Evaluation of the effectiveness of informing the population about AIDS by means of a telephone questionnaire

The questioning of the population of Moscow, carried out over the telephone, revealed that the information campaign conducted in 1987 was partially effective.     

The educating and informing of the population on HIV/AIDS problems in the Republic of Byelarus

Data on the spread of knowledge and information among the population of the Republic of Belarus, mainly young people aged 14-20 years as the most susceptible group, are presented. Sociological questioning carried out among students of institutions of higher education indicated that 91% of them did not admit the possibility of getting HIV infection; the majority of students of technical and high schools denied the role of casual sexual relations in the spread of HIV infection. The questioning revealed that the main source of information was television for 83.5% of the questioned students, newspapers and magazines for 82.9% and radio for 35%. The sociological study made it possible to lay special emphasis on educational institutions in the work on the information and education of the population. Programs, recommendations and other information materials on the problem of the prophylaxis of HIV/AIDS were developed. Information is provided in educational institutions during classes and non-class work. Institutions of culture also play their due role in providing better information to young people. The Centre issued 26 video reels, 2 films and 3 audio reels.     

Assessment of the prophylactic effectiveness of an inactivated influenza vaccine by immunizing schoolchildren in the springtime

To evaluate the prophylactic effectiveness of influenza inactivated chromatographic vaccine, limited epidemiological observations were made on school children aged 11-14 years in Leningrad, in the autumn of 1981 and the spring of 1982. For immunization, made in a single administration, the vaccine composed of A (H3N2) + +A (H1N1) and containing 3.0-3.4 micrograms of hemagglutinin of each component per 0.2 ml of the preparation was used. Altogether 6928 schoolchildren were under observation; of these, 3686 children were immunized and 3242 children received placebo. The results of questioning and the analysis of morbidity rate among the schoolchildren, both immunized and receiving placebo, showed the safety and low reactogenicity of the vaccine irrespective of the time of the immunization campaign. The immunogenic potency of the preparation, as indicated by all observation results, proved to be higher in spring, than in autumn. The data thus obtained indicate that children immunized in spring were better protected and retained a higher level of protection within 12 months after immunization. The shift of the time of the immunization campaign from autumn to spring increased the immune layer in the groups of children by 16.5%. In 10 months after spring immunization the morbidity rate in influenza and acute respiratory diseases among the vaccinees was found to decrease 1.7 times.     

Engaging the Sociological Imagination: My Journey into Design Research and Public Sociology

I chronicle the changes in my research, especially those that have moved me closer to C. Wright Mills's call for a "sociological imagination" and Dell Hymes's reinvented anthropology. As I spend more time attempting to create and describe equitable educational environments and less time documenting educational inequality, I have adopted a version of "design research." I describe the possibilities and limitations of trying to conduct research while participating in the phenomenon under investigation.  [sociological imagination, critical ethnography, public sociology, design research]     

Coverage of the 2011 Q Fever Vaccination Campaign in the Netherlands,Using Retrospective Population-Based Prevalence Estimation of Cardiovascular Risk-Conditions for Chronic Q Fever

Background

In 2011, a unique Q fever vaccination campaign targeted people at risk for chronic Q fever in the southeast of the Netherlands. General practitioners referred patients with defined cardiovascular risk-conditions (age >15 years). Prevalence rates of those risk-conditions were lacking, standing in the way of adequate planning and coverage estimation. We aimed to obtain prevalence rates retrospectively in order to estimate coverage of the Q fever vaccination campaign.

Methods

With broad search terms for these predefined risk-conditions, we extracted patient-records from a large longitudinal general-practice research-database in the Netherlands (IPCI-database). After validation of these records, obtained prevalence rates (stratified for age and sex) extrapolated to the Q fever high-incidence area population, gave an approximation of the size of the targeted patient-group. Coverage calculation addressed people actually screened by a pre-vaccination Q fever skin test and serology (coverage) and patients referred by their general practitioners (adjusted-coverage) in the 2011 campaign.

