Search

BACKGROUND Video played an important role in health communication throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. It was used to communicate pandemic information to the public, with a variety of formats, presenters, and topics. Evidence regarding the effectiveness of video features is available, while how individual characteristics of recipients influence communication comprehension is still limited. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to test six individual characteristics and assess their effect on the comprehension of pandemic video communication. METHODS Short health communication videos were presented to a large sample of subjects, receiving questionnaire-responses from 1194 participant. Individual characteristics consisted of age, sex, living area, education level, income level, and belief in science. Communication comprehension consisted of both perceived and objective comprehension. The data was analyzed by multiple linear regression. RESULTS Age had a negative effect on both perceived and objective comprehension – increasing age is associated with lower comprehension. There were sex differences with higher perceived comprehension among women than men, while lower objective comprehension among women compared to men. Living in an urban or a rural area had no significant effect. The level of education and income had a positive effect on both subjective and objective comprehension. Finally, the belief in science had a positive effect on perceived comprehension, while no statistically significant effect on objective comprehension. CONCLUSIONS The main differences between those who think they understand pandemic communication and those who comprehend it better are gender (women have a higher perception of having comprehended, while men have higher levels of objective comprehension) and belief in science (higher belief in science leads to higher perceived comprehension, while it does not have any impact on objectively understanding the message conveyed).

BACKGROUND Time spent in the prehospital phase of acute stroke care is multifactorial and have an effect on possibilities for acute treatment. Communication between paramedics and the in-hospital stroke team directly affects time to treatment. A mutual stroke scale like National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) may improve communication quality. The Paramedic Norwegian Acute Stroke Prehospital Project (ParaNASPP) was a stepped wedge randomised trial of stroke screening using NIHSS in the ambulance where the intervention was training paramedics in stroke and NIHSS, use of NIHSS made into a mobile application guiding the examination and facilitating communication with the in-hospital stroke team. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to validate the digital training model from the ParaNASPP clinical trial. METHODS Twenty-four paramedics were recruited from Oslo University Hospital (OUS) in Norway, completing the ParaNASPP training model. Twenty exclusive videos with pre-defined NIHSS scores were recorded. Four stroke physicians from OUS were included for reference. Bland Altman plots with 95% Limits of Agreement (LoA) were calculated comparing first paramedics and stroke physicians to the pre-defined scores, and then with each other. A pre-defined LoA was set to +/-3 points. To align with clinical practice NIHSS scores were also dichotomized into 0-5 (minor stroke) or ≥6 (moderate and major stroke), and agreement calculated using Cohen’s Kappa. RESULTS The videos (n=20) had a median (range) NIHSS score 7 (0-31). The paramedics’ scores were slightly higher than the pre-defined scores with a mean difference of -0.38 and LoA ranged from -4.04 to 3.29. The paramedics scored higher than the stroke physicians with a mean difference of -0.39, with LoA ranging from -4.58 to 3.80. Dichotomizing, Cohen’s Kappa was 0.89 between pre-defined scores and paramedics, 0.92 between pre-defined scores and stroke physicians, and 0.81 between paramedics and stroke physicians, all indicating very good agreement. CONCLUSIONS The standardized digital training model used in the ParaNASPP clinical trial seems to result in very good agreement in NIHSS scoring between paramedics and both pre-defined scores and stroke physician scores. This study also demonstrates possibilities for transfer of clinical competence in digital simulation training. CLINICALTRIAL N/A

BACKGROUND Humans have fundamental difficulties to grasp the extent of exponential growth, which is fundamental to grasp the extent of a spreading infectious disease. Exponential growth bias is the pervasive tendency to linearize exponential functions when assessing them intuitively. OBJECTIVE This systematic review aims to identify, evaluate and synthesise the findings of empirical studies concerning exponential growth bias of infectious diseases METHODS A systematic review will be conducted using the preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis protocols (PRISMA-P) 2015 statement. Risk of bias will be assessed using ROBINS-2 and STROBE. Data synthesis will be achieved through a narrative synthesis RESULTS As of February 2022, we included 11 studies, see PRISMA flow diagram, figure 1. This comprises 10 quasi-experimental studies and one cross sectional survey study. Preliminary themes identified are: The presence and effect of EGB of infectious diseases, visual and educational strategies to mitigate EGB of infectious diseases. Data extraction, narrative synthesis and risk of bias assessment will be expected to be due June 2022. CONCLUSIONS This systematic review concludes on limitation of the research and drawing some lines related to how people comprehend and misperceive exponential growth and its’ consequences for mitigating infectious diseases. Furthermore, the study will give recommendations for communication of exponential growth of infectious diseases and suggestion for future research.

