Framing peak petroleum as a public health problem: audience research and participatory engagement in the United States

Climate change risk perception in global: Correlation with petroleum and liver disease: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Liver diseases have been bound to environmental factors, inclusive of air pollution. The exposure of workers to petrochemicals counts as a possible cause of Liver diseases, whereas results are inconsistent with the previous studies. In this study, a meta-analysis is conducted to assess the pooled risk.

METHODS AND FINDING

A systematic search was performed by related researchers. Correlations are analyzed among petroleum and liver cirrhosis mortality, fatty liver, alanine amino transferase (abbreviated as ALT), aspartate amino transferase (abbreviated as AST). Pooled risk ratios (RR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) and effect size(ES) with 95% confidence interval are calculated. Sensitivity analysis and publication bias are also tested. Data are analyzed from 5 studies involving 296 participants. Results are incorporated through adopting a random effects meta-analysis. Working in a petrochemical plant shall not increase the death risk posed by cirrhosis (RR = 0.44, 95% CI [0.36; 0.54]). Yet the incidence of fatty liver increases (RR = 1.22, 95% CI [1.21; 1.23]). Abnormal incidence of ALT and AST also increases.

CONCLUSIONS

Occupational exposure plays an important role in causing ALT abnormalities and fatty liver among oil workers, but not a risk factor of cirrhosis, AST abnormalities and liver cancer.

Audience segmentation to disseminate behavioral health evidence to legislators: an empirical clustering analysis

Background

Elected officials (e.g., legislators) are an important but understudied population in dissemination research. Audience segmentation is essential in developing dissemination strategies that are tailored for legislators with different characteristics, but sophisticated audience segmentation analyses have not been conducted with this population. An empirical clustering audience segmentation study was conducted to (1) identify behavioral health (i.e., mental health and substance abuse) audience segments among US state legislators, (2) identify legislator characteristics that are predictive of segment membership, and (3) determine whether segment membership is predictive of support for state behavioral health parity laws.

Methods

Latent class analysis (LCA) was used. Data were from a multi-modal (post-mail, e-mail, telephone) survey of state legislators fielded in 2017 (N = 475). Nine variables were included in the LCA (e.g., perceptions of behavioral health treatment effectiveness, mental illness stigma). Binary logistic regression tested associations between legislator characteristics (e.g., political party, gender, ideology) and segment membership. Multi-level logistic regression assessed the predictive validity of segment membership on support for parity laws. A name was developed for each segment that captured its most salient features.

Results

Three audience segments were identified. Budget-oriented skeptics with stigma (47% of legislators) had the least faith in behavioral health treatment effectiveness, had the most mental illness stigma, and were most influenced by budget impact. This segment was predominantly male, Republican, and ideologically conservative. Action-oriented supporters (24%) were most likely to have introduced a behavioral health bill, most likely to identify behavioral health issues as policy priorities, and most influenced by research evidence. This was the most politically and ideologically diverse segment. Passive supporters (29%) had the greatest faith in treatment effectiveness and the least stigma, but were also least likely to have introduced a behavioral health bill. Segment membership was a stronger predictor of support for parity laws than almost all other legislator characteristics.

Conclusions

State legislators are a heterogeneous audience when it comes to behavioral health. There is a need to develop and test behavioral health evidence dissemination strategies that are tailored for legislators in different audience segments. Empirical clustering approaches to audience segmentation are a potentially valuable tool for dissemination science.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s13012-018-0816-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

An audience research study to disseminate evidence about comprehensive state mental health parity legislation to US State policymakers: protocol

BACKGROUND

A large proportion of the US population has limited access to mental health treatments because insurance providers limit the utilization of mental health services in ways that are more restrictive than for physical health services. Comprehensive state mental health parity legislation (C-SMHPL) is an evidence-based policy intervention that enhances mental health insurance coverage and improves access to care. Implementation of C-SMHPL, however, is limited. State policymakers have the exclusive authority to implement C-SMHPL, but sparse guidance exists to inform the design of strategies to disseminate evidence about C-SMHPL, and more broadly, evidence-based treatments and mental illness, to this audience. The aims of this exploratory audience research study are to (1) characterize US State policymakers' knowledge and attitudes about C-SMHPL and identify individual- and state-level attributes associated with support for C-SMHPL; and (2) integrate quantitative and qualitative data to develop a conceptual framework to disseminate evidence about C-SMHPL, evidence-based treatments, and mental illness to US State policymakers.

