Communications Media

Background: In 2003In -2004In and 2007In -2008, the regulatory banning of SSRI use in pediatrics and young adults due to concerns regarding suicidality risk coincided with negative media coverage. SSRI use trends were analyzed from 2000-2010 in the Netherlands (NL) and the UK, and whether trend changes might be associated with media coverage of regulatory warnings. Methods: Monthly SSRIs sales were presented as DDDs/1000 inhabitants/day. SSRI-use trends were studied using timeseries segmented regression analyses. Timing of trend changes was compared with two periods of media coverage of warnings. Annual Dutch SSRI prescription data were analyzed by age group. Results: Trend changes in SSRI use largely corroborated with the periods of media coverage of warnings. British SSRI use declined from 3.9 to 0.7 DDDs/month (95%CI 3.3;4.5 & 0.5;0.9, respectively) before the first warning period (2003)(2004). A small decrease of 20.6 DDDs/month (21.2; 20.05) was observed in Dutch SSRI use shortly after 2003-2004. From 2007-2008, British SSRI use stabilized, whilst Dutch SSRI use diminished to 20.04 DDDs/month (20.4;0.3). Stratified analyses showed a rapid decrease of 21.2 DDDs/month (22.1; 21.7) in UK paroxetine use before 2003-2004, but only a minimal change in Dutch paroxetine use (20.3 DDDs/month 20.8;0.2). Other SSRI use, especially (es)citalopram, increased during 2003-2004 in both countries. Significant reductions in Dutch paroxetine use were observed in pediatrics, adolescents, and young adults after 2003-2004. Changes in SSRI use (NL & UK) were associated with the timing of the combined effect of media coverage and regulatory warnings. Our long-term assessment illustrates that changes in SSRI use were temporal, drug-specific and more pronounced in pediatrics and young adults. The twofold increase in SSRI use over one decade indicates that regulatory warnings and media coverage may come and go, but they do not have a significant impact on the overall upward trend of SSRI use as a class in both countries.

Vulvoplasty, or female genital cosmetic surgery (FGCS), refers to any surgical alteration of the vaginal or labial anatomy for aesthetic or medical reasons. It aims to restore or enhance the female genitals and can involve multiple procedures such as labiaplasty, clitoral unhooding, monsplasty, vaginoplasty, hymenoplasty, G-spot augmentation, frenuloplasty, perineoplasty, fat injections, or a combination of these. Labiaplasty is currently the most popular procedure among patients. Since the public is exploring FGCS benefits in the media, it can be foreseen that it will soon gain popularity among the population of Saudi Arabia. As a result, the purpose of this study is to assess women's attitudes and knowledge towards genital cosmetic surgeries in Saudi Arabia. This correlational cross-sectional survey was conducted in Saudi Arabia among women aged 18 years and above, using an online self-structured questionnaire distributed from April 2023 to October 2023. The sample size of 594 respondents was determined based on a minimum requirement of 500 participants, with a confidence level of 95% and a study power of 95%. A convenient sampling method was employed to select participants, and data collection was carried out through a self-administered online questionnaire distributed via various social media platforms. The survey was self-structured, and Cronbach's alpha values for all sections were greater than 0.7. These sections include demographic characteristics, sexual life and obstetric history, and women's knowledge, practices, and attitudes toward FGCS. Descriptive analysis, chisquare test, and t-test were used for data analysis using SPSS software.

This paper presents a recommender system for N-screen services in which users have multiple devices with different capabilities. In N-screen services, a user can use various devices in different locations and time and can change a device while the service is running. N-screen aware recommendation seeks to improve the user experience with recommended content by considering the user N-screen device attributes such as screen resolution, media codec, remaining battery time, and access network and the user temporal usage pattern information that are not considered in existing recommender systems. For N-screen aware recommendation support, this work introduces a user device profile collaboration agent, manager, and N-screen control server to acquire and manage the user N-screen devices profile. Furthermore, a multicriteria hybrid framework is suggested that incorporates the N-screen devices information with user preferences and demographics. In addition, we propose an individual feature a...

The discussion about violent video games tends to engender extreme positions, each of which are deserving of deep skepticism. Ferguson's (2015, this issue) claim that humans can do something repeatedly with no effect on them should be examined carefully, especially as it violates most established psychological and learning theories. In this commentary, we examine three aspects of Ferguson's claim. First, it is a typical rhetorical trick to sow doubt, but it is valuable to examine the doubting claims. Second, it is good rhetoric to direct attention in only one direction, but it is valuable to examine that direction within its broader outlook. Third, it is good rhetoric to imply bias on the part of one position, but it is valuable to examine the potential biases on all sides. Good science definitely requires skeptics. The problem with the violent video game debate is perhaps that we have not been skeptical enough.

