Text mining analysis to understand the impact of online news on public health response: case of syphilis epidemic in Brazil.

Background: To effectively combat the rising incidence of syphilis, the Brazilian Ministry of Health (MoH) created a National Rapid Response to Syphilis with actions aimed at bolstering epidemiological surveillance of acquired, congenital syphilis, and syphilis during pregnancy complemented with communication activities to raise population awareness and to increase uptake of testing that targeted mass media outlets from November 2018 to March 2019 throughout Brazil, and mainly areas with high rates of syphilis. This study analyzes the volume and quality of online news content on syphilis in Brazil between 2015 and 2019 and examines its effect on testing. Methods: The collection and processing of online news were automated by means of a proprietary digital health ecosystem established for the study. We applied text data mining techniques to online news to extract patterns from categories of text. The presence and combination of such categories in collected texts determined the quality of news that were analyzed to classify them as high-, medium-and low-quality news. We examined the correlation between the quality of news and the volume of syphilis testing using Spearman's Rank Correlation Coefficient. Results: 1,049 web pages were collected using a Google Search API, of which 630 were categorized as earned media. We observed a steady increase in the number of news on syphilis in 2015 (n = 18), 2016 (n = 26), and 2017 (n = 42), with a substantial rise in the number of news in 2018 (n = 107) and 2019 (n = 437), although the relative proportion of high-quality news remained consistently high (77.6 and 70.5% respectively) and in line with similar years. We found a correlation between news quality and syphilis testing performed in primary health care with an increase of 82.32, 78.13, and 73.20%, respectively, in the three types of treponemal tests used to confirm an infection. Conclusion: Effective communication strategies that lead to dissemination of high quality of information are important to increase uptake of public health policy actions.

Analysis of the Impact of Communication Campaigns under the Project "Syphilis No": A National Tool for Inducing and Promoting Health.

Syphilis is increasingly prevalent around the world as a result of complex factors. In Brazil, the government declared a syphilis epidemic in 2016 and then set a strategic agenda to respond to this serious public health problem. In a joint effort, Brazil's Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) recommended that novel and diversified health communication strategies should be developed, which the "Syphilis No" project (SNP) later conducted through nationwide mass communication campaigns. We performed exploratory data analysis to identify and understand the results of three health communication campaigns by considering syphilis data trends in Brazil. The SNP, by using traditional and innovative means of communication, focused on multiple target audiences to encourage behavior changes through awareness and syphilis knowledge acquisition via the internet. In addition, the SNP disseminated information on syphilis testing, prevention, and treatment through social media and multiple media outlets. We observed that the period of the health campaigns corresponded to the period when the syphilis testing uptake increased and the number of reported cases dropped. Thus, our findings indicate that public health responses could substantially benefit from the use of health communication campaigns as a tool for health promotion, education, and transformation.

Sentiment Analysis in Understanding the Potential of Online News in the Public Health Crisis Response.

This study analyzes online news disseminated throughout the pre-, during-, and post-intervention periods of the "Syphilis No!" Project, which was developed in Brazil between November 2018 and March 2019. We investigated the influence of sentiment aspects of news to explore their possible relationships with syphilis testing data in response to the syphilis epidemic in Brazil. A dictionary-based technique (VADER) was chosen to perform sentiment analysis considering the Brazilian Portuguese language. Finally, the data collected were used in statistical tests to obtain other indicators, such as correlation and distribution analysis. Of the 627 news items, 198 (31.58%) were classified as a sentiment of security (TP2; stands for the news type 2), whereas 429 (68.42%) were classified as sentiments that instilled vulnerability (TP3; stands for the news type 3). The correlation between the number of syphilis tests and the number of news types TP2 and TP3 was verified from (i) 2015 to 2017 and (ii) 2018 to 2019. For the TP2 type news, in all periods, the p-values were greater than 0.05, thus generating inconclusive results. From 2015 to 2017, there was an ρ = 0.33 correlation between TP3 news and testing data (p-value = 0.04); the years 2018 and 2019 presented a ρ = 0.67 correlation between TP3 news and the number of syphilis tests performed per month, with p-value = 0.0003. In addition, Granger's test was performed between TP3 news and syphilis testing, which resulted in a p-value = 0.002, thus indicating the existence of Granger causality between these time series. By applying natural language processing to sentiment and informational content analysis of public health campaigns, it was found that the most substantial increase in testing was strongly related to attitude-inducing content (TP3).

