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Objectives: As there is no ranking designed for schools of Public Health, the aim of this project was to create one. Methods: To design the Public Health Academic Ranking (PHAR), we used the InCites Benchmarking and Analytics™ software and the Web Of Science™ Core Collection database. We collected bibliometric data on 26 schools of Public Health from each continent, between August and September 2022. We included 11 research indicators/scores, covering four criteria (productivity, quality, accessibility for readers, international collaboration), for the period 2017–2021. For the Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), a network gathering faculties across different universities, a specific methodology was used, with member-specific research queries. Results: The five top schools of the PHAR were: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Public Health Foundation of India, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, SSPH+, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Conclusion: The PHAR allows worldwide bibliometric ordering of schools of Public Health. As this is a pilot project, the results must be taken with caution. This article aims to critically discuss its methodology and future improvements.

Objectives: We compared socio-demographic characteristics, health-related variables, vaccination-related beliefs and attitudes, vaccination acceptance, and personality traits of individuals who vaccinated against COVID-19 and who did not vaccinate by December 2021.Methods: This cross-sectional study used data of 10,642 adult participants from the Corona Immunitas eCohort, an age-stratified random sample of the population of several cantons in Switzerland. We used multivariable logistic regression models to explore associations of vaccination status with socio-demographic, health, and behavioral factors.Results: Non-vaccinated individuals represented 12.4% of the sample. Compared to vaccinated individuals, non-vaccinated individuals were more likely to be younger, healthier, employed, have lower income, not worried about their health, have previously tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection, express lower vaccination acceptance, and/or report higher conscientiousness. Among non-vaccinated individuals, 19.9% and 21.3% had low confidence in the safety and effectiveness of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, respectively. However, 29.1% and 26.7% of individuals with concerns about vaccine effectiveness and side effects at baseline, respectively vaccinated during the study period.Conclusion: In addition to known socio-demographic and health-related factors, non-vaccination was associated with concerns regarding vaccine safety and effectiveness., + ID der Publikation: unilu_68453 + Sprache: Englisch + Letzte Aktualisierung: 2023-06-30 12:14:10

Background: The current COVID-19 pandemic poses a huge public health challenge to governments, including the need to communicate preventive measures in a way that a large part of the population understands, accepts, and adheres to. Reaching young people is especially challenging. Previous research indicates that media information sources as well as political ideology might play an important role in the level of acceptance and adherence to such measures. We address the open question if there is a connection between political ideology, COVID-19 information behavior, and adherence with containment measures with data from the COVIDisc project. Methods: The COVIDisc project (SNF grant 196328), investigates how young people, aged 15-34 yrs., perceive the communication during the Coronavirus pandemic and what media they use to inform themselves. A random sample drawn by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) (N=3597, 1812 from Thurgau and Zürich and 1785 from Ticino) was invited to take part in an online survey in November/December 2020. Political ideology was assessed with an 11-point scale, in which the center corresponded to a neutral position and the numbers left and right of the center corresponded to increasing left or right ideology. Results: 893 participants were included in the analysis. The mean age is 22.8 (sd 5.8), 43% are from Zurich or Thurgau and 57% from Ticino, 56% are female and 82% were born and raised in Switzerland. 27.8% of respondents placed themselves at the center of the 11-point political ideology scale and 10.2% at the poles far left/far right (4-5 points from the center). Participants using news sources and official sources placed themselves more to the left on the ideology scale, while persons not using any sources at all placed themselves more to the right. The majority of young people reported to follow the COVID-19 measures most of the time or always. First regression analyses indicate that the type of media sources used is not significantly a

