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Media exposure to graphic images of violence has proliferated in contemporary society, particularly with the advent of social media. Extensive exposure to media coverage immediately after the 9/11 attacks and the Boston Marathon bombings (BMB) was associated with more early traumatic stress symptoms; in fact, several hours of BMB-related daily media exposure was a stronger correlate of distress than being directly exposed to the bombings themselves. Researchers have replicated these findings across different traumatic events, extending this work to document that exposure to graphic images is independently and significantly associated with stress symptoms and poorer functioning. The media exposure-distress association also appears to be cyclical over time, with increased exposure predicting greater distress and greater distress predicting more media exposure following subsequent tragedies. The war in Israel and Gaza, which began on October 7, 2023, provides a current, real-time context to further explore these issues as journalists often share graphic images of death and destruction, making media-based graphic images once again ubiquitous and potentially challenging public well-being. For individuals sharing an identity with the victims or otherwise feeling emotionally connected to the Middle East, it may be difficult to avoid viewing these images. Through a review of research on the association between exposure to graphic images and public health, we discuss differing views on the societal implications of viewing such images and advocate for media literacy campaigns to educate the public to identify mis/disinformation and understand the risks of viewing and sharing graphic images with others.

In the context of climate change communication, this study explores the process through which exposure to media messages about a risk leads to recommended behavioral intentions. We propose a model of this process based on the Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM) and the Risk Perception Attitude (RPA) framework. Our model analyzes how risk perception, negative emotion, and efficacy beliefs mediate and moderate the effects of media messages on people's intention to engage in pro-environmental behaviors. A national survey among 1,000 adults in South Korea was analyzed, and the fitting of PROCESS Models 4 and 15 yielded four main findings. First, media exposure was directly and positively related to risk perception, negative emotion, and pro-environmental behavioral intention. However, the significant relation between media exposure and behavioral intention was partly conditional upon efficacy beliefs. Second, risk perception and negative emotion were also significantly related to behavioral intention conditional upon efficacy beliefs. Third, efficacy beliefs significantly moderated the relation between risk perception and behavioral intention, but not between negative emotion and behavioral intention. Fourth, efficacy beliefs served as a moderator for the indirect effect of media exposure on behavioral intention via risk perception and negative emotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research suggests that a heterogeneous media diet can foster more objective information evaluations, reducing issue polarization as a result. These findings beg the question: Can increased news heterogeneity reduce issue polarization around COVID-19? Using data from a cross-sectional survey in the United States (N = 1,262), this study found that – in line with theoretical expectations – at high levels of homogeneity of traditional and digital news consumption, the difference in support for COVID-19 prevention between Biden and Trump supporters was significantly large. Conversely, this attitude gap narrowed at high news heterogeneity levels. Our results continue to advance research on the role of homogeneous and heterogeneous media diets and biased cognitive processing in issue polarization, a crucial endeavor as polarization poses a challenge to effective public health policy implementation and pandemic management. At the outset, the implications of our findings for pandemic communication (and health communication more generally) are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Bangladesh has made an intense effort to improve maternal healthcare facilities including facility delivery, but the number of home deliveries is still very high. Therefore, this study aims to find out district-wise prevalence and determine the individual and community-level predictors of home delivery among women in Bangladesh. Methods: Data were derived from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2019, a nationwide cross-sectional survey in Bangladesh. A final sample of 9,166 (weighted) women who gave birth in the two years preceding the survey were included in this study. Considering the two-stage cluster sampling strategy adopted by MICS, we used multilevel (2-level) logistic regression analysis to find out the correlates of home delivery. Results: The overall weighted prevalence of home delivery was 46.41% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 45.39–47.43). The highest prevalence was observed in Bandarban district (84.58%), while the lowest was found in Meherpur district (6.95%). The intercept-only regression model demonstrates that the likelihood of women from various clusters having home delivery varied significantly (variance: 1.47, standard error [SE]: 0.117), indicating the applicability of multilevel regression modeling. The multilevel regression analysis showed that women with higher education, wealth status and ANC visit, and those aged >18 years at first marriage/union were associated with lower odds of delivering child at home compared to their counterparts. While women from age group of 35–49 years, whose last pregnancy was unintended were more likely to deliver child at home. In addition, those respondents belonging to a community that had higher wealth status, women's education level, and exposure to media showed lower odds of having delivery at home. Conclusions: The finding indicates that delivery at home is still high in Bangladesh. Targeted interventions to reduce home delivery are urgently needed in Bangladesh to tackle adversities during deliveries and save mothers from the consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite progress in national reproductive health, pastoralist regions, including the Fentale District in Eastern Ethiopia, face challenges with limited contraceptive coverage due to gaps in understanding and adoption among couples. Methods: This cross-sectional study of 1496 couples in Fentale District, Eastern Ethiopia, from October 1 to December 25, 2021, utilized multistage sampling. Data entered into EPI Data underwent analysis with SPSS (v23.0) and STATA (v14.0), employing descriptive statistics, bivariate analysis, and binary logistic regression to identify predictors of contraceptive knowledge. Results: Of the 1496 couples, 93.8% (1404) participated in the survey. Significant educational disparities were observed, with 53.8% having no formal education, particularly among women (65.2%). Despite this, 80.2% of couples were aware of at least one family planning (FP) method, and 78.6% knew modern methods. The median knowledge of contraception methods was 3 for both genders. Men showed higher awareness of male (43.2%) and female condoms (17.4%) compared to women (31.8% and 6.0%). Overall, 27.4% of couples used contraception, with a significant gender difference: 41.2% of women and 13.5% of men. Modern contraceptives were used by 18.2% of couples, predominantly by women (34.8%). Binary logistic regression analysis indicated positive associations between contraceptive knowledge and education, bank account ownership, occupation, proximity to healthcare, and media exposure, while a nomadic-pastoralist lifestyle and specific treatment preferences showed negative associations. Conclusion: The limited knowledge and utilization of family planning in the Fentale District stem from gaps in comprehension and disparities among couples. Factors influencing this situation include socio-demographic considerations, such as variations based on education, occupation, media exposure, bank account ownership, treatment preferences, and distance from healthcare facilities. This ensures that the interventions are having the desired effect and allows for adjustments as needed to promote family planning uptake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The document is an interview with Prof. Fernanda Fidalgo from the Biology Department at the University of Porto, Portugal. It discusses her academic journey, research on plant stress responses, and collaborations. Prof. Fidalgo highlights challenges in science in Portugal, the importance of student relationships, and her future research focus. The interview also touches on the evolving publishing landscape, social media in science communication, and personal hobbies. Prof. Fidalgo reflects on key moments that shaped her career and life, including her decision to pursue academia, motherhood, and overcoming personal challenges. [Extracted from the article]

Background: Postnatal care (PNC) is the care of a newborn and mother for up to six weeks from one hour of placenta birth. The postnatal period is one of the most hazardous stages for mothers and their baby's health. The PNC is influenced by several maternal, family, biological, and socio-economic factors and it is necessary to identify the most significant factors of PNC. Therefore, the authors focus on determining the significant determinants of postnatal care in Bangladesh. Methods and materials: This study is based on a secondary dataset extracted from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS)-2017/18. Descriptive statistics, chi-square test, and multilevel logistic regression have been used to determine the contributing factors of PNC. Results: The rate of postnatal care was highest in Sylhet (73.7%) and lowest in Dhaka (57.1%). Female babies had 10.1% less odds of having postnatal care than male babies. Findings depict that the children with 1–3 siblings have 1. 82 times more odds (odds ratio (OR):1.82, 95% confidence interval (CI):0.03–3.21) of PNC than babies without any siblings. Children who suffered from fever recently had 1.25 times (OR = 1.25, 95% CI:1.09–1.45) more odds of taking PNC than their counterparts. Children of working mothers had 1.33 times (OR:1.33, 95% CI:1.14–1.56) more odds of having PNC than children of non-working mothers. Conclusion: The sex of a child, birth order number, place of residence, region, receiving Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine, number of antenatal care visits, having fever recently, number of household members, media exposure, and household facilities are significantly linked with PNC in Bangladesh. To ensure the good health of a child, it is necessary to focus on the targeted groups and put emphasis on the identified variables. The authors believe that the findings will be helpful to the policymakers of Bangladesh to lessen childhood morbidities which will be helpful in achieving the target of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for reducing preventable maternal and under-five deaths by 2030. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

