardless of education levels. The purpose of this study was to assess the readability of 50 sources of COVID19 testing information online. Only 6 websites out of 50 received an appropriate readability score on more than one assessment. One-sample, one-tailed t-tests (α = 0.05, df = 49) were used to see if the websites with information on COVID-19 testing are being written at appropriate reading levels. The resulting p-values indicate that each p-value recorded is substantially below 0.05, it is very unlikely that websites on this topic are being written at the recommended levels. Even the optimal messages on COVID-19 reflect a confusing and rapidly changing public health crisis, however if messages are kept simple and clear, individuals will have the best possible chance of optimizing behavioral mitigation strategies. These are compelling reasons for informational hosts to take necessary steps to ensure that messages are written in as simple terms as possible. To this end, it is suggested that internet sites dispersing COVID-19 testing information build in text analysis methods for all published messages, particularly those meant to inform best health practices in the time of a pandemic.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 Testing , COVID-19/prevention & control , Comprehension , Health Literacy , Internet , COVID-19/epidemiology , Humans , Pandemics , SARS-CoV-2
4.
J Community Health ; 47(1): 163-167, 2022 02.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2251392

ABSTRACT

Current day youth have an important role in climate activism, as the decisions and policies made now will have long lasting impacts on the climate and sustainability. Climate change is becoming an increasing concern for younger generations. As such, the purpose of this study was to describe content related to climate change on TikTok. This study included 100 English-language videos related to climate change featured on TikTok. The hashtag #climatechange was chosen because it had the most views of any related hashtag at the time of the study. The number of views, comments, and likes were recorded for each video. Each video was also observed for the presence of predetermined content characteristics. The 100 videos sampled collectively received 205,551,200 views, 40, 203,400 likes, and 666,089 comments. Only eight of the 100 videos included information from a reputable source. Only three of the characteristics were featured in a majority (> 50) of the videos. These were, presents climate change as real (93), affected populations (76), and climate anxiety/frustration (57). Videos mentioning natural disasters garnered 63,453,100 (30.87%) views, 14,245,200 (35.43%) likes, and 236,493 (35.50%) comments. In all, 73 of the 100 videos mentioned at least one environmental impact. Videos including this theme earned 156,677,200 (76.22%) views, 32,000,700 (79.60%) likes, and 563,195 (84.55%) comments. Social media platforms such as TikTok are important tools for understanding popular opinion regarding public health issues such as global climate change. However, the presence of credible professionals is essential on platforms such as TikTok to increase the chances that messaging is as comprehensive as time allows, while also being scientifically sound.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Social Media , Adolescent , Climate Change , Emotions , Humans , Public Health , Video Recording
5.
JMIR Public Health Surveill ; 7(6): e29528, 2021 06 10.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2197929

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 testing remains an essential element of a comprehensive strategy for community mitigation. Social media is a popular source of information about health, including COVID-19 and testing information. One of the most popular communication channels used by adolescents and young adults who search for health information is TikTok-an emerging social media platform. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to describe TikTok videos related to COVID-19 testing. METHODS: The hashtag #covidtesting was searched, and the first 100 videos were included in the study sample. At the time the sample was drawn, these 100 videos garnered more than 50% of the views for all videos cataloged under the hashtag #covidtesting. The content characteristics that were coded included mentions, displays, or suggestions of anxiety, COVID-19 symptoms, quarantine, types of tests, results of test, and disgust/unpleasantness. Additional data that were coded included the number and percentage of views, likes, and comments and the use of music, dance, and humor. RESULTS: The 100 videos garnered more than 103 million views; 111,000 comments; and over 12.8 million likes. Even though only 44 videos mentioned or suggested disgust/unpleasantness and 44 mentioned or suggested anxiety, those that portrayed tests as disgusting/unpleasant garnered over 70% of the total cumulative number of views (73,479,400/103,071,900, 71.29%) and likes (9,354,691/12,872,505, 72.67%), and those that mentioned or suggested anxiety attracted about 60% of the total cumulative number of views (61,423,500/103,071,900, 59.59%) and more than 8 million likes (8,339,598/12,872,505, 64.79%). Independent one-tailed t tests (α=.05) revealed that videos that mentioned or suggested that COVID-19 testing was disgusting/unpleasant were associated with receiving a higher number of views and likes. CONCLUSIONS: Our finding of an association between TikTok videos that mentioned or suggested that COVID-19 tests were disgusting/unpleasant and these videos' propensity to garner views and likes is of concern. There is a need for public health agencies to recognize and address connotations of COVID-19 testing on social media.


