Volume of print media coverage and diagnostic testing for influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus during the early phase of the 2009 pandemic

Olowokure, Babatunde; Odedere, O.; Elliot, Alex J; Awofisayo, A.; Smit, Erasmus; Fleming, Ann; Osman, Husam

doi:10.1016/j.jcv.2012.05.013

Cited by 17 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 17 publications

(19 reference statements)

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“…Researchers assessed the content, timeliness, or volume of information available used to study the quality (such as accuracy, accessibility, and language style) and/or quantity of news media, press releases, online comments in response to news articles or social media, and H1N1-related information available on government or school websites. Some results were then compared to existing H1N1-related behavioral data, such as access to healthcare or vaccine uptake, in order to estimate the impact of media coverage on people’s attitudes and behaviors [31,32,70,71]. Blogs and wiki visits were examined to understand public attitudes and information-seeking behaviors.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

What have we learned about communication inequalities during the H1N1 pandemic: a systematic review of the literature

et al. 2014

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BackgroundDuring public health emergencies, public officials are busy in developing communication strategies to protect the population from existing or potential threats. However, a population’s social and individual determinants (i.e. education, income, race/ethnicity) may lead to inequalities in individual or group-specific exposure to public health communication messages, and in the capacity to access, process, and act upon the information received by specific sub-groups- a concept defined as communication inequalities.The aims of this literature review are to: 1) characterize the scientific literature that examined issues related to communication to the public during the H1N1 pandemic, and 2) summarize the knowledge gained in our understanding of social determinants and their association with communication inequalities in the preparedness and response to an influenza pandemic.MethodsArticles were searched in eight major communication, social sciences, and health and medical databases of scientific literature and reviewed by two independent reviewers by following the PRISMA guidelines. The selected articles were classified and analyzed in accordance with the Structural Influence Model of Public Health Emergency Preparedness Communications.ResultsA total of 118 empirical studies were included for final review. Among them, 78% were population-based studies and 22% were articles that employed information environment analyses techniques. Consistent results were reported on the association between social determinants of communication inequalities and emergency preparedness outcomes. Trust in public officials and source of information, worry and levels of knowledge about the disease, and routine media exposure as well as information-seeking behaviors, were related to greater likelihood of adoption of recommended infection prevention practices. When addressed in communication interventions, these factors can increase the effectiveness of the response to pandemics.ConclusionsConsistently across studies, a number of potential predictors of behavioral compliance to preventive recommendations during a pandemic were identified. Our findings show the need to include such evidence found in the development of future communication campaigns to ensure the highest rates of compliance with recommended protection measures and reduce communication inequalities during future emergencies.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

What have we learned about communication inequalities during the H1N1 pandemic: a systematic review of the literature

et al. 2014

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“…However, no correlation coefficients with time lag were determined in that study [33]. In the UK, newspaper coverage about A(H1N1)pdm09 likewise increased one week before increases in the number of laboratory-confirmed cases in the beginning of the pandemic period [34]. …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of five influenza surveillance systems during the 2009 pandemic and their association with media attention

et al. 2013

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BackgroundDuring the 2009 influenza pandemic period, routine surveillance of influenza-like-illness (ILI) was conducted in The Netherlands by a network of sentinel general practitioners (GPs). In addition during the pandemic period, four other ILI/influenza surveillance systems existed. For pandemic preparedness, we evaluated the performance of the sentinel system and the others to assess which of the four could be useful additions in the future. We also assessed whether performance of the five systems was influenced by media reports during the pandemic period.MethodsThe trends in ILI consultation rates reported by sentinel GPs from 20 April 2009 through 3 January 2010 were compared with trends in data from the other systems: ILI cases self-reported through the web-based Great Influenza Survey (GIS); influenza-related web searches through Google Flu Trends (GFT); patients admitted to hospital with laboratory-confirmed pandemic influenza, and detections of influenza virus by laboratories. In addition, correlations were determined between ILI consultation rates of the sentinel GPs and data from the four other systems. We also compared the trends of the five surveillance systems with trends in pandemic-related newspaper and television coverage and determined correlation coefficients with and without time lags.ResultsThe four other systems showed similar trends and had strong correlations with the ILI consultation rates reported by sentinel GPs. The number of influenza virus detections was the only system to register a summer peak. Increases in the number of newspaper articles and television broadcasts did not precede increases in activity among the five surveillance systems.ConclusionsThe sentinel general practice network should remain the basis of influenza surveillance, as it integrates epidemiological and virological information and was able to maintain stability and continuity under pandemic pressure. Hospital and virological data are important during a pandemic, tracking the severity, molecular and phenotypic characterization of the viruses and confirming whether ILI incidence is truly related to influenza virus infections. GIS showed that web-based, self-reported ILI can be a useful addition, especially if virological self-sampling is added and an epidemic threshold could be determined. GFT showed negligible added value.

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“…We have previously reported the impact of media reporting on mumps clinician notifications illustrating potential bias in the public and health professionals [ 21 ]. The 2009 influenza A(H1N1) pandemic also generated intense media coverage and retrospective analysis of regional news coverage was suggested to influence the demand for local microbiological testing of samples for influenza A(H1N1) [ 22 ]. Conversely, media reporting can also be used as a useful source of information, including news outlets, discussion sites and disease reporting networks, to provide additional intelligence and increased awareness of public health issues, thus augmenting existing public health surveillance programmes [ 23 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The potential impact of media reporting in syndromic surveillance: an example using a possible Cryptosporidium exposure in North West England, August to September 2015

et al. 2016

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During August 2015, a boil water notice (BWN) was issued across parts of North West England following the detection of Cryptosporidium oocysts in the public water supply. Using prospective syndromic surveillance, we detected statistically significant increases in the presentation of cases of gastroenteritis and diarrhoea to general practitioner services and related calls to the national health telephone advice service in those areas affected by the BWN. In the affected areas, average in-hours general practitioner consultations for gastroenteritis increased by 24.8% (from 13.49 to 16.84) during the BWN period; average diarrhoea consultations increased by 28.5% (from 8.33 to 10.71). Local public health investigations revealed no laboratory reported cases confirmed as being associated with the water supply. These findings suggest that the increases reported by syndromic surveillance of cases of gastroenteritis and diarrhoea likely resulted from changes in healthcare seeking behaviour driven by the intense local and national media coverage of the potential health risks during the event. This study has further highlighted the potential for media-driven bias in syndromic surveillance, and the challenges in disentangling true increases in community infection from those driven by media reporting.

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Volume of print media coverage and diagnostic testing for influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus during the early phase of the 2009 pandemic

Cited by 17 publications

References 17 publications

What have we learned about communication inequalities during the H1N1 pandemic: a systematic review of the literature

What have we learned about communication inequalities during the H1N1 pandemic: a systematic review of the literature

Comparison of five influenza surveillance systems during the 2009 pandemic and their association with media attention

The potential impact of media reporting in syndromic surveillance: an example using a possible Cryptosporidium exposure in North West England, August to September 2015

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