COVID-19 Information Seeking Behaviors of University of Hawai'i at Manoa Undergraduates: Information Channels, Sources, and Consumption.

This study explored how undergraduate students at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa sought and consumed information about the virus that causes COVID-19. This study also examined student perceptions of the severity of and their susceptibility to the virus and their main concerns about it. Four hundred fifty-six students completed online surveys between October and early December of 2020 and 2021. Students reported low to moderate levels of information seeking across four domains: (1) knowledge about COVID-19 and its symptoms; (2) preventing the spread of the virus; (3) the current state of the pandemic in Hawai'i; and (4) the likely future of the pandemic in Hawai'i. Overall, websites, television, and Instagram were the top 3 channels used by students to seek information for these domains. Students reported primarily paying attention to information from government and news organizations as sources. However, students' preferred channels and sources varied with the type of information they sought. Students also reported believing that COVID-19 is severe and that they are susceptible to being infected with it. The more time students reported seeking information, the greater their perceptions of COVID-19's severity across all domains. Students' primary concerns about COVID-19 centered on state regulations/policies, vaccines, tourism/travel, the economy, and pandemic/post-pandemic life. These findings can help public health practitioners in Hawai'i determine how best to reach an undergraduate student population with information related to COVID-19.

A Framework for Introducing Global Health Innovations to the US.

Background: Across the globe, there are successful health innovations that could help improve public health in US communities at lower cost and with higher effectiveness than standard practice. However, which factors should be considered to heighten the likelihood of successful transfer of global health ideas to the US still warrants more empirical investigation. Objective: This study aimed to develop a conceptual framework delineating important factors to be considered for successful introduction of global health innovations to US communities, based on diffusion of innovations literature and case studies of global health innovations that have been adopted in US communities. Methods: Five global health innovations adopted in US communities were selected based on expert panel recommendations and a review of academic and gray literatures. These innovations had diverse origins (Columbia, Mexico, South Africa, Sweden, and Wales) and exhibited various means of achieving desired health outcomes. We conducted archival research and 27 interviews (42 interviewees) with leaders and stakeholders of the five innovations to identify important factors for the transfer of global health innovations to the US. Findings: Six factors were determined to be important for global health innovation adoption in the US: (1) innovation attributes, (2) linking agents, (3) inter-organizational partnerships, (4) scale up strategies, (5) implementation processes and outcomes in US communities, and (6) policy and social context. These factors correspond well to factors emphasized in the diffusion of innovation literature, although the importance of some sub-factors (e.g., stigma regarding the origin of innovations) diverged from the literature. Conclusions: Based on our findings, we developed the Designing for Diffusion Framework for Global Health Innovations. The framework provides a comprehensive picture of factors that can be facilitators or hindrances for moving a global health innovation to the US to help smooth the diffusion process for better adoption and implementation in US communities.

What Debunking of Misinformation Does and Doesn't.

A web-based experiment (n = 960) examined how debunking of publicly shared news on social media affects viewers' attitudes toward the source who shared the fake news, their agreement with the news position, and perceived credibility of social media as a news platform. Exposure to debunking information did not lower participants' agreement with the news position, but led them to derogate (1) the source who shared the misinformation and (2) social media as a news platform. However, participants who initially favored the source were less likely to attribute the sharing of fake news to the source's dispositions, rather than situational factors, thereby maintaining their positive attitudes toward the source.

Online Self-Tracking Groups to Increase Fruit and Vegetable Intake: A Small-Scale Study on Mechanisms of Group Effect on Behavior Change.

BACKGROUND: Web-based interventions with a self-tracking component have been found to be effective in promoting adults' fruit and vegetable consumption. However, these interventions primarily focus on individual- rather than group-based self-tracking. The rise of social media technologies enables sharing and comparing self-tracking records in a group context. Therefore, we developed an online group-based self-tracking program to promote fruit and vegetable consumption. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to examine (1) the effectiveness of online group-based self-tracking on fruit and vegetable consumption and (2) characteristics of online self-tracking groups that make the group more effective in promoting fruit and vegetable consumption in early young adults. METHODS: During a 4-week Web-based experiment, 111 college students self-tracked their fruit and vegetable consumption either individually (ie, the control group) or in an online group characterized by a 2 (demographic similarity: demographically similar vs demographically diverse) × 2 (social modeling: incremental change vs ideal change) experimental design. Each online group consisted of one focal participant and three confederates as group members or peers, who had their demographics and fruit and vegetable consumption manipulated to create the four intervention groups. Self-reported fruit and vegetable consumption were assessed using the Food Frequency Questionnaire at baseline and after the 4-week experiment. RESULTS: Participants who self-tracked their fruit and vegetable consumption collectively with other group members consumed more fruits and vegetables than participants who self-tracked individually (P=.01). The results did not show significant main effects of demographic similarity (P=.32) or types of social modeling (P=.48) in making self-tracking groups more effective in promoting fruit and vegetable consumption. However, additional analyses revealed the main effect of performance discrepancy (ie, difference in fruit and vegetable consumption between a focal participant and his/her group members during the experiment), such that participants who had a low performance discrepancy from other group members had greater fruit and vegetable consumption than participants who had a high performance discrepancy from other group members (P=.002). A mediation test showed that low performance discrepancy led to greater downward contrast (b=-0.78, 95% CI -2.44 to -0.15), which in turn led to greater fruit and vegetable consumption. CONCLUSIONS: Online self-tracking groups were more effective than self-tracking alone in promoting fruit and vegetable consumption for early young adults. Low performance discrepancy from other group members lead to downward contrast, which in turn increased participants' fruit and vegetable consumption over time. The study highlighted social comparison processes in online groups that allow for sharing personal health information. Lastly, given the small scale of this study, nonsignificant results with small effect sizes might be subject to bias.

Are they talking to me? Cognitive and affective effects of interactivity in politicians' twitter communication.

The present study investigated when and how the level of interactivity in politicians' Twitter communication affects the public's cognitive and affective reactions. In a Web-based experiment (n=264), participants viewed a high profile male politician's Twitter page, wherein he was either actively responding to his followers' questions (high interactivity) or mostly posting messages on his own (low interactivity). Exposure to the high-interactivity Twitter page induced a stronger sense of direct conversation with the candidate (social presence), but only among less affiliative individuals who usually avoid social interaction. Heightened social presence, in turn, led to more positive overall evaluations of the candidate and a stronger intention to vote for him. Although those in the high-interactivity condition generated more positive thoughts, they had fewer issue-related thoughts and exhibited poorer recognition of the issues mentioned by the candidate.