Subject(s)
COVID-19/diagnosis , Diagnostic Tests, Routine , Social Media , Adolescent , Community Networks , Humans , SARS-CoV-2 , Video Recording , Young Adult
6.
J Community Health ; 47(6): 879-884, 2022 Dec.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1955986

ABSTRACT

Mental health concerns have increased in prevalence since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many turn to online resources for relevant information. The purpose of this study is to describe the availability of mental health information on YouTube, and to assess the relevance of the videos' content in relation to the actual need of the population. The 100 most-watched YouTube videos in English resulting from a YouTube search of "COVID-19" and "mental health" were evaluated. Of mental health conditions, anxiety and depression were mentioned in over 50% of the videos. A positive correlation was found between videos that mentioned anxiety and those that mentioned depression (p < 0.001). The numbers of videos focused on anxiety and depression were correlated with themes such as life stressors and social distancing (p < 0.05). Videos that did not make recommendations for dealing with stressors had more positive ratings than videos that did make such recommendations (p = 0.002). The content of YouTube videos addressing mental health issues during COVID-19 reflects the actual prevalence of specific mental health conditions during this same time period. Viewer ratings may be indicative of the public need for information about mental health conditions and validation for difficult experiences on social media sites. YouTube must be better utilized to disseminate information about mental illness.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Social Media , Humans , COVID-19/epidemiology , Pandemics , Video Recording , Mental Health
7.
J Community Health ; 47(5): 745-749, 2022 10.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1942349

ABSTRACT

Speech and debate (referred to hereafter as debate) has the potential to play an integral role in increasing the health literacy of secondary school students, yet we did not identify published studies examining the prevalence of debate programs in public and independent secondary schools. The purpose of this study was to describe the presence of debate in a probability sample of public and independent secondary schools in New York City (NYC) and explore whether there were differences in the availability of debate programs when schools were classified based on public versus independent status, school enrollment, borough location, and proportion of non-white students enrolled. The sampling frame was constructed using NYC Open Data for the public schools and the publicly available membership directory of the New York State Association of Independent Schools. This cross-sectional study included a ~ 30% random sample comprising 255 public and 17 independent secondary schools. To identify whether schools offered debate programs, school websites were reviewed and follow-up calls were conducted to verify the information online. Independent one-tailed t-tests (a = 0.05), showed that access to a debate program was associated with public/independent status (p = .0000), larger enrollment (p = .0046), borough location (p = .0392), and proportion of non-white students enrolled (p = .0000). Schools with a higher proportion of non-white students were less likely to offer debate programs. Compared with students in public schools, students attending independent schools were more than three times as likely to have debate opportunities. These findings have implications for health literacy and educational equity.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Health Literacy , COVID-19/epidemiology , Cross-Sectional Studies , Humans , New York City/epidemiology , Schools
8.
J Am Coll Health ; : 1-6, 2022 Jul 14.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1931621

ABSTRACT

Objective: During public health emergencies such as the ongoing COVID-19 illness pandemic, it is essential to rapidly disseminate crisis messages which often contain embedded health directives. This study investigated which of three variants of the same messages (neutral tone, positive/compassionate tone, negative/fear-inducing tone) were most likely to motivate readers to engage in the health behavior proscribed in the message. Participants: Participants were 87 female and 41 male undergraduates at an urban university in the northeast U.S. Methods: A survey with three versions of eight different COVID messages containing health directives was administered. Results: Those who indicated stronger influence of positive/compassionate crisis messages (i.e., had higher Crisis Messages Survey scores) had higher adaptive health engagement scores, lower worry scores, and were likely to have had a past diagnosis of COVID-19. Moreover, a regression model including COVID-19 status and worry scores accounted for a significant proportion of variance in Crisis Messages Survey scores. Conclusions: Findings indicate that the use of neutral and compassionate language is optimal in motivating health behaviors embedded in university crisis messages.

