Resources Repository
-
ArticlePublication 1964Epidemics and Rumors
Goffman and Newill directed attention to the analogy between the spreading of an infectious disease …
Goffman and Newill directed attention to the analogy between the spreading of an infectious disease and the dissemination of information. This article examines the spreading of a rumor from the point of view of mathematical epidemiology and briefly reports on work to be published in detail elsewhere. Authors emphasize that a mathematical model for the spreading of rumors can be constructed in a number of different ways, depending on the mechanism postulated to describe the…
Infectious Diseases | Preferences/Values | Culture/Society | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | Global -
ArticlePublication 2021COVID-19 Infodemic: Applying the Epidemiologic Model to Counter Misinformation
Throughout the world, including the U.S., medical professionals and patients are facing both a pandemic …
Throughout the world, including the U.S., medical professionals and patients are facing both a pandemic and an infodemic – the first caused by SARS-CoV-2 and the second by misinformation and disinformation. The Annenberg Public Policy Center’s tracking of social and legacy media has found that millions of people have been exposed to deceptive material alleging that SARS-CoV-2 is a hoax or that experts are exaggerating its severity and the extent of its spread, that masks…
Infectious Diseases | Decision Psychology | Preferences/Values | Social Determinants | Culture/Society | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | North America -
ArticlePublication 2019Countering Misinformation with Lessons from Public Health
The internet is often praised as a tool for freedom of speech, democracy, and truth. …
The internet is often praised as a tool for freedom of speech, democracy, and truth. However, the internet increasingly has become polluted by misinformation – the inadvertent spread of misleading and false information – and disinformation – the deliberate and coordinated spread of misleading and false information. Individuals online knowingly and unknowingly spread dangerous rumors and propaganda at an alarming rate, which can mislead or manipulate the worldview of those who encounter it. False information…
Infectious Diseases | Decision Psychology | Preferences/Values | Child/Nutrition | Social Determinants | Culture/Society | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | Global | North America -
ArticlePublication 2020Conspiracy Theories as Barriers to Controlling the Spread of COVID-19 in the U.S.
This article uses national probability survey data of U.S. adults to assess the relationship between …
This article uses national probability survey data of U.S. adults to assess the relationship between belief in three COVID-19-related conspiracy theories to adoption of preventive measures recommended by public health authorities, vaccination intentions, conspiracy beliefs, perceptions of threat, belief about the safety of vaccines, political ideology, and media exposure patterns. Authors found that conspiracy theory beliefs were highly stable across two periods of the survey and inversely related to the (1) perceived threat of the…
Infectious Diseases | Decision Psychology | Preferences/Values | Social Determinants | Culture/Society | Government/Law | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | North America -
ArticlePublication 2021Anti-Vaccination Infodemic on Social Media: A Behavioral Analysis
Vaccinations are without doubt one of the greatest achievements of modern medicine, and there is …
Vaccinations are without doubt one of the greatest achievements of modern medicine, and there is hope that they can constitute a solution to halt the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. However, the anti-vaccination movement is currently on the rise, spreading online misinformation about vaccine safety and causing a worrying reduction in vaccination rates worldwide. In this historical time, it is imperative to understand the reasons of vaccine hesitancy, and to find effective strategies to dismantle the rhetoric…
Infectious Diseases | Preferences/Values | Social Determinants | Culture/Society | Government/Law | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | North America -
ArticlePublication 2021Cost-Effectiveness & Equitable Access to Vaccines in Ethiopia: Overview and Evidence Synthesis
This article explores the gaps in vaccine coverage and the resulting burden of vaccine-preventable diseases …
This article explores the gaps in vaccine coverage and the resulting burden of vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) among poorer households in Ethiopia, despite the introduction of new vaccines and improved access to immunization services. It provides an overview of vaccine economics in Ethiopia, examining cost-effectiveness analysis, the cost of illness related to VPDs, equitable vaccine access, and immunization financing. The paper highlights significant disparities in vaccine access based on geographic location, socioeconomic status, and maternal education.…
Policy/Regulation | Health/Medicine | Sub-Saharan Africa -
ArticlePublication 2021Distributional Health and Financial Consequences of Increased Cigarette Tax in Iran: An ECEA
This study examines the potential impact of a tax-induced cigarette price increase on financial and …
This study examines the potential impact of a tax-induced cigarette price increase on financial and health outcomes across different socioeconomic groups in Iran. Using pooled cross-sectional data from Household Income and Expenditure Surveys (2002–2017) and population data from Iran in 2019, an extended cost-effectiveness analysis (ECEA) methodology is employed to model the effects of a hypothetical increase in cigarette tax. The analysis evaluates health benefits, health expenditures averted, additional tax revenues generated, changes in household…
Policy/Regulation | Health Outcomes | Mathematical Models | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Health/Medicine | Middle East & North Africa -
ArticlePublication 2020Testing for SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies
Antibody testing can determine previous exposure to SARS-CoV-2 virus. Recently, the UK government has made …
Antibody testing can determine previous exposure to SARS-CoV-2 virus. Recently, the UK government has made antibody testing available to anyone wanting it, even if there is no clinical indication. The purpose of this article is to provide guidance for when to consider antibody testing in individuals with and without symptoms suggestive of current or past SARS-CoV-2 infection. Key points made by the authors include: (1) antibody testing is likely to be most useful 2 weeks…
Infectious Diseases | Probability/Bayes | Test Performance | Technology Assessment | Clinical Care | Health/Medicine -
ArticlePublication 2021Health Opportunity Cost Threshold for CEA in the U.S.
Using a modeled cohort of 100,000 individuals in the United States with private health insurance, …
Using a modeled cohort of 100,000 individuals in the United States with private health insurance, the authors simulated the short-term mortality and morbidity resulting from increased premium related cancelation of insurance coverage. The authors used this model to estimate cost-effectiveness thresholds, in dollars per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained based on health opportunity costs. They reported the number of persons who dropped insurance coverage, resulting number of additional deaths and QALYs lost from mortality and…
Policy/Regulation | Priority Setting/Ethics | Health Outcomes | Evidence Synthesis | Microsimulation | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Health Systems | Health/Medicine | North America