ABSTRACT
The One Health (OH) approach describes the interconnection between the health of animals, humans, and the environment. The need for collaboration between the veterinary and human fields is increasing due to the rise in several infectious diseases that cross human-animal barriers and need to be addressed jointly. However, such collaboration is not evident in practice, especially for non-zoonotic diseases. A qualitative research approach was used to explore the barriers and enablers influencing collaborative efforts on the development of vaccines for the non-zoonotic RSV virus. It was found that in the European context, most veterinary and human health professionals involved in RSV vaccine development see themselves as belonging to two distinct groups, indicating a lack of a common goal for collaboration. Next to this, the different conceptualizations of the OH approach, and the fact that RSV is not a zoonotic disease, strengthens the opinion that there is no shared need for collaboration. This paper adds insights on how, for a non-zoonotic situation, collaboration between human and veterinary professionals shaped the development of vaccines in both areas; thus, improving public health requires awareness, mutual appreciation, and shared goal setting.
ABSTRACT
Objectives: This study investigates how England's and Italy's Public Health Governmental Departments addressed COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy (VH) on social media platforms. Study design: A conventional content analysis of the social media accounts of Public Health England (PHE), currently the UK Health Security Agency, and the Italian Ministry of Health (IMH) were performed during December 1st, 2020-April 30th, 2021. Methods: A total of 531 and 110 posts were extracted from the accounts of PHE and the IMH respectively. Results: Similar themes were identified in the government social media posts from both countries, however, significant differences in theme distribution were noted. In England, the most common theme around COVID-19 vaccinations was the vaccine rollout (51%), while themes aimed at addressing VH specifically (44.8%) were debunking vaccine myths (10.5%), reaching/addressing minorities (8.5%), institutional encouragement (13.4%), and benefits of vaccines (12.4%). In contrast, Italian government posts majorly discussed COVID-19 vaccine news and updates (27.3%). Posts addressing VH (62.7%) focused on encouraging vaccination (37.3%), describing the benefits of vaccines (17.3%), debunking myths (4.5%), and communication campaigns (3.6%). Conclusions: Approximately half of British and Italian government social media posts on COVID-19 were related to addressing vaccine hesitancy. Although similar themes were evident, there were also themes unique to each country.
ABSTRACT
COVID-19 has been a "major interrupting event" during which individuals largely relied on intuitive risk perceptions as precursors of COVID-19 health behaviors. Given the strong correlation between risk perceptions and the adoption of preventive measures, this pilot study attempts to explore how Polish society perceives COVID-19 health risks from the point of view of vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. The Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM) constitutes the basis for this research. Two focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted, one with participants who had received COVID-19 vaccinations and the other with participants who had not. Conventional and directed content analyses were used to examine the data from the FGDs. Five categories emerged from the data: COVID-19 risk perceptions, coping with the pandemic, sources of knowledge, distrust, and pandemic fatigue. All categories fit into the theoretical constructs of the EPPM. Both groups have a high-perceived vulnerability to COVID-19 infection and recognize its seriousness. Individuals also have a high perceived response self-efficacy, given their awareness of COVID-19 preventive measures and how these should be applied. Nonetheless, particularly the unvaccinated, are skeptical about the effectiveness of the implemented measures, showing low perceived response efficacy. Future communication strategies should target the effectiveness of COVID-19 preventive measures, and one's perceived response efficacy, to improve adherence to public health measures.