9.
JMIR Form Res ; 6(5): e38340, 2022 May 19.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1875308

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Social media platforms that are based on the creation of visual media, such as TikTok, are increasingly popular with adolescents. Online social media networks provide valuable opportunities to connect with each other to share experiences and strategies for health and wellness. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to describe the content of the hashtag #mentalhealth on TikTok. METHODS: This cross-sectional, descriptive content analysis study included 100 videos with the hashtag #mentalhealth on TikTok. All videos that included the hashtag #mentalhealth were analyzed and coded for the presence of content categories. Additionally, the comments to each video were viewed and coded for content in the following themes: offering support or validation; mentioning experience with suicide or suicidal ideation; mentioning experience with self-harm; describing an experience with hospitalization for mental health issues; describing other mental health issues; and sharing coping strategies, experiences of healing, or ways to feel better. RESULTS: Collectively, the 100 videos studied received 1,354,100,000 views; 266,900,000 likes; and 2,515,954 comments. On average, each video received 13,406,930.69 (SD 8,728,095.52) views; 2,657,425.74 (SD 1,449,920.45) likes; and 24,910.44 (SD 21,035.06) comments. The only content category observed in most (51/100, 51%) of the videos included in the sample was "general mental health." The remaining content categories appeared in less than 50% of the sample. In total, 32% (32/100) of the videos sampled received more than the overall average number of likes (ie, more that 2.67 million likes). Among these 32 videos, 23 (72%) included comments offering support or validation and 20 (62%) included comments that described other mental health issues or struggles. CONCLUSIONS: With over 1 billion cumulative views, almost half of the assessed TikTok videos included in this study reported or expressed symptoms of mental distress. Future research should focus on the potential role of intervention by health care professionals on social media.

10.
Hum Vaccin Immunother ; 18(5): 2066935, 2022 11 30.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1819751

ABSTRACT

Over 2 years into the COVID-19 pandemic, information on the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccination, particularly for people in high-risk populations, has become a popular topic of discussion. The purpose of this study was to analyze the content and characteristics of YouTube videos related to COVID-19 vaccination and pregnancy. The 50 most viewed English language videos on pregnancy and COVID-19 vaccination were included in this study. The 50 YouTube videos were viewed 4,589,613 times, with 6% uploaded by consumers, 40% by medical professionals, and 44% by television or internet-based news. Videos from consumer sources more often mentioned a human trial of the COVID-19 vaccine (75% of consumer videos vs. 65% of medical professional videos and 31.8% of television or internet-based news videos, P = .036) and more often mentioned anti-vaccination sentiment, fear, or distrust of the vaccines (37.5% of consumer videos vs 5.0% of medical professional videos and 4.5% of television or internet-based news videos, P = .018). Videos uploaded by medical professionals more often mentioned emergency use of the COVID-19 vaccines (P = .016), passive immunity in general (P = .011), and that the COVID-19 vaccine is either unlikely to or will not cause harm in breastfeeding more often than did videos from consumer or television-based news sources (P = .034). New information regarding COVID-19 vaccination and pregnancy is continuing to emerge, and this study highlights that the information found in the most viewed YouTube videos on this topic can quickly become outdated.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Social Media , Vaccines , COVID-19/prevention & control , COVID-19 Vaccines , Female , Humans , Information Dissemination , Pandemics/prevention & control , Pregnancy
11.
J Community Health ; 47(4): 610-615, 2022 08.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1782871

ABSTRACT

The term COVID-19 "long haul" originated on social media and was later studied by the scientific community. This study describes content related to persistent COVID-19 symptoms on YouTube. The 100 most viewed English-language videos identified with the keywords "COVID-19 long haul" were assessed for video origin, engagement, and content related to COVID-19 long-haul. The findings indicate that the majority of videos were uploaded by television or internet news (56%), followed by consumers (members of the public, 32%), health professionals (only 9%), and lastly by entertainment TV (non-news programs, 3%). Videos originating from entertainment TV were significantly more likely to be "liked" than videos from other sources. The most commonly mentioned long-haul symptoms in the videos were physical (fatigue, 73%; difficulty breathing/shortness of breath, 56%; and joint or muscle pain, 49%) and cognitive (difficulty thinking or concentrating; 69%). The case of COVID-19 long haul demonstrates that social media are significant fora whereon the public identify health concerns. It is necessary for healthcare professionals to assume an active and responsible role in social media.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Health Communication , Social Media , COVID-19/complications , COVID-19/epidemiology , Humans , Language , Video Recording , Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome
12.
J Med Internet Res ; 24(4): e36804, 2022 04 12.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1775589