Similarity Analysis in Understanding Online News in Response to Public Health Crisis.

BACKGROUND: The "Syphilis No!" campaign the Brazilian Ministry of Health (MoH) launched between November 2018 and March 2019, brought forward the concept "Test, Treat and Cure" to remind the population of the importance of syphilis prevention. In this context, this study aims to analyze the similarity of syphilis online news to comprehend how public health communication interventions influence media coverage of the syphilis issue. METHODS: This paper presented a computational approach to assess the effectiveness of communication actions on a public health problem. Data were collected between January 2015 and December 2019 and processed using the Hermes ecosystem, which utilizes text mining and machine learning algorithms to cluster similar content. RESULTS: Hermes identified 1049 google-indexed web pages containing the term 'syphilis' in Brazil. Of these, 619 were categorized as news stories. In total, 157 were grouped into clusters of at least two similar news items and a single cluster with 462 news classified as "single" for not featuring similar news items. From these, 19 clusters were identified in the pre-campaign period, 23 during the campaign, and 115 in the post-campaign. CONCLUSIONS: The findings presented in this study show that the volume of syphilis-related news reports has increased in recent years and gained popularity after the SNP started, having been boosted during the campaign and escalating even after its completion.

Public communication for the fight against syphilis: an experience report of the campaign "Eu sei. Você sabe?" (2020­2021) / Comunicação pública de combate à sífilis: um relato de experiência da campanha "Eu sei. Você sabe?" (2020­2021)

Introduction: Aiming at strengthening the discourse about syphilis prevention and promoting organic actions with strategies directed to digital communication platforms, the campaign "Eu sei. Você sabe?" ("I know. Do you?") was developed and placed between mid 2020 and early 2021, within the scope of the project "Sífilis, não" ('Syphilis, No'). Objective: In this article, we aim to report the planning and execution of this public communication campaign to combat syphilis by reflecting on the aspects of conception, strategic and creative planning, and placement of the campaign. Methods: The reflection was anchored in a descriptive study and in the report of this experience through a scientific narrative, considering the guidelines established in the planning and the period of execution (still under development). Results: The results of this campaign include the production and placement of various materials for digital circulation to disseminate content, such as cards (posts) for different social media websites in different formats; layouts for posters, banners and handouts (printed and digital); institutional website; card videos; sound spots; layouts for digital booklets and newsletters, among others. Conclusion: From the point of view of planning and production, the goal of the campaign was to contemplate the diversity of audiences with actions and materials, by adapting imagery, language and communication channels. It is not yet feasible to measure the reach or the audience size and response, although we can project it as positive in view of its context.

Visando ao fortalecimento do discurso de prevenção à sífilis e de promoção de ações de comunicação orgânicas com estratégias voltadas para plataformas de comunicação digital, foi desenvolvida a campanha "Eu sei. Você sabe?", entre o segundo semestre de 2020 e o primeiro de 2021, no âmbito do projeto "Sífilis Não". Objetivo: Neste artigo, objetivamos relatar a experiência das etapas do planejamento à execução dessa campanha de comunicação pública de combate à sífilis. Para tanto, refletimos sobre aspectos que envolvem desde a concepção, percorrendo as planificações estratégicas e criativas, até a veiculação da referida campanha. Métodos: Essa reflexão ancora-se em estudo descritivo e no relato de experiência como narrativa científica, levando em conta as diretrizes estabelecidas no planejamento e o período de execução (ainda em desenvolvimento). Resultados: Constituem-se como resultados dessa campanha a produção e a veiculação de diversos materiais direcionados para a circulação digital, com vista à divulgação de conteúdo, a saber: cards (publicações) para diferentes sites de redes sociais em formatos variados; layouts para cartazes, banners e panfletos (impressos e digitais); site institucional; vídeos cartelados; spots sonoros; layouts para cartilhas digitais e newsletters, entre outros. Conclusão: É possível verificar que a campanha "Eu sei. Você sabe?", do ponto de vista do planejamento e da produção, buscou contemplar, nas ações e peças, a diversidade dos públicos, adequando aspectos imagéticos, de linguagem e de canais de comunicação. Quanto à dimensão da audiência, ou seja, da repercussão, ainda não é viável mensurá-la, embora possamos projetar que será possível considerá-la positiva, em face do contexto de sua realização.