METHODS

The study uses a multi-level (policymaker, state), mixed method (QUAN→qual) approach and is guided by Kingdon's Multiple Streams Framework, adapted to incorporate constructs from Aarons' Model of Evidence-Based Implementation in Public Sectors. A multi-modal survey (telephone, post-mail, e-mail) of 600 US State policymakers (500 legislative, 100 administrative) will be conducted and responses will be linked to state-level variables. The survey will span domains such as support for C-SMHPL, knowledge and attitudes about C-SMHPL and evidence-based treatments, mental illness stigma, and research dissemination preferences. State-level variables will measure factors associated with C-SMHPL implementation, such as economic climate and political environment. Multi-level regression will determine the relative strength of individual- and state-level variables on policymaker support for C-SMHPL. Informed by survey results, semi-structured interviews will be conducted with approximately 50 US State policymakers to elaborate upon quantitative findings. Then, using a systematic process, quantitative and qualitative data will be integrated and a US State policymaker-focused C-SMHPL dissemination framework will be developed.

DISCUSSION

Study results will provide the foundation for hypothesis-driven, experimental studies testing the effects of different dissemination strategies on state policymakers' support for, and implementation of, evidence-based mental health policy interventions.

Setting the agenda for a healthy retail environment: content analysis of US newspaper coverage of tobacco control policies affecting the point of sale, 2007-2014

BACKGROUND

Tobacco control policies affecting the point of sale (POS) are an emerging intervention, yet POS-related news media content has not been studied.

PURPOSE

We describe news coverage of POS tobacco control efforts and assess relationships between article characteristics, including policy domains, frames, sources, localisation and evidence present, and slant towards tobacco control efforts.

METHODS

High circulation state (n=268) and national (n=5) newspapers comprised the sampling frame. We retrieved 917 relevant POS-focused articles in newspapers from 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2014. 5 raters screened and coded articles, 10% of articles were double coded, and mean inter-rater reliability (IRR) was 0.74.

RESULTS

POS coverage emphasised tobacco retailer licensing (49.1% of articles) and the most common frame present was regulation (71.3%). Government officials (52.3%), followed by tobacco retailers (39.6%), were the most frequent sources. Half of articles (51.3%) had a mixed, neutral or antitobacco control slant. Articles presenting a health frame, a greater number of protobacco control sources, and statistical evidence were significantly more likely to also have a protobacco control slant. Articles presenting a political/rights or regulation frame, a greater number of antitobacco control sources, or government, tobacco industry, tobacco retailers, or tobacco users as sources were significantly less likely to also have a protobacco control slant.

CONCLUSIONS

Stories that feature procontrol sources, research evidence and a health frame also tend to support tobacco control objectives. Future research should investigate how to use data, stories and localisation to encourage a protobacco control slant, and should test relationships between content characteristics and policy progression.

Misinformation and Its Correction: Continued Influence and Successful Debiasing

The widespread prevalence and persistence of misinformation in contemporary societies, such as the false belief that there is a link between childhood vaccinations and autism, is a matter of public concern. For example, the myths surrounding vaccinations, which prompted some parents to withhold immunization from their children, have led to a marked increase in vaccine-preventable disease, as well as unnecessary public expenditure on research and public-information campaigns aimed at rectifying the situation. We first examine the mechanisms by which such misinformation is disseminated in society, both inadvertently and purposely. Misinformation can originate from rumors but also from works of fiction, governments and politicians, and vested interests. Moreover, changes in the media landscape, including the arrival of the Internet, have fundamentally influenced the ways in which information is communicated and misinformation is spread. We next move to misinformation at the level of the individual, and review the cognitive factors that often render misinformation resistant to correction. We consider how people assess the truth of statements and what makes people believe certain things but not others. We look at people's memory for misinformation and answer the questions of why retractions of misinformation are so ineffective in memory updating and why efforts to retract misinformation can even backfire and, ironically, increase misbelief. Though ideology and personal worldviews can be major obstacles for debiasing, there nonetheless are a number of effective techniques for reducing the impact of misinformation, and we pay special attention to these factors that aid in debiasing. We conclude by providing specific recommendations for the debunking of misinformation. These recommendations pertain to the ways in which corrections should be designed, structured, and applied in order to maximize their impact. Grounded in cognitive psychological theory, these recommendations may help practitioners-including journalists, health professionals, educators, and science communicators-design effective misinformation retractions, educational tools, and public-information campaigns.