This research examines the impact of social media on the neuro-developmental and psychological health of children and adolescents. Drawing on scholarship from Strasburger et al. and Deresiewicz, the study explores how constant connectivity alters brain chemistry and erodes the capacity for solitude. It analyzes correlations between digital exposure and adverse outcomes, including suicide-related behaviours, desensitization to violence, and diminished information retention. While evaluating “Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD) initiatives, the paper argues that un-monitored media use presents significant developmental risks. It concludes by advocating for strategic content management to mitigate psychological harm while fostering healthy, innovative technological integration.

Keywords: Neurodevelopment, Social Media, Adolescent Psychology, Digital Desensitization, Cyber-Bullying, BYOD,

Background In the period 2003–2008, the regulatory authorities issued several warnings restricting the use of selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in paediatrics, in reaction to safety concerns regarding the risk of suicidality. In this study, the SSRIs and suicidality controversy serves as a template to analyse the long-term publication trends regarding the benefit/risk profile of medications. The aim is to ascertain differences (in terms of numbers, categories and timing) between negative and positive newspaper and journal articles on SSRIs and suicidality and to ascertain correlations between changes in the reports and regulatory warnings. Methods A systematic review of scientific articles (Embase) and the Netherlands (NL) and the UK newspapers (LexisNexis) was performed between 2000 and 2010. Categorisation was done by ‘effect’ (related treatment effect), ‘type of article’ and ‘age group’. The articles' positive-to-negative effect ratio was determined. Difference...

Background-Vietnamese-American women underutilize breast cancer screening. Design-An RCT was conducted comparing the effect of lay health workers (LHWs) and media education (ME) to ME alone on breast cancer screening among these women. Setting/participants-Conducted in California from 2004 to 2007, the study included 1100 Vietnamese-American women aged ≥40 years who were recruited through LHW social networks. Data were analyzed from 2007 to 2009. Intervention-Both groups received targeted ME. The intervention group received two LHW educational sessions and two telephone calls. Main outcome measures-Change in self-reported receipt of mammography ever, mammography within 2 years, clinical breast examination (CBE) ever, or CBE within 2 years. Results-The LHW+ME group increased receipt of mammography ever and mammography in the past 2 years (84.1% to 91.6% and 64.7% to 82.1%, p<0.001) while the ME group did not. Both ME (73.1% to 79.0%, p<0.001) and LHW+ME (68.1% to 85.5%, p<0.001) groups increased receipt of CBE ever, but the LHW+ME group had a significantly greater increase. The results were similar for CBE within 2 years. In multivariate analyses, LHW+ME was significantly more effective than ME for all four outcomes, with ORs of 3.62 (95% CI=1.35, 9.76) for mammography ever; 3.14 (95% CI=1.98, 5.01) for mammography within 2 years; 2.94 (95% CI=1.63, 5.30) for CBE ever; and 3.04 (95% CI=2.11, 4.37) for CBE within 2 years. Conclusions-Increased breast cancer screening by LHWs among Vietnamese-American women. Future research should focus on how LHWs work and whether LHW outreach can be disseminated to other ethnic groups.

Notícias sobre fatores de risco aparecem, freqüentemente, na mídia. Seu sentido usual é convidar os indivíduos a atentarem para aspectos de seu cotidiano antes tidos como banais. Alimentação, bebida, lazer, trabalho, comportamento amoroso -nada parece ser irrelevante para a saúde; se deslocarmos a perspectiva, essa necessidade de constante atenção indica que a saúde se torna um valor maior a orientar nossas ações cotidianas. É urgente, pois, refletir sobre que tipo de vida está sendo construído por esses alertas sobre perigos que estariam à espreita em nossos hábitos e que podem se concretizar num futuro remoto. A maior parte dos estudos sobre mídia e fatores de risco está focada na distância entre o consenso dos médicos e o consenso dos leigos. De um lado, argumenta-se que deveria haver, da parte dos meios de comunicação, acuidade na tradução do conhecimento médico. De outro, quando se quer que os indivíduos efetivamente se comportem de acordo com as informações veiculadas, discute-se também que deformações são admissíveis; por exemplo, não usar o termo "fator de risco", mas o de "causa" em campanhas publicitárias que visam suscitar mudanças de comportamento. Nesses estudos, portanto, estamos diante de uma ética da verdade. Os efeitos temidos são a informação incorreta e a manutenção de hábitos que contêm riscos, mesmo quando os indivíduos estão adequadamente informados sobre eles. A preocupação com a acuidade e efetividade das informações é relevante. Contudo, essa forma de crítica do nexo contemporâneo entre mídia e epidemiologia é conduzida do ponto de vista do saber médico; por acreditar na verdade, pode até ser caracterizada como a-histórica.