BACKGROUND The nonlinear nature of contagious diseases and the potential for exponential growth can be difficult to grasp for the general public. This has strong implications for public health communication, which needs to be both easily accessible and efficient. A pandemic is an extreme situation, and the accompanying strict societal measures are generally easier to accept if one understands the underlying reasoning behind them. Bringing about informed attitude change and achieving compliance to strict restrictions requires explanations of scientific concepts and terminologies that laypersons can understand. OBJECTIVE The aim of the project is to develop effective, evidence-based modes of video communication for translating complex, but important, health messages about pandemics to both the general population and decision makers. The study uses COVID-19 as a case to learn and prepare society for handling the ongoing and future pandemics, as well as to provide evidence-based tools for the science communication toolbox. METHODS The project applies a mixed methods design, combining qualitative methods (eg, interviews, observational studies, literature reviews) and quantitative methods (eg, randomized controlled trials [RCTs]). The project brings together researchers from a wide range of academic fields, as well as communication industry professionals. RESULTS This study has received funding from the Trond Mohn Foundation through the Research Council of Norway’s “COVID-19 Emergency Call for Proposals” March 2020. Recruitment and data collection for the exploratory first phase of the project ran from February 2021 to March 2021. Creative communication work started in May 2021, and the production of videos for use in the RCTs in the final phase of the project started in September 2021. CONCLUSIONS The COVCOM project will take on several grand challenges within the field of communicating science and provide evidence-based tools to the science communication toolbox. A long-term goal of the project is to contribute to the creation of a more resilient health care system by developing communication responses tailormade for different audiences, preparing society for any future pandemic. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT DERR1-10.2196/34275

Background Time spent in the prehospital phase of acute stroke care is multifactorial and has an effect on the possibilities for acute treatment. Communication between paramedics and the in-hospital stroke team directly affects time to treatment. A mutual stroke scale such as the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) may improve communication quality. The Paramedic Norwegian Acute Stroke Prehospital Project (ParaNASPP) was a stepped-wedge, randomized trial of stroke screening using NIHSS in the ambulance where the intervention was training paramedics in stroke and the NIHSS, with the use of NIHSS made into a mobile app to guide the examination and facilitate communication with the in-hospital stroke team. Objective The aim of this study was to validate the digital training model from the ParaNASPP clinical trial. Methods In total, 24 paramedics were recruited from Oslo University Hospital in Norway to complete the ParaNASPP training model; 20 exclusive videos with predefined NIHSS scores were recorded; and 4 stroke physicians from Oslo University Hospital were included for reference. Bland-Altman plots with 95% limits of agreement (LoA) were calculated—first comparing paramedics and stroke physicians to the predefined scores and then with each other. The predefined LoA were set to 3 points. To align with clinical practice, NIHSS scores were also dichotomized into 2 categories: from 0-5 (minor stroke) or ≥6 (moderate and major stroke), and agreement was calculated using Cohen κ. Results The videos (n=20) had a median (range) NIHSS score of 7 (0-31). The paramedics’ scores were slightly higher than the predefined scores with a mean difference of –0.38 and the LoA ranging from –4.04 to 3.29. The paramedics scored higher than the stroke physicians with a mean difference of –0.39, with the LoA ranging from –4.58 to 3.80. When the NIHSS scores were dichotomized, Cohen κ was 0.89 between the predefined scores and paramedics, 0.92 between the predefined scores and stroke physicians, and 0.81 between the paramedics and stroke physicians, all indicating very good agreement. Conclusions The paramedics scored higher than both the predefined scores and stroke physicians’ scores, hence the predefined LoA were not met. However, the width of the LoA was smaller than seen when experienced neurologists are compared. When the NIHSS scores were dichotomized, the paramedics achieved very good agreement with both the predefined scores and stroke physicians’ scores. This study demonstrates the possibilities for the transfer of clinical competence in digital simulation training.

BACKGROUND The importance of effective communication during public health emergencies has been highlighted by the World Health Organization, and it has published guidelines for effective communication in such situations. With video being a popular medium, video communication has been a growing area of study over the past decades and is increasingly used across different sectors and disciplines, including health. Health-related video communication gained momentum during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, and video was among the most frequently used modes of communication worldwide. However, although much research has been done regarding different characteristics of video content (the message) and its delivery (the messenger), there is a lack of knowledge about the role played by the characteristics of the recipients for the creation of effective communication. OBJECTIVE The aim of this review is to identify how health video communication outcomes are shaped by recipient characteristics, as such characteristics might affect the effectiveness of communication. The main research question of the study is as follows: do the characteristics of the recipients of health videos affect the outcomes of the communication? METHODS A scoping review describing the existing knowledge within the field was conducted. We searched for literature in 3 databases (PubMed, Scopus, and Embase) and defined eligibility criteria based on the relevance to the research question. Recipient characteristics and health video communication outcomes were identified and classified. RESULTS Of the 1040 documents initially identified, 128 (12.31%) met the criteria for full-text assessment, and 39 (3.75%) met the inclusion criteria. The included studies reported 56 recipient characteristics and 42 communication outcomes. The reported associations between characteristics and outcomes were identified, and the potential research opportunities were discussed. Contributions were made to theory development by amending the existing framework of the Integrated-Change model, which is an integrated model of motivational and behavioral change. CONCLUSIONS Although several recipient characteristics and health video communication outcomes were identified, there is a lack of robust empirical evidence on the association between them. Further research is needed to understand how the preceding characteristics of the recipients might affect the various outcomes of health video communication.