The reading contracts in the advertising discourse of health communication campaigns: an analysis of the "I know. Do you know?" campaign / Os contratos de leitura no discurso publicitário de campanhas de comunicação em saúde: uma análise da campanha "Eu sei. Você sabe?"

Introduction: In view of the syphilis epidemic that Brazil is experiencing and the need to strengthen the discourse on preventing this sexually transmitted infection (STI), the campaign "Eu sei, você sabe?" (I know. Do you know?) was conducted for dissemination of the pieces on social media. Objective: The of aim of this study was to perform a qualitative descriptive analysis of the posts published on the social network Instagram of the National Campaign to Fight Syphilis 2020-21 aimed at young people. Methods: The analysis performed was based on the method suggested by Eliseo Véron and aimed to establish relationships between the "reading contracts" offered and the processes of focusing (strong direct relevance) and defocusing (interdiscursive relevance) acting in the messages with the results of the communication indicator "Reach/Exposure". Results: The analysis was conducted from October 2020 to April 2021. In all, 31 cards were published. Among them, eight publications presented in their content a discourse directed at young people including individuals in the 20-29 age bracket. In general, the pieces provided a common proposal of visual structuring and aimed to address the deficiencies identified in previous campaigns developed and presented in the perspective of the project itself, as well as the propositions established by control agencies for dealing with syphilis in Brazil. Conclusion: Some hypotheses raised on the basis of the analysis were as follows. There is the possibility that the distinction between grammars of production and recognition produce negotiations or resistance to the meaning of the interpellation contained in the theme "Sífilis. Eu sei. Você sabe?" Even if the characters presented in the cards did not include some specific audiences, such as young transgenders, the language offered can generate empathy in these audiences. The production strategies of cards with a more visual aesthetic and added to a predominantly graphic distribution of important information possibly contributed to a greater reach/impact on the social network audience.

Introdução: Diante da epidemia de sífilis vivida pelo Brasil e tendo em vista a necessidade de fortalecer o discurso de prevenção dessa infecção sexualmente transmissível, realizou-se a campanha "Eu sei. Você sabe?", voltada para divulgação das peças nas redes sociais digitais. Objetivo: Este trabalho objetiva realizar análise qualitativa descritiva das postagens publicadas na rede social Instagram da Campanha Nacional de Combate à Sífilis 2020-21, destinadas ao público jovem. Métodos: A análise realizada baseia-se na metodologia sugerida por Eliseo Véron e visa estabelecer relações entre os contratos de leitura ofertados e os processos de focalização (pertinência forte direta) e desfocalização (pertinência interdiscursiva) atuantes nas mensagens com os resultados do indicador de comunicação alcance/exposição. Resultados: A análise adotou o recorte temporal de outubro/2020 até abril/2021. Ao todo 31 cards foram publicados. Entre eles, oito publicações apresentaram em seu conteúdo um discurso direcionado ao público jovem, como também personagens na faixa etária entre 20 e 29 anos. De maneira geral, as peças trazem uma proposta comum de estruturação visual e visam contemplar as deficiências identificadas em campanhas anteriores desenvolvidas e apresentadas na perspectiva do próprio projeto, bem como das proposições estabelecidas por órgãos de controle para o enfrentamento da sífilis no Brasil. Conclusão: Algumas hipóteses levantadas com base na análise realizada: há a possibilidade de que a distinção entre gramáticas de produção e reconhecimento produza negociações ou resistências ao sentido da interpelação contida no tema "Sífilis. Eu sei. Você sabe?"; mesmo que as personas apresentadas nos cards não englobem alguns públicos específicos, como jovens transgêneros, a linguagem ofertada pode gerar empatia nesses públicos; as estratégias de produção de cards com estética mais visual e somados a uma distribuição das informações importantes predominantemente gráfica possivelmente contribuíram para maior alcance/impacto no público das redes sociais.

The relevance a technology ecosystem in the Brazilian National Health Service's Covid-19 response: the case of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. / A relevância de um ecossistema tecnológico no enfrentamento à Covid-19 no Sistema Único de Saúde: o caso do Rio Grande do Norte, Brasil.