ABSTRACT

Shortly after the first case reports in 2019, COVID-19 was declared a pandemic. Early messages from trusted experts, which later proved to be inadequate or incorrect, highlight the need for continual adjustment of messages to the public as scientific knowledge evolves. During this time, social media exploded with greatly sought-after information, some of which was misinformation based on incomplete or incorrect facts or disinformation purposefully spread to advance a specific agenda. Because of the nature of social media, information, whether accurate or not at the time posted, lives on and remains accessible to the public even when its usefulness has been discredited. While the impact of mis/disinformation on COVID-19 risk-reducing behaviors is debatable, it is clear that social media has played a significant role in both extending the reach of COVID-19-related falsehoods and promoting evidence-based content. Over the last decade, social media has become a dominant source of information that consumers turn to for health information. A great deal of misinformation and disinformation has reached large numbers of social media users, which points to a need for the agencies of the US Public Health Service to create communications to convey accurate and current information and appeals that will actually be viewed. This viewpoint highlights the challenges, risks, and potential benefits that social media present in mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Social Media , COVID-19/prevention & control , Humans , Pandemics/prevention & control , Public Health , SARS-CoV-2
13.
JMIR Public Health Surveill ; 8(3): e36006, 2022 03 07.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1731690

ABSTRACT

Because COVID-19 and other emerging infectious diseases are likely to play an increasingly important role in shaping American and global society in years to come, there is a need to prepare young people to make informed decisions in this changing global context. One way to do so is teaching and learning about basic principles of epidemiology in secondary schools. Improved understanding about the agent of infection, mechanisms of transmission, factors that increase or decrease susceptibility, place variation and environmental factors that facilitate or hinder transmission, reservoirs of infection (where the agent lives and multiplies), and when the disease is more or less likely to occur comprise the main facts about an infectious disease relevant to prevention and control. Improved understanding of these basic concepts could help future generations make informed decisions in a changing global context with emerging infectious diseases and a plethora of widely disseminated misinformation and disinformation. This viewpoint considers why learning about epidemiology in secondary school would benefit population health using COVID-19 as an illustration.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Citizenship , Adolescent , COVID-19/epidemiology , Curriculum , Humans , SARS-CoV-2 , Schools , United States
14.
JMIR Nurs ; 5(1): e35274, 2022 Jan 14.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1625922

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: During a time of high stress and decreased social interaction, nurses have turned to social media platforms like TikTok as an outlet for expression, entertainment, and communication. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this cross-sectional content analysis study is to describe the content of videos with the hashtag #covidnurse on TikTok, which included 100 videos in the English language. METHODS: At the time of the study, this hashtag had 116.9 million views. Each video was coded for content-related to what nurses encountered and were feeling during the COVID-19 pandemic. RESULTS: Combined, the 100 videos sampled received 47,056,700 views; 76,856 comments; and 5,996,676 likes. There were 4 content categories that appeared in a majority (>50) of the videos: 83 showed the individual as a nurse, 72 showed the individual in professional attire, 58 mentioned/suggested stress, 55 used music, and 53 mentioned/suggested frustration. Those that mentioned stress and those that mentioned frustration received less than 50% of the total views (n=21,726,800, 46.17% and n=16,326,300, 34.69%, respectively). Although not a majority, 49 of the 100 videos mentioned the importance of nursing. These videos garnered 37.41% (n=17,606,000) of the total views, 34.82% (n=26,759) of the total comments, and 23.85% (n=1,430,213) of the total likes. So, despite nearly half of the total videos mentioning how important nurses are, these videos received less than half of the total views, comments, and likes. CONCLUSIONS: Social media and increasingly video-related online messaging such as TikTok are important platforms for social networking, social support, entertainment, and education on diverse topics, including health in general and COVID-19 specifically. This presents an opportunity for future research to assess the utility of the TikTok platform for meaningful engagement and health communication on important public health issues.

15.
JMIR Public Health Surveill ; 7(6): e31542, 2021 Jun 29.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1622518

ABSTRACT

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.2196/29528.].