Public attitudes toward biofuels. Effects of knowledge, political partisanship, and media use

Despite large-scale investments and government mandates to expand biofuels development and infrastructure in the United States, little is known about how the public conceives of this alternative fuel technology. This study examines public opinion of biofuels by focusing on citizen knowledge and the motivated processing of media information. Specifically, we explore the direct effects of biofuels knowledge and the moderating effect of partisanship on the relationship between media use and benefit vs. risk perceptions in the following four domains: environmental impacts, economic consequences, ethical/social implications, and political ramifications. Our results suggest that more knowledgeable respondents see fewer benefits of biofuels relative to risks, and that Democrats and Republicans are affected differently by media use when forming opinions about biofuels. Among Democrats, greater attention to political media content leads to a more favorable outlook toward the technology across several domains of interest, while among Republicans, an increase in attention to political content has the opposite effect. Possible reasons for these results, as well as implications of the findings at the intersection of politics and the life sciences, are discussed.

Higher energy prices are associated with diminished resources, performance and safety in Australian ambulance systems

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the impact of changing energy prices on Australian ambulance systems.

METHODS

Generalised estimating equations were used to analyse contemporaneous and lagged relationships between changes in energy prices and ambulance system performance measures in all Australian State/Territory ambulance systems for the years 2000-2010. Measures included: expenditures per response; labour-to-total expenditure ratio; full-time equivalent employees (FTE) per 10,000 responses; average salary; median and 90th percentile response time; and injury compensation claims. Energy price data included State average diesel price, State average electricity price, and world crude oil price.

RESULTS

Changes in diesel prices were inversely associated with changes in salaries, and positively associated with changes in ambulance response times; changes in oil prices were also inversely associated with changes in salaries, as well with staffing levels and expenditures per ambulance response. Changes in electricity prices were positively associated with changes in expenditures per response and changes in salaries; they were also positively associated with changes in injury compensation claims per 100 FTE.

CONCLUSION

Changes in energy prices are associated with changes in Australian ambulance systems' resource, performance and safety characteristics in ways that could affect both patients and personnel. Further research is needed to explore the mechanisms of, and strategies for mitigating, these impacts. The impacts of energy prices on other aspects of the health system should also be investigated.

Petroleum scarcity and public health: considerations for local health departments

Recognition of petroleum as a finite global resource has spurred increasing interest in the intersection between petroleum scarcity and public health. Local health departments represent a critical yet highly vulnerable component of the public health infrastructure. These frontline agencies currently face daunting resource constraints and rely heavily on petroleum for vital population-based health services. Against this backdrop, petroleum scarcity may necessitate reconfiguring local public health service approaches. We describe the anticipated impacts of petroleum scarcity on local health departments, recommend the use of the 10 Essential Public Health Services as a framework for examining attendant operational challenges and potential responses to them, and describe approaches that local health departments and their stakeholders could consider as part of timely planning efforts.

Public health and medicine in an age of energy scarcity: the case of petroleum

Petroleum supplies have heretofore been abundant and inexpensive, but the world petroleum production peak is imminent, and we are entering an unprecedented era of petroleum scarcity. This fact has had little impact on policies related to climate, energy, the built environment, transportation, food, health care, public health, and global health. Rising prices are likely to spur research and drive efficiency improvements, but such innovations may be unable to address an increasing gap between supply and demand. The resulting implications for health and the environment are explored in the articles we have selected as additional contributions in this special issue. Uncertainty about the timing of the peak, the shape of the production curve, and decline rates should not delay action. The time for quick, decisive, comprehensive action is now.