Technological advances play an undeniable role in strengthening health systems. With regard to digital technologies, information systems and the analysis of health data are playing a growing role in health surveillance and preparing for and responding to disease outbreaks, the theme addressed by this article within the context of the Covid-19 pandemic in the State of Rio Grande do Norte. This study departs from the assumption that digital health interventions can increase Covid-19 response capacity. We developed a technology ecosystem that integrates different information systems to meet the needs outlined in international regulations governing the response to the pandemic. In addition to the main elements of the ecosystem, this article describes the application of this instrument by different institutional actors. The main decision making tool used in the state government's Covid-19 response, the ecosystem is a model for digital health interventions in Brazil's national health service. This experience in Rio Grande do Norte brings together elements that can contribute to studies investigating the resilience of health systems and analyzing health policies in emergency situations.

É inegável o papel dos avanços tecnológicos para o fortalecimento da saúde. No tocante às tecnologias digitais, trata do uso crescente dos sistemas de informação e análise de dados em saúde nas ações de preparo, vigilância e resposta a surtos epidemiológicos, tema abordado neste artigo no contexto da pandemia provocada pelo vírus Sars-CoV-2 no estado do Rio Grande do Norte. Este estudo parte do pressuposto de que é possível potencializar a gestão da resposta à Covid-19 por meio da saúde digital. Assim, a pesquisa desenvolveu um Ecossistema tecnológico que integra diferentes sistemas de informação para atender as necessidades previstas nas normativas internacionais frente à pandemia. Este artigo descreve, além do Ecossistema e sua estrutura, um conjunto de análises sobre a aplicação desse dispositivo por diversos atores institucionais. O Ecossistema foi a principal ferramenta em uso no estado para o processo decisório em resposta à Covid-19, sendo um modelo para a intervenção de saúde digital no Sistema Único de Saúde. A experiência do Rio Grande do Norte reúne, portanto, elementos que contribuem para os estudos sobre resiliência de sistemas e análises de políticas públicas em saúde em situações de emergência.

A relevância de um ecossistema tecnológico no enfrentamento à Covid-19 no Sistema Único de Saúde: o caso do Rio Grande do Norte, Brasil / The relevance a technology ecosystem in the Brazilian National Health Service's Covid-19 response: the case of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil

Resumo É inegável o papel dos avanços tecnológicos para o fortalecimento da saúde. No tocante às tecnologias digitais, trata do uso crescente dos sistemas de informação e análise de dados em saúde nas ações de preparo, vigilância e resposta a surtos epidemiológicos, tema abordado neste artigo no contexto da pandemia provocada pelo vírus Sars-CoV-2 no estado do Rio Grande do Norte. Este estudo parte do pressuposto de que é possível potencializar a gestão da resposta à Covid-19 por meio da saúde digital. Assim, a pesquisa desenvolveu um Ecossistema tecnológico que integra diferentes sistemas de informação para atender as necessidades previstas nas normativas internacionais frente à pandemia. Este artigo descreve, além do Ecossistema e sua estrutura, um conjunto de análises sobre a aplicação desse dispositivo por diversos atores institucionais. O Ecossistema foi a principal ferramenta em uso no estado para o processo decisório em resposta à Covid-19, sendo um modelo para a intervenção de saúde digital no Sistema Único de Saúde. A experiência do Rio Grande do Norte reúne, portanto, elementos que contribuem para os estudos sobre resiliência de sistemas e análises de políticas públicas em saúde em situações de emergência.

Abstract Technological advances play an undeniable role in strengthening health systems. With regard to digital technologies, information systems and the analysis of health data are playing a growing role in health surveillance and preparing for and responding to disease outbreaks, the theme addressed by this article within the context of the Covid-19 pandemic in the State of Rio Grande do Norte. This study departs from the assumption that digital health interventions can increase Covid-19 response capacity. We developed a technology ecosystem that integrates different information systems to meet the needs outlined in international regulations governing the response to the pandemic. In addition to the main elements of the ecosystem, this article describes the application of this instrument by different institutional actors. The main decision making tool used in the state government's Covid-19 response, the ecosystem is a model for digital health interventions in Brazil's national health service. This experience in Rio Grande do Norte brings together elements that can contribute to studies investigating the resilience of health systems and analyzing health policies in emergency situations.