Notícias sobre fatores de risco aparecem, freqüentemente, na mídia. Seu sentido usual é convidar os indivíduos a atentarem para aspectos de seu cotidiano antes tidos como banais. Alimentação, bebida, lazer, trabalho, comportamento amoroso -nada parece ser irrelevante para a saúde; se deslocarmos a perspectiva, essa necessidade de constante atenção indica que a saúde se torna um valor maior a orientar nossas ações cotidianas. É urgente, pois, refletir sobre que tipo de vida está sendo construído por esses alertas sobre perigos que estariam à espreita em nossos hábitos e que podem se concretizar num futuro remoto. A maior parte dos estudos sobre mídia e fatores de risco está focada na distância entre o consenso dos médicos e o consenso dos leigos. De um lado, argumenta-se que deveria haver, da parte dos meios de comunicação, acuidade na tradução do conhecimento médico. De outro, quando se quer que os indivíduos efetivamente se comportem de acordo com as informações veiculadas, discute-se também que deformações são admissíveis; por exemplo, não usar o termo "fator de risco", mas o de "causa" em campanhas publicitárias que visam suscitar mudanças de comportamento. Nesses estudos, portanto, estamos diante de uma ética da verdade. Os efeitos temidos são a informação incorreta e a manutenção de hábitos que contêm riscos, mesmo quando os indivíduos estão adequadamente informados sobre eles. A preocupação com a acuidade e efetividade das informações é relevante. Contudo, essa forma de crítica do nexo contemporâneo entre mídia e epidemiologia é conduzida do ponto de vista do saber médico; por acreditar na verdade, pode até ser caracterizada como a-histórica.

The pathway from evidence generation to consumption contains many steps which can lead to overstatement or misinformation. The proliferation of internet-based health news may encourage selection of media and academic research articles that overstate strength of causal inference. We investigated the state of causal inference in health research as it appears at the end of the pathway, at the point of social media consumption. We screened the NewsWhip Insights database for the most shared media articles on Facebook and Twitter reporting about peer-reviewed academic studies associating an exposure with a health outcome in 2015, extracting the 50 most-shared academic articles and media articles covering them. We designed and utilized a review tool to systematically assess and summarize studies&#39; strength of causal inference, including generalizability, potential confounders, and methods used. These were then compared with the strength of causal language used to describe results in bot...

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BACKGROUND: Emergency department (ED) to inpatient physician handoffs are subject to complex challenges. We assessed physicians' perceptions of the ED admission handoff process and identified potential barriers to safe patient care. We conducted a cross-sectional survey at a 627-bed tertiary care academic medical center. Eligible participants included all resident, fellow, and faculty physicians directly involved in admission handoffs from emergency medicine (EM) and 5 medical admitting services. The survey addressed communication quality, clinical information, interpersonal perceptions, assignment of responsibilities, organizational factors, and patient safety. Participants reported their responses via a 5-point Likert scale and an open-ended description of handoff-related adverse events. Response rates were 63% for admitting (94/150) and 86% for EM physicians (32/37). Compared to EM respondents, admitting physicians reported that vital clinical information was communicated less frequently for all 8 content areas (P < 0.001). Ninety-four percent of EM physicians felt defensive at least "sometimes." Twenty-nine percent of all respondents reported handoff-related adverse events, most frequently related to ineffective communication. Sequential handoffs were common for both EM and admitting services, with 78% of physicians reporting they negatively impacted patient care. CONCLUSION: Physicians reported that patient safety was often at risk during the ED admission handoff process. Admitting and EM physicians had divergent perceptions regarding handoff communication, and sequential handoffs were common. Further research is needed to better understand this complex process and to investigate strategies for improvement.

We investigated the timing of diagnosis, influence of media information on testing for Cyclospora, and the method used to identify cases during eight cyclosporiasis outbreaks in California in spring of 1997. We found that Internet information, media reports, and enhanced laboratory surveillance improved detection of these outbreaks.