Background: Navigating in the COVID-19 “infodemic” and adhering to preventive measures is especially challenging for young people. The use of information sources and political ideology are empirically important factors for adherence behavior. How these two are interconnected and if political ideology on its own contributes to adherence is not yet well established in young people. Objective: This study investigates what role political ideology and political extremism, use of information sources, trust and risk perception play for adhering to preventive measures in young people. Methods: Cross-sectional online survey in a representative random sample of young people aged 15–34 in two German-speaking and one Italian-speaking canton of Switzerland. The hypotheses were tested with logistic regression and multivariate regression analysis. Results: The odds for using the following information sources decreases for young people positioning themselves towards the right pole of the ideology scale: health-based sources 0.90 (CI: 0.84–0.97), news sources 0.93 (CI 0.87–0.997) and other websites 0.83 (CI: 0.75–0.92). In contrast, the odds of using broadcasting sources increases for young people positioning themselves towards the right pole of the ideology scale (OR: 1.08, CI 1.01–1.15). The odds of using social media decreases with higher political extremism (OR 0.88, CI 0.78–0.99). Political extremism was related with lower adherence to preventive measures in young people with low trust in the government, scientists, and journalists. Conclusion: Young peoples' use of information sources is associated with their political ideology and political extremism needs to be taken in account in conjunction with low trust.

This study aimed to understand parental discourse about vaccination, and to provide guidance for communication that addresses the needs of parents. We analyzed parental discourse on child vaccination in general and tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) specifically in a Swiss parental online community. For this purpose, a data set containing 105k posts written by parents between 2007 and 2019 was analyzed using a combination of linguistic discourse analysis and qualitative content analysis. Results show that parents enter into a multidimensional decision-making process, characterized by elaborate practices of negotiation, consideration of vaccination recommendations as well as six distinct influencing thematic factors (vaccination safety, development and control, effectiveness, epidemiology, necessity, alternatives or additional prevention methods). The study shows a clear pattern of seasonality, with parents talking about TBE vaccination mostly triggered by events such as tick bites in spring and summer. From a public health perspective, the study emphasizes the need for sufficient, balanced, and tailored information about TBE vaccination. Online forums provide valuable information about what matters to parents and when, which can help public health authorities and practitioners provide information according to these concerns and enhance health literacy among parents.

Background: The Covid-19 pandemic is causing unprecedented disruption and suffering to people across the globe, with a disproportionate toll on the elderly. The development and equitable distribution of a vaccine seems to be the most promising and sustainable route ahead. The goal of this study was to explore older adults’ attitudes towards and beliefs regarding the Covid-19 vaccination in Southern Switzerland. Methods: We conducted a qualitative study employing telephone interviews to understand older adults’ attitudes towards and beliefs about the Covid-19 vaccine. No Covid-19 vaccine had yet been approved at the moment of data collection. A convenience and snowball sample of 19 participants was recruited. Participants had to be at least 65 years old, without any hearing impairments, and be resident in the Canton of Ticino. Results: Most participants were women (n = 12), Swiss nationals (n = 14), retired (n = 18), resident in urban areas (n = 14), and had obtained a secondary school degree (n = 14). The average age was 75 (SD = 6.04; range = 64–85). We found that the majority of participants were in favor of the vaccination and highlighted its positive consequences, such as the abandonment of current freedom-limiting protective measures. Those participants who were against or unsure about the vaccination had concerns regarding the novelty of the vaccine and its impact on its safety and efficacy, stated they would prefer other protective measures rather than the vaccination, and identified contextual and individual drivers of their concerns. Conclusions: Independently from the outbreak’s trajectory, efforts to foster vaccination acceptance should focus on the benefit of relapsing freedom-limiting protective measures. Vaccination strategies should be grounded in an evidence-based, participatory approach, ongoing community engagement, trust- building activities, and communication about vaccine developments and how the vaccine will be combined with other outbreak resp

In this chapter, the authors present cases from four teaching marketing education experiences, based on community engagement and service learning principles. The cases address environmental and social issues (i.e., waste minimization [Lebanon], food consumption [Denmark], intellectual disability [Ireland], water consumption, and plastic waste reduction [Switzerland]). This chapter stems from discussions generated during a thematic workshop the authors organized at the 3rd European Social Marketing Conference, held in Espoo, Finland, on September 22, 2016. Through these cases, the authors aim to stimulate critical reflection on the role of service learning in the broader marketing education and on the intersection between education and profession.