How older adults manage misinformation and information overload - A qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic was characterized by an abundance of information, some of it reliable and some of it misinformation. Evidence-based data on the impact of misinformation on attitudes and behaviours remains limited. Studies indicate that older adults are more likely to embrace and disseminate misinformation than other population groups, making them vulnerable to misinformation. The purpose of this article is to explore the effects of misinformation and information overload on older adults, and to present the management strategies put in place to deal with such effects, in the context of COVID-19. METHODS: A qualitative exploratory approach was adopted to conduct this research. A total of 36 semi-structured interviews were conducted with older adults living in Quebec, Canada. The interviews were fully transcribed and subjected to a thematic content analysis. RESULTS: Participants said they could easily spot misinformation online. Despite this, misinformation and its treatment by the media could generate fear, stress and anxiety. Moreover, the polarization induced by misinformation resulted in tensions and even friendship breakdowns. Participants also denounced the information overload produced largely by the media. To this end, the participants set up information routines targeting the sources of information and the times at which they consulted the information. CONCLUSIONS: This article questions the concept of vulnerability to misinformation by highlighting older adults' agency in managing misinformation and information overload. Furthermore, this study invites us to rethink communication strategies by distinguishing between information overload and misinformation.

Supporting informed decision-making about vaccination: an analysis of two official websites.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the content of two official French-speaking websites that are used to inform the general public about recommended vaccines in France and Quebec. STUDY DESIGN: Qualitative content analysis. METHODS: All pages that inform and educate parents regarding childhood vaccination were downloaded and analyzed according to evidence-informed risk communication metrics. RESULTS: A total of 32 webpages, 14 videos, and two infographics were included in the analysis. The following were the most frequent risk communication approaches: 'debunking common misconceptions about vaccination' or 'answering common questions about vaccines.' Harm and benefit information focused primarily on the risks of vaccine-preventable diseases and the risks of adverse events after immunization. Most materials used qualitative terminology to describe the risk (e.g., vaccines are among the safest tools, adverse events are rare). Very few materials provided numeric likelihood of harms and benefits. When numeric information was stated, they were only presenting the risks of the diseases or number of cases in an outbreak. The approaches used to debunk misconceptions generally focused on the myth itself rather than the correct information. Few materials used visual aids (e.g., graphics, pictures, icons arrays, etc.) to convey important information. CONCLUSIONS: It is often assumed that misinformation and rumors about vaccination found online is a leading cause of the increase in vaccine hesitancy. Existing communication materials could be improved to better align with best practices in risk communication. Given the availability of confusing and conflicting vaccine narratives, it is crucial that authoritative communication materials aim to build trust and support informed choices about vaccination.

Deaf animal models for studies of a multichannel cochlear prosthesis.

Pathological alterations of the cochlea were studied in three different deaf animal (cat) populations. The ototoxic drug neomycin sulfate, was administered in one experimental series by direct infusion into the cochlear perilymph; a second group was given a series of intramuscular injections of the drug; and in a third experiment a mechanical lesion was made in the basilar membrane of the basal turn and the animals subsequently deafened by systemic neomycin. Hearing losses were tracked by monitoring thresholds of auditory brainstem responses to click stimulation. These deaf cat preparations fairly efficiently model pathologies recorded in man and are highly predictable over an acceptable time frame. Such preparations are of practical value for experiments involving intracochlear electrical stimulation (e.g., with model cochlear prosthesis electrodes).

Clinical status of evoked response audiometry.

In the past decade there has been a widespread renewal of interest in the clinical utilization of electroencephalic responses evoked by auditory stimulation. In particular, there has been considerable research conducted on the brain stem response, the frequency following response, and the middle latency response. An overview discussion of some of the latest findings from recent and ongoing investigations is presented. Discussion is centered initially on current ideas, findings, and controversies regarding the origins or site of generation of these responses. Clinical application of the responses is discussed from two perspectives, audiologic applications and neurologic applications. Essential parameters for evoking, recording and analyzing clinically these responses are summarized. Some of the problems resulting from a lack of standardized clinical testing protocols are also mentioned. Key findings from recent clinical studies of some investigators are cited. Also recent data concerning the developmental aspects of the responses on clinical testing are included. Finally, some directions for future research on these responses are discussed. One of the latest techniques for recording and analyzing the responses and its implications for site of lesion neurologic testing are described.

Effects of stimulus rise-fall time and equivalent duration on middle components of AER.

Tone bursts of 500, 1 000, or 3 000 Hz with rise/fall times of 3, 5, and 10 msec were combined with either a 'no plateau' duration or 'equivalent durations' of 10 or 30 msec. Electroencephalic activity (102.4 msec post-stimulus) from normal-hearing adults was recorded between the vertex and each earlobe. AER latencies and amplitudes decreased as frequency increased but effects of increasing rise/fall time and duration were similar at all frequencies. An increase in stimulus rise/fall time or equivalent duration results in increases of about 1-3 msec in latencies of all middle component peaks. Increasing either rise/fall time or equivalent duration produces a considerable reduction in middle component amplitude at all intensity levels. Any combination of rise/fall time and plateau duration that gives an equivalent duration of less than 10 msec. and results in narrow spectra stimuli, appears optimal for clinical EEA with middle components.

Toward objective analysis for electroencephalic audiometry.

Middle-component AERs (8-90 msec) to tone-pips from 10 normal-hearing adults were subjected to three objective methods of response identification. Threshold was then determined for each subject according to four different rules. The criterion score, which considers conjointly latency and amplitude values across the middle-component peaks, was developed as a single-value measure for response-identification and subsequent threshold-determination procedures. One of the response-identification methods was applied to 10 hearing-impaired subjects; the results of the threshold-determination procedures were encouraging. Further directions toward improving objective response analysis are discussed.

Middle components of the AER to tone-pips in normal-hearing and hearing-impaired subjects.

Tone-pips of 500, 1000, and 3000 Hz were presented at 0-, 10-, 20-, 35-, and 50-dB HL to 10 normal-hearing subjects and at 0-, 10-, 20-, 35-, and 50-dB SL to 10 subjects with conductive, sensorineural, or mixed hearing losses. Middle component (latencies 8-90 msec) averaged electroencephalic responses to the tone-pips were analyzed in terms of peak latencies and peak-to-peak amplitudes. Properties of the responses were generally the same for both normal-hearing and hearing-impaired subjects except that the hearing-impaired subjects showed slightly greater amplitudes overall. The small reduction in latencies with increasing stimulus frequency seen in the normal-hearing subjects was not observed in the hearing-impaired subjects.

Reexamination of effects of stimulus rate and number on the middle components of the averaged electroencephalic response.

The middle components of the evoked cortical response (8-50 msec) were examined under improved signal processing conditions. 512 click stimuli were presented at 5 rates ranging from 1-16/sec to 10 normal-hearing subjects. The influence of stimulus numbers of 32, 64, 128 and 512 and stimulus rates of 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16/sec was examined. Identifiable and repeatable responses were found with as few as 128 stimuli. Stimulus rate had little effect on middle component waveform or its identifiability. An enhancement of signal-to-noise ratio through improved filter conditions is suggested as one reason for the ability to identify middle components to fewer stimuli.