America is said to be more polarized than ever before, and extensive research examines the causes and effects of political polarization. A less studied but more pronounced trend is that citizens perceive society and politics as sharply divided. We focus on news exposure as a key reason for these perceptions. We disentangle the unique effects of exposure to partisan outlets and to news coverage of polarization in general, whether in partisan or centrist news media. We rely on 9 months of online behavioral data (127,400,000 visits) from large samples in the U.S. and Poland (total N = 2,462 & 2,120), paired with a three-wave panel survey on participants' attitudes and perceptions. We measure individual exposure, over-time and unobtrusively, to partisan outlets as well as to news coverage of polarization through a fine-tuned BERT-based machine learning classifier. We find that both exposures increase perceived polarization, independently, in both countries. Yet, in both contexts, it is news coverage of polarization, regardless of whether it is ideologically left, right, or centrist news outlets, that is the strongest driver of perceived polarization. These changes are confined to personal-level polarization (perceived distance between oneself and members of the opposing party), while no measure significantly influences perceptions of society, more generally, as being polarized. These findings have important implications for our understanding of how the media’s increasing tendency to focus on conflict as a central reporting frame can be the driver of often exaggerated perceptions of partisan divisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the parent, gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) causes both hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia. Despite excess lipid availability, infants exposed to GDM are at risk for essential long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LCPUFA) deficiency. Isotope studies have confirmed less LCPUFA transfer from the parent to the fetus, but how diabetic fuels impact placental fatty acid (FA) uptake and lipid droplet partitioning is not well-understood. We evaluated the effects of high glucose conditions, high lipid conditions, and their combination on trophoblast growth, viability, mitochondrial bioenergetics, BODIPY-labeled fatty acid (FA) uptake, and lipid droplet dynamics. The addition of four carbons or one double bond to FA acyl chains dramatically affected the uptake in both BeWo and primary isolated cytotrophoblasts (CTBs). The uptake was further impacted by media exposure. The combination-exposed trophoblasts had more mitochondrial protein (p = 0.01), but impaired maximal and spare respiratory capacities (p < 0.001 and p < 0.0001), as well as lower viability (p = 0.004), due to apoptosis. The combination-exposed trophoblasts had unimpaired uptake of BODIPY C12 but had significantly less whole-cell and lipid droplet uptake of BODIPY C16, with an altered lipid droplet count, area, and subcellular localization, whereas these differences were not seen with individual high glucose or lipid exposure. These findings bring us closer to understanding how GDM perturbs active FA transport to increase the risk of adverse outcomes from placental and neonatal lipid accumulation alongside LCPUFA deficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept and social media hashtag, #BlackGirlMagic, is used to demonstrate the ability of Black women and girls to create paths and to succeed despite intersectional racism, sexism, and classism. Conversely, the concept of Black Girl Magic and Strong Black Woman schemas have been used to glorify struggle, undermine support, and victim-blame. Therefore, resiliency for Black women and girls requires clarification on how and why it is used and understood by researchers and practitioners. This article examines the experiences of Black women and girls by (a) evaluating the use of resiliency research and theoretical frameworks (Luthar et al., 2000; Spencer, 2005); (b) exploring unrecognized strengths and vulnerabilities across the lifespan; and (c) providing recommendations for researchers, interventionists, and practitioners to rethink resilience for Black women and girls. Black feminist thought and womanism frameworks are integrated to promote sustained healthy development for Black women and girls. Resiliency can only be promoted in Black women and girls if (a) immediate psychosocial and physical needs are addressed while (b) concurrently eliminating systemic barriers and social norms that allow Black women and girls to experience outsized adversity. Public Significance Statement: Using research and theoretical frameworks, this article clarifies and redefines how resiliency is understood for Black women and girls. Rather than pressuring Black women and girls to be resilient, radical shifts in societal norms and the elimination of systemic barriers are necessary for enduring health. The article explores unrecognized vulnerabilities and strengths across the lifespan as opportunities to create avenues for healthy functioning for Black women and girls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The objective of the current study was to estimate the prevalence and associated factors of overweight/obesity among Bangladeshi adolescents aged 15–19 y and to identify whether wealth-related inequality exists for overweight/obesity among Bangladeshi older adolescents. Methods We analyzed publicly available national representative secondary data from the 2019–2020 Bangladesh Adolescent Health and Wellbeing Survey. This cross-sectional survey was carried out among 18 249 adolescents aged 15–19 y regardless of their marital status using a two-stage stratified sampling technique (the data of 9128 eligible adolescents were included in this analysis). The WHO reference population for body mass index-for-age (1+Z score) was considered as overweight/obesity. Results We found that girls had significantly (p<0.05) higher prevalence of overweight/obesity (11.63%) than boys (8.25%); however, their biological sex as well their age were not significantly associated with higher odds of overweight/obesity. Those who were in their higher grade (grade 11 and higher) in the school and had been exposed to media were more likely (1.67 and 1.39 times, respectively) to be overweight/obesity compared with primary grade (0–5) and those who experienced no media exposure, respectively. Inequality analysis revealed that adolescents belonging to wealthy households had significantly higher rates of overweight/obesity than those in poorer households (concentration index=0.093). Conclusions The study exhibited the multifaceted nature of overweight/obesity among Bangladeshi older teenagers, revealing that their school grade, exposure to media content and wealth-related inequality emerged as significant contributing factors. The findings underscore the urgent need for targeted interventions and public health strategies to address the escalating burden of overweight and obesity in this age group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) remains a major global public health concern, especially in low-income countries like Ethiopia. Insufficient awareness about HIV/AIDS makes women vulnerable to infection. Notably, there is a disparity in the comprehensive HIV knowledge among reproductive-aged women in poorer and wealthier households. However, the contributing factors for wealth-related disparities in comprehensive knowledge of HIV among reproductive-aged women in Ethiopia have not been explored. Methods: We used the women's record (IR) of the 2016 Ethiopian demographic health survey. Erreygers normalized concentration index and curve were used to analyze the percentage contribution of factors in the comprehensive knowledge of HIV difference across wealth index. The concentration index was decomposed into contributing factors for poor comprehensive knowledge among poorer households. Results: A total of 14,599 reproductive-aged women were included in the analysis. The comprehensive knowledge of HIV was 14.75% and 29.33% in the poorest and wealthiest households, respectively. The weighted Erreygers normalized concentration index (ECI) was 0.11 with Standard error = 0.015 (P value < 0.05). Age (− 0.17%), residence (1.4%), education (26.2%), occupation (1.38%), region (0.61%), wealth index (30.8%), media exposure (13.4%), and internet access (0.67%) significantly contributed to the wealth-related inequalities. Conclusion: There was a pro-rich distribution of comprehensive knowledge of HIV among reproductive-age women in Ethiopia. Wealth, education, and media exposure were the major contributing factors to the wealth-related inequalities. Policymakers should prioritize media exposure and education, and work to improve the comprehensive knowledge of women in poorer households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Proper nutrition during early childhood is essential for healthy growth and development, yet many children, particularly in low and middle-income countries, fail to meet recommended intake levels of fruits and vegetables. This study aims to assess the factors associated with zero vegetable and fruit (ZVF) consumption among children aged 6–23 months in Tanzania, using data from the 2022 Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey (DHS). Methods: A weighted sample of 4582 children aged between 6 and 23 months were included in the study. Data cleaning, coding, and analysis were performed using STATA version 17 software. To address the hierarchical nature of the DHS data and the binary outcome variable, a multilevel mixed-effect binary logistic regression model was used. The deviance value served as a guide for determining the best-fitting model. In the