How do children and youth come to understand what it means to be a member of a particular race, gender, and other social groups? How do they come to hold beliefs about the groups that they do and do not belong to? Both news stories and fictional narratives that we are tuned into as a culture tell stories about what it means to be a member of a particular social group. In this review article, we relate the latest scientific knowledge on news and entertainment media representations of race, gender and other social categories and what they tell us about how these messages are taken in and processed by developing minds. We include research on identity development, social learning about members of other groups, and both positive and negative behavioral outcomes to cultural messages about race, gender, and other social categories. We offer recommendations for stakeholders to understand the role of the media in educating youth about race, gender and other social categories.

Esta investigación tiene por objetivo la identificación de experiencias en el uso de las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación (TIC) que sean capaces de mejorar la gestión publica de los centros de salud en Cataluña (España), y que hayan sido impulsadas “desde abajo hacia arriba” por parte de los profesionales de la atención primaria. Hemos recopilado estas experiencias mediante la realización de once entrevistas semi-estructuradas a profesionales médicos/as y enfermeros/as de la atención primaria. El resultado constituye un conjunto de experiencias que pueden mejorar la gestión pública de los centros de salud a través de a) una mayor interacción entre pacientes y profesionales de la atención primaria; b) una medicina más centrada en el paciente; y c) una mayor participación e implicación de los pacientes en su estado de salud.

Background: Vaccine-preventable diseases (VPD) are still a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. In high and middle-income settings, immunization coverage is relatively high. However, in many countries coverage rates of routinely recommended vaccines are still below the targets established by international and national advisory committees. Progress in the field of communication technology might provide useful tools to enhance immunization strategies. Objective: To systematically collect and summarize the available evidence on the effectiveness of interventions that apply new media to promote vaccination uptake and increase vaccination coverage. Design: We conducted a systematic literature review. studies published from January 1999 to september 2013 were identified by searching electronic resources (Pubmed, embase), manual searches of references and expert consultation. Study setting: We focused on interventions that targeted recommended vaccinations for children, adolescents and adults and: (1) aimed at increasing community demand for immunizations, or (2) were provider-based interventions. We limited the study setting to countries that are members of the Organisation for economic co-operation and Development (OecD). Main outcome measures: The primary outcome was a measure of vaccination (vaccine uptake or vaccine coverage). considered secondary outcomes included willingness to receive immunization, attitudes and perceptions toward vaccination, and perceived helpfulness of the intervention. Results: Nineteen studies were included in the systematic review. The majority of the studies were conducted in the Us (74%, n = 14); 68% (n = 13) of the studies were experimental, the rest having an observational study design. eleven (58%) reported results on the primary outcome. Retrieved studies explored the role of: text messaging (n.7, 37%), smartphone applications (n.1, 5%), Youtube videos (n.1, 5%), Facebook (n.1, 5%), targeted websites and portals (n.4, 21%), software for physicians and health professionals (n.4, 21%), and email communication (n.1, 5%). There is some evidence that text messaging, accessing immunization campaign websites, using patient-held web-based portals and computerized reminders increase immunization coverage rates. Insufficient evidence is available on the use of social networks, email communication and smartphone applications. Conclusion: although there is great potential for improving vaccine uptake and vaccine coverage by implementing programs and interventions that apply new media, scant data are available and further rigorous research-including cost-effectiveness assessments-is needed.

The use of electronic media has been found to be a risk factor for higher BMI and for being overweight. Physical activity has been found to be associated with lower BMI and lower risk for being overweight. Little is known about whether the associations between physical activity and electronic media use are additive or interactive in predicting BMI and risk for overweight among adolescents. The data used in this study stem from the 2009/2010 survey of &quot;Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study: A WHO Cross-National Survey. The sample consisted of 107184 13 and 15 year students from 30 different countries. Multilevel regression models were used to produce the presented estimates. Overall, 18% of boys and 11% of girls were classified as overweight. EM use was found to be associated with increased BMI z-scores and odds for overweight among both boys and girls who did not comply with physical activity guidelines. Among physically active adolescents, EM was found to be si...

This paper proposes a vector sensor measurement model and the related Bartlett estimator based on particle velocity measurements for generic parameter estimation, illustrating the advantages of the Vector Sensor Array (VSA). A reliable estimate of the seabed properties such as sediment compressional speed, density and compressional attenuation based on matched-field inversion (MFI) techniques can be achieved using a small aperture VSA. It is shown that VSAs improve the resolution of seabed parameter estimation when compared with pressure sensor arrays with the same number of sensors. The data considered herein was acquired by a four-element VSA in the 8–14 kHz band, during the Makai Experiment in 2005. The results obtained with the MFI technique are compared with those obtained with a method proposed by C. Harrison, which determines the bottom reflection loss as the ratio between the upward and downward beam responses. The results show a good agreement and are in line with the histo...