Systematic Review on Information Technology Approaches to Evaluate the Impact of Public Health Campaigns: Real Cases and Possible Directions.

Evaluating the success of a public health campaign is critical. It helps policy makers to improve prevention strategies and close existing gaps. For instance, Brazil's "Syphilis No!" campaign reached many people, but how do we analyze its real impact on population awareness? Are epidemiologic variables sufficient? This study examined literature on using of information technology approaches to analyze the impact of public health campaigns. We began the systematic review with 276 papers and narrowed it down to 17, which analyzed campaigns. In addition to epidemiological variables, other types of variables of interest included: level of (i) access to the campaign website, (ii) subject knowledge and awareness, based on questionnaires, (iii) target population's interest, measured from both online search engine and engagement with Social Network Service, and (iv) campaign exposure through advertising, using data from television commercials. Furthermore, we evaluated the impact by considering several dimensions such as: communication, epidemiology, and policy enforcement. Our findings provide researchers with an overview of various dimensions, and variables-of-interest, for measuring public campaign impact, and examples of how and which campaigns have used them.

#VoteLGBT e o ciberativismo em prol da representação política no Brasil / #VoteLGBT and cyberactivism to political representation in Brazil / #VoteLGBT y el ciberactivismo en favor de la representación política en Brasil

Este artigo discute a emergência de iniciativas ciberativistas centradas na representação política LGBT, assim como a sua contribuição para a consolidação das demandas do movimento e para o aprofundamento da democracia. Com abordagem qualitativa e procedimento monográfico, objetiva-se compreender a atuação da campanha #VoteLGBT, desenvolvida nas redes de comunicação digital distribuída nas eleições de 2014 e 2016. Delimitam-se, como corpus, as ferramentas sociais digitais utilizadas e os conteúdos das publicações realizadas no Facebook. Conclui-se que a iniciativa #VoteLGBT produz uma tripla visibilização (das candidaturas para os eleitores; dos eleitores para os candidatos; das demandas e temáticas para os candidatos e eleitores); expõe desigualdades políticas veladas no próprio regime democrático; cumpre a função, ao usar ferramentas digitais, de aproximar as dimensões civil e política em uma mesma ambiência; busca, ao produzir conteúdo, sensibilizar e convocar os eleitores, demonstrando a legitimidade das pautas e a importância da participação e da representação política.

This article discusses the emergence of cyberactivist initiatives centered on LGBT political representation and its contribution to the consolidation of demands required by that movement and to deepen the democracy. With a qualitative approach and monographic procedure, the objective of this study is to understand the performance of the #VoteLGBT campaign, developed in distributed digital communication networks before the Brazilian elections in 2014 and 2016. It was delimited as corpus the digital social tools used to those campaigns and the contents of the information posted in Facebook. We concluded that the #VoteLGBT initiative produces a triple visibility (of candidates to voters, of voters to candidates, of demands and themes to candidates and voters); exposes veiled political inequalities in the democratic regime itself; in using digital tools, it fulfills the function of approaching the civil and political dimensions in the same environment; in producing content, it seeks to sensitize the voters to LGBT's issues and to choose their representant, demonstrating the legitimacy of those issues and the importance of political participation and representation.

Este artículo discute la emergencia de iniciativas ciberactivistas centradas en la representación política LGBT y su contribución para la consolidación de las demandas del movimiento y para la profundización de la democracia. Con un enfoque cualitativo y un procedimiento monográfico, el objetivo del estudio es comprender la actuación de la campaña #VoteLGBT, desarrollada en redes de comunicación digital distribuida antes de las elecciones brasileñas de 2014 y 2016. Delimitamos como corpus las herramientas sociales digitales utilizadas en las campañas y los contenidos de las informaciones publicadas en Facebook. Concluimos que la iniciativa #VoteLGBT produce una triple visibilidad (de candidatos para votantes, de votantes para candidatos, de demandas y temas para candidatos y votantes); expone desigualdades políticas veladas en el proprio régimen democrático; al emplear herramientas digitales, cumple la función de acercar las dimensiones civil y política en el mismo ambiente; al producir contenido, busca sensibilizar los votantes para las cuestiones LGBT y para elegir sus candidatos , demostrando la legitimidad de los temas y la importancia de la participación y representación política.