16.
JMIR Perioper Med ; 4(2): e29390, 2021 Nov 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1496831

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The majority of American adults search for health and illness information on the internet. However, the quality and accuracy of this information are notoriously variable. With the advent of social media, US individuals have increasingly shared their own health and illness experiences, including those related to bariatric surgery, on social media platforms. Previous research has found that peer-to-peer requesting and giving of advice related to bariatric surgery on social media is common, that such advice is often presented in stark terms, and that the advice may not reflect patient standards of care. These previous investigations have helped to map bariatric surgery content on Facebook and YouTube. OBJECTIVE: This objective of this study was to document and compare weight loss surgery (WLS)-related content on Instagram in the months leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic and 1 year later. METHODS: We analyzed a total of 300 Instagram posts (50 posts per week for 3 consecutive weeks in late February and early March in both 2020 and 2021) uploaded using the hashtag #wls. Descriptive statistics were reported, and independent 1-tailed chi-square tests were used to determine if a post's publication year statistically affected its inclusion of a particular type of content. RESULTS: Overall, advice giving and personal responsibility for outcomes were emphasized by WLS posters on Instagram. However, social support was less emphasized. The safety, challenges, and risks associated with WLS were rarely discussed. The majority of posts did not contain references to facts from reputable medical sources. Posts published in 2021 were more likely to mention stress/hardships of living with WLS (45/150, 30%, vs 29/150, 19.3%; P=.03); however, those published in 2020 more often identified the importance of ongoing support for WLS success (35/150, 23.3%, vs 16/150, 10.7%; P=.004). CONCLUSIONS: Given that bariatric patients have low rates of postoperative follow-up, yet post-operative care and yet support are associated with improved health and weight loss outcomes, and given that health content on the web is of mixed accuracy, bariatric professionals may wish to consider including an online support forum moderated by a professional as a routine part of postoperative care. Doing so may not only improve follow-up rates but may offer providers the opportunity to counter inaccuracies encountered on social media.

17.
Hum Vaccin Immunother ; 17(12): 5114-5119, 2021 Dec 02.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1488128

ABSTRACT

Newspapers' reporting of adverse vaccine events may influence their readers vaccination behaviors. The purpose of this study was to examine the nature and extent of coverage of Johnson and Johnson (J & J) vaccine's adverse events reported in the online versions of the three most widely circulated US daily newspapers from April 13-25, 2021. Articles were identified in published online versions of the three most widely cited newspapers in the United States, using several databases. Dedoose software was used to apply a mixed methods approach to the 110 articles identified. The seven overarching themes were as follows: (1) J & J vaccine characteristics (n = 78); (2) Description of the adverse events (n = 183); (3) Emphasis that it is a rare event and vaccine is still safe (n = 89); (4) Health authorities' investigation (n = 55); (5) Pause in administering J & J vaccine (n = 83); (6) Vaccine fear and anxiety and increased hesitancy (n = 58); (7) J & J role and impact (n = 108). Each theme included a series of subthemes. Overall, the newspaper coverage was aligned with handling of the pause from authoritative health agencies in the US. The findings of this study help to better understand how the US media covered adverse events related to the J & J vaccine, and provides insight for public health professionals regarding acceptance COVID-19 vaccines. Monitoring media coverage related to vaccine adverse events may help public health officials to develop new approaches to adequately inform the public, prevent misinformation, and maintain the optimal vaccination uptake.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 Vaccines , COVID-19 , Adenoviridae , COVID-19 Vaccines/adverse effects , Humans , SARS-CoV-2 , United States , Vaccination/adverse effects
18.
Infect Dis Health ; 27(1): 31-37, 2022 02.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1458537