subsequent multivariable multilevel binary logistic regression analysis, adjusted odds ratios were computed alongside their respective 95% confidence intervals to evaluate the strength of association, with statistical significance set at a p-value below 0.05. Result: The overall proportion of ZVF consumption among children aged 6–23 months in Tanzania was 48.34% (95% CI: 46.87, 49.81). Current breastfeeding status, maternal educational status, household wealth index, sex of the household head, and community poverty level were associated with higher odds of ZVF consumption. Meanwhile, child age, maternal employment status, father's educational status, and media exposure were associated with lower odds of ZVF consumption. Conclusion: Child age, current breastfeeding status, maternal educational status, maternal employment status, father's educational status, household wealth index, sex of household, media exposure, and community poverty level were significantly associated with ZVF consumption. Efforts should focus on educating mothers about the early introduction of fruits and vegetables in children's diets, alongside supporting breastfeeding. Tailored economic empowerment initiatives are needed in impoverished communities to improve access to nutritious foods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children who do not consume enough iron have decreased growth, reduced immunity, and poor cognitive development. This study aimed to assess the pooled iron-rich food consumption, trends, and predictors among children aged 6–59 months old in Ethiopia. This study used Ethiopian demographic and health survey (EDHS-2005–2016) data with a total weighted sample size of 26,773 among children aged 6–59 months old. A multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression analysis was used to identify predictors of good iron-rich food consumption. The pooled proportion of iron-rich food consumed among children aged 6–59 months in Ethiopia was 11.77% (10.71, 12.92%). In Ethiopia, the proportion of iron-rich food intake by children aged 6–59 months was slightly increased from 9.25% (8.04, 10.62%) in EDHS 2005 to 10.86% (9.06, 12.95%) in EDHS 2011, and sharply increased to 17.49% (15.04, 20.24%) in EDHS 2016. The findings indicated that being children born to mothers aged 20 to 34 years old [AOR = 0.56, 95% CI: 0.35, 0.89], mothers aged ≥ 35 years old [AOR = 0.47, 95% CI: 0.28, 0.82], married parents [AOR = 1.68, 95% CI: 1.14, 2.48], completed primary education [AOR = 1.32, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.73], secondary education [AOR = 2.66, 95% CI: 1.53, 4.59], a higher education status of mother [AOR = 3.98, 95% CI: 1.92, 8.23], medium family [AOR = 1.39, 95% CI: 1.03, 1.89], rich family [AOR = 1.45, 95% CI: 1.09, 1.95], media exposure [AOR = 1.35, 95% CI: 1.06, 1.72], residents of the Tigray [AOR = 2.69, 95% CI: 1.51, 4.79], Oromia [AOR = 3.30, 95% CI: 1.30, 4.02], Benishangul [AOR = 2.12, 95% CI: 1.15, 3.88], Gambela [AOR = 5.85, 95% CI: 2.97, 11.50], and Dire Dawa region [AOR = 3.38, 95% CI: 1.76, 6.47], were significantly associated with good iron-rich food consumption among children aged 6–59 months old. The findings revealed that iron-rich food intake was considerably low among Ethiopian children aged 6–59 months. Increasing women's literacy and economic empowerment improves iron-rich food consumption among children aged 6–59 months old. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A diversified diet in early childhood that comprises plant and animal source foods contributes to better health outcomes throughout the life course. However, inadequate infant and young child-feeding practices are serious public health problems in Africa. Evidence on the magnitude and determinants of inadequate animal source food consumption (ASF) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is not yet well established. Hence, this study aimed to estimate the pooled magnitude and determinants of ASF consumption in SSA. A total weighted sample of 92,309 children aged 6–23 months from the Demographic and Health Survey dataset of 35 SSA countries was used for this study. A multilevel mixed-effect model was fitted. The intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) and likelihood ratio (LR) tests were used to assess the presence of the clustering effect. The model comparison was made using deviance information criteria (DIC). A p-value of p < 0.05 was used to declare statistical significance. The pooled magnitude of ASF consumption among children aged 6–23 months in SSA was 23.7% (95% CI: 23.4, 23.9). Across the SSA regions, the Southern Africa region had the highest consumption of ASF (51.35%), and the lowest was from the Eastern Africa region (21.41%). Younger children aged 6–9 months (AOR = 3.39; 95% CI: 3.14, 3.65), mothers who had no formal education (AOR = 1.46; 95% CI: 1.37, 1.56), children from mothers with no media exposure (AOR = 1.17; 95% CI: 1.11, 1.24), children from the poorest households (AOR = 2.59; 95% CI: 2.36, 2.84), rural residence (AOR = 1.20; 95% CI: 1.12, 1.28), living in low-income countries (AOR = 2.43; 95% CI: 2.03, 2.90), and children from the East Africa region (AOR = 1.24; 95% CI: 1.14, 1.35) were among the significant predictors for not consuming ASF. In this study, ASF consumption was markedly low. Almost three-fourths of children aged 6–23 months in SSA did not consume ASF in the previous day. Age of the child, ANC visits, maternal educational status, maternal marital status, media exposure, and household wealth index were significant individual-level predictors of ASF consumption, whereas the place of residence, country's income level, and regions of SSA were found to be significant community-level predictors of ASF consumption. Thus, the study highlighted that policymakers, governments, and their partners should demonstrate rigorous efforts to improve dietary diversification with due consideration to the identified predictors of ASF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We assessed the perceived risks of COVID vaccines using a Health Belief Model (HBM) among the American public during the vaccination roll-out in the USA. We employed a retrospective study of 1,149 adults from the 2020 American National Election Studies surveys to assess the public's belief about the COVID-19 vaccine during the pandemic. The logistic regression analysis found several predictors of perceived health risks of the COVID vaccine. For urban/suburban residents, having higher education, being older, being White, and having higher income emerged as protective factors. People with these characteristics are less likely to perceive the COVID vaccine as risky. Also, higher use of Twitter emerged as a protective factor for residents from urban/suburban regions. However, residents from rural/small towns who use Facebook often are more likely to perceive the COVID vaccine as risky. Perceived risks of vaccination are high among Facebook users of residents from rural/small towns and low among Twitter users among residents from urban/suburban areas. The authors identified several protective factors: being educated, older, economically well-off, and White. The authors propose interventions to reduce perceived risks and vaccine hesitancy among vulnerable populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although Valley fever represents a growing public health challenge for Central and Southern Californian residents, awareness remains severely limited. The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) ran a cross-platform campaign to mitigate this awareness gap and impact prevention behavior. This study evaluates exposure to the CDPH campaign, followed by an examination of the information consumption patterns associated with key health outcomes. Results suggest that the CDPH campaign successfully improved knowledge accuracy, reduced misperceptions, and increased the likelihood of prevention behavior. Using an information repertoire lens revealed a more nuanced account. Most information repertoires positively influenced accurate knowledge retention and prevention behavior compared to those who were not exposed. The most diverse information repertoire, including interpersonal and media channels, was associated with increased knowledge accuracy, affective risk concerns, personal susceptibility, and prevention behavior. However, exposure to this repertoire was also associated with greater misperceptions. In addition, medical professional and radio-based repertoires positively influenced personal susceptibility perceptions. Overall, this research illustrates the importance of examining not only the general outcomes of health campaigns but also the patterns of information acquisition – particularly when working with underserved communities whose health information consumption preferences may not be comprehensively reflected in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social media use for risk communication during the COVID-19 pandemic has caused considerable concerns about an overabundance of information, particularly misinformation. However, how exposure to COVID-19 information on social media can lead to subsequent misinformation sharing during the pandemic has received little research attention. This study adopted the social amplification of risk framework to delineate how exposure to COVID-19 vaccine information on social media can be associated with individuals' misinformation sharing through heuristic information processing. The role of social media trust was also examined. Results from an online survey (N = 1488) of Chinese Internet users revealed that exposure to COVID-19 vaccine information on social media was associated with misinformation sharing, mediated by both affect heuristics (i.e., negative affect toward the COVID-19 pandemic in general) and availability heuristics (i.e., perceived misinformation availability). Importantly, both high and low levels of trust in social media strengthened the mediating associations. While a low level of trust strengthened the association between exposure to COVID-19 vaccine information on social media and the affect heuristics, a high level of trust strengthened its association with the availability heuristics, both of which were associated with misinformation sharing. Our findings suggest that heuristic information processing is essential in amplifying the spread of misinformation after exposure to risk information on social media. It is also suggested that individuals should maintain a middle level of trust in social media, being open while critical