Resources Repository
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ArticlePublication 2021COVID-19, Fake News, and Vaccines: Should Regulation Be Implemented?
This article analyzes issues concerning the establishment of compulsory vaccination against COVID-19, as well as …
This article analyzes issues concerning the establishment of compulsory vaccination against COVID-19, as well as the role of misinformation as a disincentive – especially when published by health professionals – and citizen acceptance of measures in this regard. Data from different surveys revealed a high degree of hesitation rather than outright opposition to vaccines. The most frequent complaint related to the COVID-19 vaccination was the fear of side effects. Within the Spanish and European legislative…
Preferences/Values | Health/Medicine | Education/Labor | Science/Technology | Global | Infectious Diseases | Decision Psychology | Social Determinants | Policy/Regulation | Culture/Society | Government/Law -
ArticlePublication 2022Vaccinations versus Lockdowns to Prevent COVID-19 Mortality
This analysis estimated the costs associated with preventing Covid-19 deaths by vaccinations versus lockdowns. Publicly …
This analysis estimated the costs associated with preventing Covid-19 deaths by vaccinations versus lockdowns. Publicly available datasets from the Israeli Ministry of Health were used to model the parameters of the pandemic in Israel. The Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker was used for quantitative data on government policies. Data on the Israeli economy were taken from the Central Bureau of Statistics. The models demonstrate that the first lockdown prevented 1022 COVID-19 deaths at the cost…
Decision Theory | State-Transition | Health/Medicine | Middle East & North Africa | Infectious Diseases | Costing Methods | Health Outcomes | Decision Analysis | Policy/Regulation | Economics/Finance | Government/Law -
ArticlePublication 2021Rational Policymaking during a Pandemic
Policymaking during a pandemic can be extremely challenging. As COVID-19 is a new disease and …
Policymaking during a pandemic can be extremely challenging. As COVID-19 is a new disease and its global impacts are unprecedented, decisions are taken in a highly uncertain, complex, and rapidly changing environment. In such a context, in which human lives and the economy are at stake, the authors argue that using ideas and constructs from modern decision theory, even informally, will make policymaking a more responsible and transparent process.
Decision Theory | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | Global | Infectious Diseases | Priority Setting/Ethics | Policy/Regulation | Government/Law -
ArticlePublication 2020Perceptions of COVID-19 around the World
This study evaluates public risk perception of COVID-19 around the world in ten countries across …
This study evaluates public risk perception of COVID-19 around the world in ten countries across Europe, America, and Asia. They found that significant predictors of risk perception included personal experience with the virus, individualistic and prosocial values, hearing about the virus from friends and family, trust in government, science, and medical professionals, personal knowledge of government strategy, and personal and collective efficacy. Although there was substantial variability across cultures, individualistic worldviews, personal experience, prosocial values,…
Preferences/Values | Risk Analysis | Health/Medicine | Global | Infectious Diseases | Decision Psychology | Culture/Society -
ArticlePublication 2017Increasing Vaccination: Putting Psychological Science into Action
Vaccination is one of the great achievements of the 20th century, yet persistent public health …
Vaccination is one of the great achievements of the 20th century, yet persistent public health problems include inadequate, delayed, and unstable vaccination uptake. Psychology offers three general propositions for understanding and intervening to increase uptake where vaccines are available and affordable. The first proposition is that thoughts and feelings can motivate getting vaccinated. Hundreds of studies have shown that risk beliefs and anticipated regret about infectious disease correlate reliably with getting vaccinated; low confidence in…
Preferences/Values | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | Global | Infectious Diseases | Decision Psychology | Social Determinants | Policy/Regulation | Global Governance | Culture/Society | Government/Law | North America -
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…
Preferences/Values | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | Global | Infectious Diseases | Culture/Society -
ArticlePublication 2021COVID-19 Infodemic: Twitter vs. Facebook
The global spread of COVID-19 is affected by the spread of related misinformation – the …
The global spread of COVID-19 is affected by the spread of related misinformation – the so-called COVID-19 infodemic – that makes populations more vulnerable to the disease through resistance to mitigation efforts. This article analyzes the prevalence and diffusion of links to low-credibility content about the COVID-19 pandemic across Twitter and Facebook. They characterize cross-platform similarities and differences in popular sources, diffusion patterns, influencers, coordination, and automation. Comparing the two platforms, authors found divergence among…
Preferences/Values | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | Global | Infectious Diseases | Decision Psychology | Social Determinants | Policy/Regulation | Culture/Society | North America -
ArticlePublication 2020COVID-19 Infodemic: A New Front for Information Professionals
COVID-19 emerged from Wuhan, China and has spread in 213 countries, areas, or territories around …
COVID-19 emerged from Wuhan, China and has spread in 213 countries, areas, or territories around the globe, with nearly 144,683 deaths worldwide as-of April 18, 2020. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have witnessed a massive infodemic with the public being bombarded with vast quantities of information, much of which is not scientifically correct. Fighting fake news is now the new front in the COVID-19 battle. This article comments on the role of…
Preferences/Values | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | Global | Infectious Diseases | Social Determinants | Policy/Regulation | Culture/Society -
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…
Preferences/Values | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | Global | Infectious Diseases | Decision Psychology | Child/Nutrition | Social Determinants | Culture/Society | North America