American youth spend more time with media than any other waking activity: an average of 7.5 hours per day, every day. On average, 29% of that time is spent juggling multiple media streams simultaneously (ie, media multitasking). This phenomenon is not limited to American youth but is paralleled across the globe. Given that a large number of media multitaskers (MMTs) are children and young adults whose brains are still developing, there is great urgency to understand the neurocognitive profiles of MMTs. It is critical to understand the relation between the relevant cognitive domains and underlying neural structure and function. Of equal importance is understanding the types of information processing that are necessary in 21st century learning environments. The present review surveys the growing body of evidence demonstrating that heavy MMTs show differences in cognition (eg, poorer memory), psychosocial behavior (eg, increased impulsivity), and neural structure (eg, reduced volume in...

The Office of Advanced Molecular Detection (OAMD), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), manages a Twitter profile (@CDC_AMD). To our knowledge, no prior study has analyzed a CDC Twitter handle&#39;s entire contents and all followers. This study aimed to describe the contents and followers of the Twitter profile @CDC_AMD and to assess if attaching photos or videos to tweets posted by @CDC_AMD would increase retweet frequency. Data of @CDC_AMD were retrieved on November 21, 2016. All followers (N=809) were manually categorized. All tweets (N=768) were manually coded for contents and whether photos or videos were attached. Retweet count for each tweet was recorded. Negative binomial regression models were applied to both the original and the retweet corpora. Among the 809 followers, 26.0% (210/809) were individual health professionals, 11.6% (94/809) nongovernmental organizations, 3.3% (27/809) government agencies&#39; accounts, 3.3% (27/809) accounts of media organization...

Esta investigación tiene por objetivo la identificación de experiencias en el uso de las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación (TIC) que sean capaces de mejorar la gestión publica de los centros de salud en Cataluña (España), y que hayan sido impulsadas “desde abajo hacia arriba” por parte de los profesionales de la atención primaria. Hemos recopilado estas experiencias mediante la realización de once entrevistas semi-estructuradas a profesionales médicos/as y enfermeros/as de la atención primaria. El resultado constituye un conjunto de experiencias que pueden mejorar la gestión pública de los centros de salud a través de a) una mayor interacción entre pacientes y profesionales de la atención primaria; b) una medicina más centrada en el paciente; y c) una mayor participación e implicación de los pacientes en su estado de salud.

Neuroimaging is a powerful research and diagnostic tool and is increasingly used outside clinical or scientific settings. However, many of these non‐scientific uses, which often are uncritically covered by the media, are not supported by scientific evidence.

Background: While still in its infancy, Internet-based diabetes management shows great promise for growth. However, the following aspects must be considered: what are the key metrics for the evaluation of a diabetes management site? how should these sites grow in the future and what services should they offer? Objectives: To examine the needs of the patient and the health care professional in an Internet-based diabetes management solution and how these needs are translated into services offered. Methods: An evaluation framework was constructed based on a literature review that identified the requirements for an Internet-based diabetes management solution. The requirements were grouped into 5 categories: Monitoring, Information, Personalization, Communication, and Technology. Two of the market leaders (myDiabetes and LifeMasters) were selected and were evaluated with the framework. The Web sites were evaluated independently by 5 raters using the evaluation framework. All evaluations were performed from November 1, 2001 through December 15, 2001. The agreement level between raters ranged from 60% to 100%. The multi-rater reliability (kappa) was 0.75 for myDiabetes and 0.65 for LifeMasters, indicating substantial agreement. The results of the evaluations indicate that LifeMasters is a more-complete solution than myDiabetes in all dimensions except Information, where both sites were equivalent. LifeMasters satisfied 32 evaluation criteria while myDiabetes satisfied 24 evaluation criteria, out of a possible 40 in the framework. The framework is based on the recognition that the management of diabetes via the Internet is based on several integrated dimensions: Monitoring, Information, Personalization, Communication, and Technology. A successful diabetes management system should efficiently integrate all dimensions. The evaluation found that LifeMasters is successful in integrating the health care professional in the management of diabetes and that MyDiabetes is quite effective in providing a communication channel for community creation (however, communication with the health care professional is lacking).