of risk information on social media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parents often struggle with discipline as well as how best to support their children's social and emotional growth. Unfortunately, many pediatricians, nurses, teachers, and other professionals involved in the lives of young children and their families lack the formal training and/or time to address parenting questions and concerns. And, although evidence‐based parenting programs do exist, their impact is limited by low rates of uptake. Logistical barriers to implementation and workforce shortages limit their availability, and even when available, families often face numerous obstacles to enrolling in and completing programs. From a public health perspective, lack of accessibility and low exposure rates severely limit their potential for reducing the prevalence of behavioral and emotional problems and for promoting psychological wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative research explores rape victim advocates' secondary traumatic stress (STS), burnout, and coping strategies. Data reveal that the hardest parts of advocates' work include feeling like they cannot help survivors, hearing survivors' stories, and seeing the failings of the CJ and legal systems. Most advocates (81%) experience STS, evident in emotional and behavioral responses. Most advocates (71%) confirm that #MeToo and coverage of sexual violence in the news, social media, or television contribute to their STS. Fewer advocates (34%) experience burnout, which is attributed to workload. Advocates cope by reaching out to others (colleagues, friends, and family) and exercising. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the mediating effect of the primary type of news source used by audiences on the relationship between interest in news and media trust. In addition, this study explored the moderating role of payments for digital news. Based on 12,252 respondents from six countries (the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Spain, Germany, and Finland), the study confirms that the type of news source chosen by audiences significantly mediates the relationship between interest and media trust. This mediation is not moderated by the payments for digital news. Furthermore, there is no direct association between payment and media trust, although data shows that direct effect of interest in media trust is slightly moderated by payment for digital news. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large body of work has examined the relationship between population composition and risk of victimization. Past research has also suggested that the nature of political rhetoric may have profound impacts on perceived threat, fear of crime, and moral panic. This study constitutes the first attempt to examine the relationships between the negative political articulation of both immigration and multiculturalism by extreme right-wing parties and the perception of unsafety risk in European countries. We employ data from the 2018 European Social Survey (ESS), which we merge with data from the Manifesto Project Dataset, a comparative dataset on political statements. The results reveal that individuals who reside in countries with higher levels of negative political articulation of immigration and multiculturalism express greater perceived unsafety. The results also show that higher levels of perceived immigrant threat amplify the relationship between negative political articulation of immigration and perceived unsafety. Finally, news exposure amplifies the effect of the negative political articulation of immigration on the perception of unsafety when perceived immigrant threat is higher. Our findings underscore the importance of the political context and the potential of political elites to shape public perceptions, including the perception of unsafety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to understand the impact of social media on postpartum mothers' parenting confidence among participants in the Moms on Media Study, an experimental mixed methods study. Methods: We used an embedded mixed methods approach among a sample of postpartum mothers of infants aged 0–6 months who were randomly assigned to view either body focused social media posts (experimental group, n = 65) or infant feeding tips (control group, n = 67) over a 5 day period. ANCOVA was used to examine differences between the experimental and control group on parenting confidence at post-intervention and 1 month follow-up. A subsample of mothers in the experimental group (n = 20) took part in semi-structured interviews post-intervention. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes and subthemes generated from the data. Results: Counter to expectations, ANCOVA results show that at post-intervention mothers who viewed the body-focused posts scored significantly higher for total parenting confidence (mean difference = 1.36), parenting confidence (mean difference = 0.89), and support confidence (mean difference = 0.53). These differences in total parenting confidence (mean difference = 2.03), parenting confidence (mean difference = 1.40) and support confidence (mean difference = 0.50) were sustained at 1-month follow up. No significant differences were found for child development confidence between the experimental and control group at either post-intervention or 1-month follow-up. Qualitative analysis revealed that many mothers described feeling better about their parenting after viewing body-focused social media posts where they felt mothers were overly focused on their own image versus spending time with their child as a "good" mother "should." Conclusions: Body-focused social media posts may lead to downward social comparison among postpartum mothers. Findings may help inform interventions or clinical care focused on healthy social media exposure and use during the postpartum period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: In Ethiopia, there is a decrease in percentage of women who receive method information index counseling service from 39% (95%CI: 33%, 44%) in 2015 to 12% in 2019 (95% CI: 10%, 14%) nationally, and less than 40% of these services provided are high quality. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify modern contraceptive users-related factors at individual level and community level associated with missed opportunities of method information index plus counseling. Methods: This study used the datasets from the 2019 Performance Monitoring for Action Ethiopia Survey, which comprised a total of 8,365 households (98.9%) and 7,988 women (98.8%). The data analysis was done with Stata version 14. Using multilevel mixed effect logistics regression, both individual and community-level factors were found to be associated with missed opportunities of method information index plus counseling. a P-value of less than 0.05 was used to declare statistical significance. The association was presented using an adjusted odds ratio with a 95% confidence interval. Results: The study shows that the prevalence of missed opportunity MII + family planning counseling among current modern contraceptive users was 81% (79.15, 82.66) and factors significantly associated with missed opportunities of method information index plus counselling are educational status, low level of media exposure, religion, receiving the service in health centers and health posts, never heard of any other methods, number of children at first contraceptive use and region. Conclusions: In Ethiopia 81% of women had a missed opportunities of MII + counseling service. In order to address this, we recommend policy makers to focus on training of health care workers and pharmacists about MII + counseling, and establishing ways to improve access to media exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous universities nationwide announced urgent implementation of closed campus management due to the epidemics of COVID-19 in Chinese universities since March 2022, and a large number of students were under quarantine. This study aims to explore how embodied experiences (i.e., centralized quarantine and self-quarantine) and mediated experiences (i.e., exposure to media sources, pandemic information overload, and online help seeking) influence the acquisition of learned helplessness during the campus epidemics among the Chinese university students, besides, how do these two types of experiences interact with each other to elicit learned helplessness is another interested research question. The data was collected nationwide via an online survey platform from March 22nd to April 16 2022 immediately after the outbreak of campus epidemics. A total of 1267 valid student samples were retained. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that embodied experience of centralized quarantine is positively related to learned helplessness. Mediated experience of information access from friends on social media and government official media as well as online help seeking are negatively related to learned helplessness. Information access from overseas media and pandemic information overload are positively related to learned helplessness. Besides, the interaction between self-quarantine and pandemic information overload is positively related to learned helplessness. Theoretical contributions and intervention strategies aimed at enhancing authoritative communication and managing information overload during public health crisis were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Maladaptive eating behaviors are becoming increasingly prevalent among adolescents, and their relationship to exposure to media messages has been extensively examined. However, more specifically, the influence of social networks on emotional eating (EmE) has received relatively less attention in the Peruvian context. Objective: To determine the association between social network addiction (SNA) and EmE among Peruvian adolescents, considering sex differences. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted. A total of 878 adolescents were considered. The Social Network Addiction Questionnaire and the Emotional Eating Questionnaire were administered. Similarly, sociodemographic data were collected. To explore the association between SNA and EmE, we performed Poisson regression analyses with robust variance. We considered a p-value of equal to or less than 0.05 as statistically significant. Results: Adolescents with an EmE score greater than 5 had significantly higher SNA scores, averaging 24.7 (± 12.3), compared to 15.5 (± 10.3) in those with an EmE score between 0 and 5 (p < 0.001). In multiple regression analyses, men with moderate/severe SNA were 1.77 times more likely to have EmE compared to those without SNA (95% CI 1.45–2.15; p < 0.001), while in women, moderate/severe SNA was associated with a 1.98 times higher likelihood of EmE (95% CI 1.61–2.45; p < 0.001). Conclusion: These findings highlight the need for public health interventions to educate adolescents about the use of social networks to minimize the negative effects of prolonged exposure on eating habits. Plain language summary: Many teenagers are developing unhealthy eating habits, and researchers have studied how media influences this. However, the effect of social media on emotional eating (eating in response to emotions) in Peru has received less attention. This study explored the link between social media addiction and emotional eating among Peruvian teenagers, focusing on differences between boys and girls. We studied 878 teenagers using two questionnaires: one about social media addiction and one about emotional eating. We also collected basic background information. A statistical analysis called Poisson regression was used to see how likely emotional eating is in teenagers with high social media use. Results showed that teenagers with higher emotional eating scores also had higher social media addiction scores. Boys with moderate or severe social media addiction were 1.77 times more likely to have emotional eating behaviors, while girls were 1.98 times more likely. These results highlight the need for programs to teach teenagers about the healthy use of social media to reduce its negative impact on eating habits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Antenatal care (ANC) is an important component in the continuum of care. Providing adequate quality ANC is necessary to prevent maternal and newborn mortality. The coverage of ANC has increased significantly in the last decade in India, but a mere increase in coverage is insufficient if the issue of quality is not simultaneously addressed. This study examines the change in each component of quality ANC between 2015-16 and 2019-21, highlights the factors associated with adequate quality ANC, and observes the state- and district-level distribution of adequate quality ANC during 2019-21. Methods: This study is based on data from the two most recent rounds of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS), the Indian equivalent of the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS). These rounds were conducted in 2015-16 and 2019-21 in selected households of India with a total of 190,797 and 176,843 sampled births, respectively. The dependent variable was quality antenatal care, a composite variable consisting of skilled healthcare providers, timeliness, sufficiency, and appropriateness of content. The independent variables were mother's age, education, wealth quintile, birth order, mass media exposure, health insurance coverage, relationship with the head of household, facility exposure, intended pregnancy, history of adverse pregnancy outcomes, and other socio-demographic variables. Change in each component and dimension of quality antenatal care was assessed using data from both rounds of the survey. A multivariate multinomial logistic regression analysis was employed to identify the determinants of adequate quality ANC using the NFHS-5 data. Results: The findings revealed that 32 per cent of mothers received adequate quality antenatal care in 2019–2021, an increase of only 9% points compared to the 2015-16 period. Two significant barriers to achieving adequate quality antenatal care, in terms of appropriateness of content, were the provision of Iron and Folic Acid (IFA) tablets and counselling. The highest utilisation of adequate quality antenatal care was observed in the southern states. The utilisation of quality ANC increased with an increase in women's education and wealth status; and was more prevalent among those with health insurance coverage and exposure to mass media. Conclusion: Despite some improvements in the coverage of antenatal care, the quality of antenatal care continues to be very low and needs urgent attention. Achieving quality antenatal care in both content and experience requires addressing service gaps and developing better measures to capture and improve women's care experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cervical cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related mortality among women in Africa. Cervical cancer screening in women is associated with decreased incidence and mortality of cervical cancer. There is a dearth of recent data regarding the prevalence and associated factors of cervical cancer screening in sub-Saharan Africa. Therefore, this study is intended to determine the prevalence and associated factors impacting cervical cancer screening among women in four sub-Saharan African countries. Methods: Data from the recent demographic and health surveys of four countries in sub-Saharan Africa conducted between 2022 and 2023. Multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression was used to determine the factors associated with the outcome variable. Variables with a p-value < 0.05 were declared statistically significant. Results: The prevalence of cervical cancer screening among women of childbearing age in four sub-Saharan African countries was 8.90% (95% CI: 8.67%, 9.13%). At the individual level, being older, educated, non-breastfeeding, employed, wealthier, sexually active, using contraceptives, having media exposure, visiting healthcare facilities in the last 12 months, and residing in urban areas were associated with higher odds of cervical cancer screening. At the community level, being from communities with a high level of literacy and media exposure increases the odds of cervical cancer screening among women in sub-Saharan Africa. Conclusion: The prevalence of cervical cancer screening among childbearing-age women was found to be low. To improve cervical cancer screening practices among women of childbearing age, it is therefore advised to support women's empowerment, mass media campaigns, and regular visits to healthcare facilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Diarrhea, defined as three or more loose stool per day, is a major cause of child mortality. Exploring its prevalence, and influencing factors is crucial for public health decision and targeted interventions. This study aimed to investigate these aspects using 2021 Madagascar demographic health survey data. Method: This study employed a cross-sectional design, analyzing data from a total of 8,740 weighted under-five children. The dependent variable was the occurrence of diarrhea, which was measured based on caregiver-reported incidents within the previous two weeks prior to the survey. To identify factors associated with diarrhea, a multilevel logistic regression model was utilized, allowing for the examination of both individual and contextual factors. Statistical significance was determined at a p-value of less than 0.05. Results: The analysis identified several significant factors associated with diarrhea in children under five. Children aged 7–12 months had a significantly higher risk of diarrhea (OR = 2.699, 95% CI: 2.028–3.591, p < 0.001) compared to those aged 0–6 months, while those aged 13–24 months were also at increased risk (OR = 2.079, 95% CI: 1.579–2.737, p < 0.001). Children using improved water sources had a lower likelihood of diarrhea (OR = 0.742, 95% CI: 0.583–0.944, p = 0.015). Female children were less likely to experience diarrhea compared to males (OR = 0.823, 95% CI: 0.708–0.956, p = 0.011). Mothers aged 25–34 years (OR = 0.741, 95% CI: 0.626–0.878, p = 0.001) and 35–49 years (OR = 0.628, 95% CI: 0.502–0.787, p = 0.03) had lower odds of their children having diarrhea compared to younger mothers (15–24 years). Primary maternal education was associated with a lower risk of diarrhea (OR = 0.77, 95% CI: 0.622–0.958, p = 0.019). Children from poorer (OR = 0.744, 95% CI: 0.591–0.937, p = 0.012) and middle-income households (OR = 0.732, 95% CI: 0.564–0.949, p = 0.019) had lower odds of diarrhea compared to those from the poorest households. Media exposure was significantly associated with higher odds of diarrhea (OR = 1.462, 95% CI: 1.208–1.769, p < 0.001). Conclusion: Maternal age over 25 years, child age between 7 months to 2 years, and media access are risk factors for diarrhea. In contrast, medium or low wealth levels, the mother's educational status, the child's sex, and the source of drinking water seem to be protective factors. Public health interventions should prioritize improving access to clean water and sanitation facilities, along with promoting handwashing with soap. Educational campaigns targeted towards mothers, especially those with lower education levels, can significantly improve hygiene practices, safe water handling, and early symptom recognition of diarrhea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThis study delves into the reluctance to adopt autonomous vehicles (AVs), treating AV aversion as a multifaceted psychological and behavioral phenomenon encompassing cognitive judgments, affective responses, and behavioral intentions. Leveraging the environment-product-human-behavior framework, an AV aversion model (AAM) is developed to explore human-AV interaction. Survey data from MTurk in the U.S. reveals significant differences in perception between fully autonomous vehicles (FAVs) and partially autonomous vehicles (PAVs). Findings show that negative media exposure influences perceived risk, anxiety, and negative word-of-mouth (WOM) intention. Perceived risk contributes to anxiety, while the combination of anxiety and negative media encourages negative WOM intention. The study elucidates a cascading effect from negative media to risk perception, then to AV anxiety, culminating in negative WOM. Multi-group analysis highlights a significant disparity between FAVs and PAVs in the link between negative media exposure and negative WOM intention. Understanding AV aversion offers valuable insights to address human-AV interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Globally, about 810 women die daily from pregnancy and childbirth complications, and the burden is highest in Africa. The United Nations sustainable development goal has a maternal mortality ratio (MMR) target of 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030. Nigeria, the largest country in Africa, has an MMR of 512 per 100,000 live births, thus there is need for