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Handwashing has long been promoted to maintain health and in preventing disease transmission. One of the most valuable ways to convey messages related to handwashing is through visual display, such as video for educational purposes and to enhance learning. Social media is an important and popular way to disseminate messages to a wide audience. METHODS: In this cross-sectional, descriptive study, two hashtags, #WashYourHands and #SafeguardSplash were used to select the sample of 100 from available TikTok videos. In order to code each video, the same coding categories were used for both hashtags, including (1) wetting and rinsing hands (2) lathering soap (3) time used for scrubbing (4) drying hands (5) mentions COVID-19 (6) mentions using hand sanitizer instead of soap (7) mentions how germs spread (8) mentions key times to wash hands (9) and actual depiction of washing hands. Additional descriptive categories were coded as well. The observations recorded were tabulated and descriptive statistics were performed. Independent one-tailed t-tests (α = .05) were calculated to determine if a video's hashtag had a significant association with its garnered views, likes, and/or comments. RESULTS: In total, the 100-video sample received 1,990,834,567 views, 40,355,468 likes, and 173,422 comments. Despite the fact that each hashtag made up an equal proportion (50%) of the total sample, videos with #WashYourHands accounted for 93.3% of the total views. Coverage of the important steps involved in handwashing, such as drying hands, was minimal as was relevant background information. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that while this opportunity is being realized to some degree, the majority of videos did not cover topics related important concepts of hand hygiene. Given the high engagement of younger audiences with TikTok, this could be a powerful mechanism for demonstrating and encouraging proper handwashing, especially in a population with low rates of handwashing.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Social Media , Cross-Sectional Studies , Hand Disinfection , Health Promotion , Humans , Pandemics , SARS-CoV-2
19.
J Prev Interv Community ; 49(2): 163-178, 2021.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1301290

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Due to close proximity in dormitories, classes, and social activities, college students have been identified as a vulnerable population throughout the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. OBJECTIVES: This study tested properties of a new COVID-19 Inventory (C-19-I). It was expected that the measure would show acceptable validity and reliability, females would report greater COVID-19 anxiety than males, and the addition of gender would improve a regression model of COVID-19 anxiety. METHOD: Participants were 201 college undergraduates who completed multiple self-report measures and two snack selection tasks. RESULTS: The C-19-I showed a multifactor solution and acceptable psychometric properties. Females scored higher than males and were more likely than males to select a healthy snack after responding to questions about illness and contamination. CONCLUSIONS: This study validates a new measure of COVID-19 anxiety and contributes to a deeper understanding of how college adults respond to pandemic illness.


Subject(s)
Anxiety/epidemiology , COVID-19/psychology , Universities , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Reproducibility of Results , SARS-CoV-2 , Self Report , United States/epidemiology , Young Adult
20.
JMIR Pediatr Parent ; 4(2): e28991, 2021 May 18.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1232513

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The tendency of parents to consume alcohol during the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to be moderated by pandemic-related stress combined with the ongoing demands of childcare and home-based education, which are reported to be more burdensome for females than males. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to describe alcohol-related content posted by mothers on Instagram during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Using two popular hashtags, #momjuice and #winemom, 50 Instagram posts on each were collected from the "top posts" tab. The coding categories were created inductively and were as follows: displays alcohol (drinking/holding alcohol or alcohol itself), person is making alcoholic beverages, type of alcohol featured or discussed, highlights anxiety and/or depression/mental state, highlights struggling (in general), highlights parenting challenges, encourages alcohol consumption, discourages alcohol consumption, features a person wearing clothing or shows products promoting alcohol, promotes alcohol rehabilitation, highlights caffeine to alcohol daily transition throughout the day, and highlights other drugs besides caffeine and alcohol. RESULTS: Overall, the 100 selected posts had a total of 5108 comments and 94,671 likes. The respective averages were 51.08 (SD 77.94) and 946.71 (SD 1731.72). A majority (>50%) of the posts reviewed encouraged alcohol consumption (n=66) and/or displayed alcohol (n=56). Of the 66 that encouraged and/or displayed alcohol, the common type of alcohol discussed or featured was wine (n=55). Only 6 posts discouraged alcohol use and only 4 provided the audience with a disclaimer. None of the videos promoted or endorsed alcohol rehabilitation in any way. Only 37 posts highlighted struggle. However, these posts garnered more than a majority of the likes (n=50,034, 52.3%). Posts that showed struggle received an average of 1359.57 (SD 2108.02) likes. Those that did not show struggle had an average of 704.24 (SD 1447.46) likes. An independent one-tailed t test demonstrated this difference to be statistically significant (P=.0499). CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this investigation suggest that though these hashtags ostensibly exist to valorize excess alcohol consumption, they may be serving as a support system for mothers who are experiencing increased burdens and role stress during the pandemic. Given the strains placed on mothers overall and especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, efforts must be taken to increase access to and affordability of telehealth-based mental health care.

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