intensified efforts to reduce maternal deaths in the country. Proper utilisation of maternal health services including health facilities for delivery is crucial to achieving this. This study assesses the regional trends, spatial patterns and determinants of health facility delivery among women of reproductive age in Nigeria. Methods: This is a weighted secondary analysis of the Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS). The sample included women who had a live birth in the preceding 5 years of the NDHS 2008, 2013 and 2018. Bivariate analysis and multilevel logistic regression were carried out to assess the determinants of health facility delivery. Trends analysis was done using bar graphs and spatial analysis showed the distribution of health facility delivery by State. Results: Forty-one percent of women delivered their last child in a health facility. The proportion of women who delivered at a health facility increased from 2008 to 2018 for all regions, with exception of the South-south region. Determinants of facility-based delivery include; ethnicity, level of education, wealth index, exposure to mass media (AOR 1.34; 95% CI 1.20–1.50), number of childbirths, number of antenatal visits (AOR 4.03; 95% CI 3.51–4.62), getting a companion to go the health facility (AOR 0.84; 95% CI 0.72–0.98), community level poverty, community level of female education, community distance to health facility, and geographical region. Conclusion: There is an urgent need to deploy appropriate strategies and programme to improve health facility delivery in Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Undergoing women of pregnancy termination (PT) significantly faces the problem of physical and mental health. This study aims to assess the prevalence and socioeconomic disparity factors of PT in Bangladesh. This study analyzed data from the 2017–18 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey. Researchers employed chi-square tests to identify relationships between categorical variables and logistic regression to pinpoint factors associated with PT. To assess the socioeconomic variation of PT, the analysis utilized concentration curves, concentration indices, and decomposition techniques. Results: The study found that 21.0% of reproductive-aged women in Bangladesh had ever terminated a pregnancy. Our study revealed that women from Chittagong and Sylhet regions, with wealthier backgrounds, aged 30 or older, employed in business, taking short birth intervals, and whose husband/partner was 35 or older, were more likely to have had a pregnancy termination with statistical significance (p < 0.05). Besides, concentration curves showed a higher prevalence of PT among wealthier women (CCI = 0.029, p < 0.001). Decomposition of this inequality revealed that a woman's wealth status was the largest contributor (74.98%) to the observed disparities, followed by exposure to mass media (41.82%), place of residence (34.35%), occupation (24.81%), and preceding birth interval (6.53%). Our study recommended that, in mitigating the above disparities, we should foster open discussions about underlying factors contributing to PT in Bangladesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding television viewing behavior is highly relevant, as it remains an important source of political news for many. Nowadays, viewers can choose between a growing diversity of formats covering political news, varying from traditional news broadcasts to late-night talk shows and satire. Yet, we have little to no information about the specific political content provided by television programs; and much less how this can be connected to viewing behavior and audience characteristics (political interest, ideology). Moving forward, using unique Dutch audience-meter data (3,672 viewers from 1,761 different households) from July 2017 to July 2018, we explore who is exposed to which (political) topic in what type of television program. We use automated content analysis to analyze the subtitles of television programs (N = 21,480). Our results indicate that situational factors, such as lead-in and lead-out effects affect news exposure. We also found that political interest does not only shape the volume but also the composition of audiences’ political information diets. Results show that higher political interest was associated with television audiences receiving a greater proportion of their news from public affairs and opinion programs. There does not appear to be any difference in patterns for political ideology; similar proportions of each type of program make up the information diets for both left and right viewers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research on social media's impact on body esteem has dominantly centered on usage frequency, overlooking the varied effects of different types of social media content on body esteem. Drawing on the tripartite influence model and social comparison theory, this study investigated how varied exposure to appearance-related content on social media predicts body esteem through social comparison. A total of 554 Chinese young females aged between 18 and 29 (M = 21.6, SD = 2.1) participated in an online survey. Results showed that exposure to idealized content was positively associated with upward appearance comparison, leading to decreased body esteem concerning weight and appearance. Exposure to idealized content was also positively linked to downward appearance comparison, reducing body esteem concerning appearance. Exposure to non-idealized content was negatively associated with upward appearance comparison, dampening comparison's negative influence on body esteem. A multi-group analysis revealed that the effects of exposure to idealized social media content on upward comparison were significantly intensified among females with a high level of trait self-objectification. Implications for shaping a body-positive image on social media among young females were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: HIV testing during pregnancy is an integral component and first step of prevention for mother to child transmission, initiation of antiretroviral treatment and diagnosis of HIV/AIDS. However, Ethiopia and other sub-Saharan African countries face challenges in meeting the first target of the 95-95-95 global initiatives. This study examines trends, spatial distribution, and factors influencing HIV testing among pregnant women in Ethiopia from 2005 to 2016, using data from the Ethiopia Demographic and Health Surveys. Methods: The study was based on three consecutive demographic and health survey in Ethiopia. A total weighted sample of 13,020 women who gave birth within 2 year proceeding each survey year was included in each survey. Logit based decomposition analysis technique was employed to identify factors contributing to the change in HIV testing uptake among pregnant women overtime. ArcGIS version 10.7.1 and SaT Scan version 10.1software were used for the spatial analysis and geographically weighted regression. Results: HIV testing uptake among pregnant women has significantly increased from 0.51% in 2005 to 32.4% in 2016 with 2.9% annual rate of increment in Ethiopia. About 75.9% of the overall increase in HIV testing uptake among pregnant from 2005–2016 was due to increases in women's composition with knowledge of Mother to child transmission of HIV (3.2%), HIV counseling (10.3%), 4 or more antenatal care visits (31.4%), health facility delivery (6.3%), not perceiving distance from the health facility as a big problem (1.1%), and urban residence (0.6%). Spatial variation of low proportion of HIV testing was non-random in all three surveys (Moran index, p-value<0.05). Hot spot clusters exhibited in all the three waves includes Tigray and SNNPRs in 2005 and consistent hotspot areas in Benishangul-Gumuz, Somali, SNNPR, and Gambella in 2011 and 2016 EDHS. Lack of knowledge of Mother to child transmission of HIV, lack of antenatal care visit, lack of media exposure, and health facility delivery were significant predictors for the spatial variation of low proportion of HIV testing uptake across regions in Ethiopia in 2016. Conclusion and recommendation: Over all, there has been a substantial increase in HIV testing uptake among pregnant women overtime in Ethiopia, but it still far away from achieving the 2025 HIV testing targets. Knowledge of Mother to child transmission of HIV, HIV counseling, Number of Antenatal care visit, previous place of delivery, residence and distance to health facility were significant contributing factors for the change in HIV testing uptake. There was geographical disparity in HIV testing uptake across regions in all three EDHS. Lack of knowledge of Mother to child transmission of HIV, lack of ANC visit, lack media exposure, and health facility delivery were significant predictors. Geographic-based interventions, together with broader public health strategies, are essential for advancing HIV testing uptake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Latinxs lack equitable access to science-based, accessible, trustworthy, and bilingual health information and rely heavily on TV news as a source of health information. This study examines how TV news media convey COVID-19 health- and safety-related information to the public, focusing on communications that target Latinxs in the US, a group disproportionately affected by COVID-19. Method: To understand how information targets Latinxs, we analyzed conceptual metaphors used in Spanish and English descriptions of the COVID-19 pandemic using TV news archive. Metaphor is an integral part of daily communication that can help people explain what is abstract in terms of what is concrete. Our analysis focused on prominent COVID-19 metaphors in both languages: war, journey, and natural disaster. Results: Similar to previous studies, we found that war metaphors were pervasive in English, for instance, as in 'Diagnostic testing is the only weapon that allows you to fight COVID-19' and 'a 15-day battle with COVID-19.' A new finding was that war metaphors were even more common in Spanish than in English. The journey metaphor had similar rates of use in both languages, while the natural disaster metaphors were more common in English than in Spanish. Conclusions: Our work provides novel insights into how TV news reports use metaphor to convey information about COVID-19 to viewers in English and Spanish. We also offer implications on using culturally informed language and conclude with directions for future research to guide health communications serving linguistic minority communities such as Latinxs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ongoing Israel‐Hamas war is posing additional challenges for mental health workers in an already stressful workplace. This study centres on the psychological effects of the shared traumatic reality on mental health workers, arising from the Israel‐Hamas war. One month after exposure to the terrorist attack of 7 October 2023 and the outbreak of war following this event, 147 mental health workers completed questionnaires regarding a variety of variables such as demographics, anxiety symptoms, acute stress symptoms, media‐induced secondary trauma, personal resilience, National resilience (NR), and post‐traumatic growth (PTG). The study found that mental health workers with previous trauma displayed higher anxiety symptoms, acute stress symptoms, and media‐induced secondary trauma. Additionally, acute stress and anxiety were positively correlated with media‐induced secondary trauma. Religiosity, personal resilience, and NR were found associated with lower anxiety and acute stress symptoms. Religiosity was also positively correlated with personal resilience, NR, and PTG. The PTG of mental health workers working with trauma survivors and evacuees was higher compared to that of other mental health workers. Both adverse and adaptive reactions were evident among mental health workers. While traumatic stress is expected, individual, professional, and NR factors may mitigate its effects. Providing training, social support, regulated media exposure, stress management, and meaning‐focused coping strategies can help safeguard workers' well‐being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to explore help-seeking preference categories and crucial influencing factors among community nurses exposed to COVID-19 in China using a new person-centered approach. Design: A cross-sectional design including an online self-reported questionnaire survey was used. Methods: A total of 667 nurses who participated in COVID-19 prevention and control work were recruited. Latent class analysis and logistic regression were used to analyze the data using Mplus and SPSS. Findings: Two latent classes of help-seeking preferences were identified: high help-seeking preferences (33.58%) and low help-seeking preferences (66.42%). Most sampled nurses had relatively low help-seeking preferences when facing psychological threats during COVID-19. Logistic regression showed that career duration, perceived social support, online help-seeking intention, and social media exposure negatively affected low help-seeking preferences. Conclusions: Career duration, perceived social support, online help-seeking intention, and social media exposure could be key factors influencing help-seeking preferences among Chinese nurses exposed to public emergencies. It is necessary to implement relevant intervention measures, such as focusing on nurses whose career durations are shorter, improving nurses' perceived social support, strengthening positive media publicity, and developing comprehensive online mental health services that promote nurses' help-seeking preferences and behaviors to reduce mental illness during public health emergencies. Clinical Evidence: Help-seeking preferences are relatively low among Chinese nurses during public emergencies. Based on the major influencing factors of help-seeking preferences, including social support and social media exposure, more interventions must be developed for prompting psychological help-seeking intentions among Chinese nurses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Predicting video virality is the holy grail of marketing today. Previous video virality prediction research has relied upon two processes that may lead to incomplete data or incomplete analyses: non-subconscious data collection and self-reporting. This exploratory study evaluates the potential of using a physiological manifestation of emotions captured through facial expressions and skin conductance to predict video viewer engagement across the viewing experience. In the context of video virality and user-focused emotional response, an experiment with 64 subjects viewing 13 videos collected facial expression and galvanic skin response data during the entire viewing experience. XGBoost classifier was deployed using 42 collected features (physiological data and socio-behavioural responses). The selected classifier could predict user engagement with over 80% accuracy. In addition to socio-demographic data and behavioural features, the predictive model identified several facial expression-based features, including action units (mouth open, cheek raise, eye closure, lip raise, and smile), emotions (joy), engagement and positive valence along with head movement (attention) and arousal (GSR peaks) as the most impactful. This study confirms the predictive capability of physiological data and elevates the value and need to understand further the role of viewers' physiological and subconscious responses to video content across the viewing experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study identified rural community experiences and preferences related to available resources and their effects on stress following tornadoes and floods. Methods: The Rural Natural Disaster Stress and Recovery survey was distributed from December 2021 to February 2022 in rural disaster-affected communities. Within the analysis sample (N = 159) of self-selected participants representing both agricultural and non-agricultural occupations, 125 responded to the Resource Use and Effect survey component that evaluated the effects of 22 resources on post-disaster stress. Additional qualitative questions provided further data. Results: The most frequently used resources post-disaster were found to be talking about the event (98.3%), friends and neighbors (97.6%) and family (97.6%). Using a derived Impact per Use score, groups from the neighboring community and personal faith activities most often reduced stress. Resources that increased stress were identified as FEMA or other government organizations; repairing, replacing, or rebuilding property; and following news or social media. Participants reported help from their community (35.8%) or things they did for themselves (31.2%) most effectively decreased disaster stress. Family, friends, faith, neighbors, and community were top choices to decrease stress in a future disaster. Conclusion: Rural residents identified available resources for reducing disaster stress, but some common post-disaster activities were found to increase stress. Rural emergency management should adapt response and recovery plans and activities to leverage readily accessible people, groups, and activities to mitigate negative mental and emotional health effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background: Social media platforms have become increasingly influential channels for discussing various aspects of children's health, including dietary habits and food choices. This research explores the impact of social media on childhood dietary habits regarding the foods children consume by analyzing published findings about online videos and other social media platforms. Methods: From a pool of 9646 articles available on Google Scholar, Science Direct, Web of Science, and ProQuest, 25 were selected for inclusion in this systematic literature review after meeting the qualifying criteria. The screened papers contained clinical studies, cross-sectional studies, and editorials published in English. Results: A review of these articles revealed that individuals' communication with friends via social media significantly enhanced their comprehension of conversations related to weight management. The results of this research inform efforts to combat poor diets and promote overall well-being among children at an earlier stage when personal interactions are likely limited. To promote the healthy growth of children, it is essential that the videos they engage with offer them appropriate guidance on maintaining a nutritious diet. Ultimately, this research provides insights into how social media creates environments conducive to the well-being of children. Conclusions: As a result, social media can serve as a valuable resource to help mitigate the prevalence of obesity in this vulnerable population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corruption is commonly defined as deviant behaviour that strays from established legal and formal norms, as well as expected conduct when fulfilling official duties and responsibilities. It is essential to stress that the acceptance or condemnation of such behaviour hinges primarily on how well evaluators comprehend these standards. This implies that citizens' assessments of the impact of corruption on their lives and society are heavily influenced by the values they hold dear within a democracy and their trust in democratic institutions to uphold and safeguard those values. Based on recently collected survey data, we demonstrate that citizens' adherence to process-oriented democratic values, their feeling of relative deprivation and their level of political trust significantly affect their egocentric perceptions of the effects of corruption and tolerance towards corruption. Furthermore, we find that control variables, such as self-reported experiences of corruption, age, education, income, and exposure to social media, also exert a significant influence on our dependent variables. By linking citizens' egocentric perceived corruption effects and intolerance towards corruption with their procedural notion of democracy, feeling of relative deprivation and political trust, this study contributes to the understanding of the resilience of this intricate phenomenon in democratic societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: It is widely recognized that maternal deaths in low-resource countries are attributed to deprived access to maternal health services. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess barriers to healthcare access among reproductive age women in extremely high and very high maternal mortality countries. Methods: A community based cross sectional surveys were conducted among 181,472 reproductive age women. Stata version 17.0 was used to analyze the data. Mixed effect binary logistic regression model was analyzed. Odds ratio along with 95% CI was generated to identify factors associated with barriers to healthcare access. A p-value less than 0.05 was declared as statistical significance. Results: A total of 64.3% (95% CI: 64.06, 64.54) reproductive age women faced barriers to healthcare access. Young age, no formal education, poor wealth index, no media exposure, multiparty, no health insurance coverage, and rural residence were significantly associated with barriers to healthcare access. Conclusion: More than six in ten reproductive age women had barriers to healthcare access in extremely high and very high maternal mortality countries. Increasing extensive health education, minimizing financial hardship by expanding health insurance may minimize barriers to healthcare access with attention to rural resident reproductive age women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: While HIV testing and counselling play a crucial role in preventing mother-to-child transmission, numerous pregnant women did not receive these services. Understanding the spatial variation of HIV testing and counselling and its associated factors during antenatal care in Ethiopia remains limited. Thus, this study was aimed at assessing the spatial patterns and factors associated with HIV testing and counselling during antenatal care visits in Ethiopia. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was employed with a two-stage stratified cluster sampling technique. A total of 2,789 women who gave birth in the two years prior to the survey and had at least one antenatal care visit were included in the study. Stata version 16 and ArcGIS version 10.8 software were used for analysis. A multilevel robust Poisson regression model was fitted to identify significantly associated factors since the prevalence of HIV testing and counselling was higher than 10%. A statistically significant association was declared based on multivariable multilevel robust Poisson regression analysis using an adjusted prevalence ratio with its 95% confidence interval at a p-value < 0.05. Spatial regression analysis was conducted, and the local coefficients of statistically significant spatial covariates were visualised. Results: In Ethiopia, the overall prevalence of HIV testing and counselling during antenatal care visits was 29.5% (95% CI: 27.8%, 31.2%). Significant spatial clustering was observed (Global Moran's I = 0.138, p-value <0.001). In the spatial regression analysis, high and comprehensive knowledge related to HIV, and comprehensive knowledge on the prevention of mother-to-child transmission were significant explanatory variables for the spatial variation of HIV testing and counselling. In the multivariable multilevel robust Poisson regression analysis, education, household wealth, media exposure, number of antenatal care visits, comprehensive knowledge on mother-to-child transmission, comprehensive knowledge on prevention of mother-to-child transmission, and region were significantly associated factors. Conclusion: The prevalence of HIV testing and counselling during antenatal care visits was low. Empowering women through education, promoting mass media exposure, increasing numbers of antenatal care visits, and enhancing women's knowledge related to HIV and mother-to-child transmission by targeting cold spot areas could improve HIV testing and counselling service uptake among pregnant women in Ethiopia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social confidence functions as a vital spiritual force in fostering the positive and healthy evolution of society. This paper explores how social media exposure contributes to the construction of social confidence within the framework of Media-system Dependency Theory. The research unveils the following key findings: (1) Social media exposure positively facilitates social confidence; (2) Group efficacy and group cohesion, perceived as manifestations of cognitive divergence between "efficacy" and "collective" within collective efficacy, both serve as mediating mechanisms influencing the impact of social media exposure on social confidence. The Channel Testing of Causality confirms that group cohesion plays a significantly more crucial role as a pathway compared to group efficacy; (3) The differentiated impact of social media exposure, encompassing Tencent WeChat and Sina Weibo, materializes in distinct components of social confidence and follows different influence pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior research demonstrates that news-related social media posts using negative language are re-posted more, rewarding users who produce negative content. We investigate whether negative material from external news sites is also introduced to social media through more user posts, offering comparable incentives for journalists to adopt a negative tone. Data from four US and UK news sites (95,282 articles) and two social media platforms (579,182,075 posts on Facebook and Twitter, now X) show social media users are 1.91 times more likely to share links to negative news articles. The impact of negativity varies by news site and social media platform and, for political articles, is moderated by topic focus, with users showing a greater inclination to share negative articles referring to opposing political groups. Additionally, negativity amplifies news dissemination on social media to a greater extent when accounting for the re-sharing of user posts containing article links. These findings suggest a higher prevalence of negatively toned articles on Facebook and Twitter compared to online news sites. Further, should journalists respond to the incentives created by the heightened sharing of negative articles to social media platforms, this could even increase negative news exposure for those who do not use social media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intentional news avoidance is a common behavior that can be influenced by individual, content, and contextual factors. However, prior studies have primarily focused on general news avoidance and neglected selective avoidance of specific topics. Therefore, our study aimed to determine which topics people tend to avoid and the reasons behind this behavior. We conducted an online survey (N = 1071) with open-ended questions to gather information on topic-specific news avoidance and motives. Our systematic quantitative content analysis revealed that the most commonly avoided news topics were related to the pandemic, political issues, and soft news. Participants cited negative emotional reactions and lack of interest as their primary reasons for avoiding news on an individual level, while redundancy and lack of trust were cited as reasons related to content. Logistic regression analyses revealed that specific motives were related to topic-specific avoidance. Issue fatigue was the primary motivator for avoiding news about COVID-19, while anger and lack of trust were the main reasons for avoiding political news. Lack of interest and overload were the motivators for avoiding soft news. Our study highlights the importance of understanding selective news avoidance and provides insights into the reasons why people choose to avoid certain news topics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today's high-choice digital media environments allow citizens to completely refrain from online news exposure and, if they do use news, to select sources that align with their ideological preferences. Yet due to measurement problems and cross-country differences, recent research has been inconclusive regarding the prevalence of ideological self-selection into like-minded online news. We introduce a multi-method design combining the web-browsing histories and survey responses of more than 7000 participants from six major democracies with supervised text classification to separate political from nonpolitical news exposure. We find that political online news exposure is both substantially less prevalent and subject to stronger ideological self-selection than nonpolitical online news exposure, especially in the United States. By highlighting the peculiar role of political news content, the results improve the understanding of online news exposure and the role of digital media in democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Childbirth among adolescents and young mothers has been linked to various complications, including perinatal mortality, preterm births, low birth weight, and infections, which collectively contribute to the high burden of neonatal and maternal mortality. Despite some progress, the prevalence of skilled birth attendance, proven to improve maternal and newborn health outcomes, remains consistently low in Northern Nigeria. This study assessed the prevalence and determinants of Skilled Birth Attendance (SBA) among young women ages 15–24 years in Northern Nigeria. Methods: This pooled cross-sectional study included 6,461 young women aged 15–24 years from 2011, 2016 and 2021 multiple indicator cluster surveys in Nigeria. We used a binary logistic regression model to assess the factors associated with skilled birth attendance at 95% confidence intervals (CIs) with computed adjusted odds ratios (aORs). Results: The prevalence of skilled birth attendance among young women in Northern Nigeria increased from 25.6% in 2011 to 33.1% in 2021. Women who were atleast 18 years of age at first marriage had 2.48 higher odds of SBA (aOR 2.48, 95% CI = 1.54–4.00) compared those less than 18 years of age at first marriage after controlling for confounders. Young women from rich household wealth quintile were more likely to utilize SBA (aOR 1.84, 95% CI = 1.11–3.14) compared to young women from poor household wealth quintile. In terms of education, those women who had secondary (aOR = 2.52, 95% CI = 1.77–3.56) and higher education (aOR = 10.01, 95% CI = 2.21–49.31) had higher odds of SBA compared to those with no education. Individual women with media exposure had 59% higher likelihood (aOR = 1.59, 95% CI = 1.16–2.19), women who attended 4 or more antenatal care visits during their last pregnancy demonstrated 2.28 times higher odds (aOR = 2.28, 95% CI = 1.67–3.09), while those who reported no intention for their last pregnancy were 37% less likely (aOR = 0.63, 95% CI = 0.42–0.96) to utilize SBA. Conclusion: A slight increase in the prevalence of skilled birth attendance was observed over the 10-year period. For a significant boost in skilled birth attendance among young women in Northern Nigeria, particular attention needs to be paid to girls' child education, delay in marriage, economic empowerment of young women, and strategic ways of leveraging trained community health workers (CHIPs) to bring reproductive healthcare close to young women living in rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]