Results

Our prevalence estimate of any risk-condition was 3.1% (lower-upper limits 2.9-3.3%). For heart valve defects, aorta aneurysm/prosthesis, congenital anomalies and endocarditis, prevalence was 2.4%, 0.6%, 0.4% and 0.1%, respectively. Estimated number of eligible people in the Q fever high-incidence area was 11,724 (10,965-12,532). With 1330 people screened for vaccination, coverage of the vaccination campaign was 11%. For referred people, the adjusted coverage was 18%. Coverage was lowest among the very-old and highest for people aged 50–70 years.

Conclusion

The estimated coverage of the vaccination campaign was limited. This should be interpreted in the light of the complexity of this target-group with much co-morbidity, and of the vaccine that required invasive pre-vaccination screening. Calculation of prevalence rates of risk-conditions based on the IPCI-database was feasible. This procedure proved an efficient tool for future use, when prevalence estimates for policy, implementation or surveillance of subgroup-vaccination or other health-care interventions are needed.     

The results of conducting a rapid assessment of the situation in relation to intravenous narcotic abuse in the city of Rostov-on-Don

The main aspects of the spread and intravenous use of drugs in the city, contributing to the transmission of HIV infection among users of intravenous drugs (UID) have been studied. Anonymous questionnaires were distributed among 61 UID; of these, 50 were males (82%) and 11 were females (18%), mainly at the age of 19-35 years. In addition, sociological study was carried out among 582 persons; 61% of them were under 18 years of age, 18% were aged 19-25 years, 13% were aged 26-35 years. The drug users regarded their individual risk of getting HIV infection as insignificant in 23% of cases, slight in 21% of cases, high in 15% of cases, and 15% believed they were at no risk. As shown by the results of the sociological study, 91% of the respondents believed that the problem of drug addiction was topical in the city. The analysis of data obtained from physicians treating drug addicts and from the Head Office of Public Health made it possible to calculate that the number of UID in the city was about 9,000-10,000 persons. Taking into account the results of the rapid evaluation of the situation, the development of the draft program of "diminishing the harm" of the intravenous use of drugs is now in progress.     

Data issues in the life sciences

We review technical and sociological issues facing the Life Sciences as they transform into more data-centric disciplines - the "Big New Biology". Three major challenges are: 1) lack of comprehensive standards; 2) lack of incentives for individual scientists to share data; 3) lack of appropriate infrastructure and support. Technological advances with standards, bandwidth, distributed computing, exemplar successes, and a strong presence in the emerging world of Linked Open Data are sufficient to conclude that technical issues will be overcome in the foreseeable future. While motivated to have a shared open infrastructure and data pool, and pressured by funding agencies in move in this direction, the sociological issues determine progress. Major sociological issues include our lack of understanding of the heterogeneous data cultures within Life Sciences, and the impediments to progress include a lack of incentives to build appropriate infrastructures into projects and institutions or to encourage scientists to make data openly available.     

The Effect of Single or Repeated Home Visits on the Hanging and Use of Insecticide-Treated Mosquito Nets following a Mass Distribution Campaign - A Cluster Randomized,Controlled Trial

Background

Study objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of commonly used post-campaign hang-up visits on the hanging and use of campaign nets.

Methods

A cluster-randomized trial was carried out in Uganda following an ITN distribution campaign. Five clusters (parishes, consisting of ∼11 villages each) were randomly selected for each of the three study arms with between 7,534 and 9,401 households per arm. Arm 1 received one hang-up visit, while Arm 2 received two visits by volunteers four and seven months after the campaign. Visits consisted of assistance hanging the net and education on net use. The control arm was only exposed to messages during the campaign itself. Three cross-sectional surveys with a two-stage cluster sampling design, representative of the study populations, were carried out to capture the two key outcome variables of net hanging and ITN use. Sample size was calculated to detect at least a 15 percentage-points change in net use, and was 1811 at endline. The analysis used an intention-to-treat approach.

Findings

Both hanging and use of ITN increased during follow-up in a similar way in all three study arms. The proportion of the population using an ITN the previous night was 64.0% (95% CI 60.8, 67.2), for one additional visit, 68.2% (63.8, 72.2) for two visits and 64.0% (59.4, 68.5) for the control. The proportion of households with all campaign nets hanging increased from 55.7% to 72.5% at endline (p<0.0005 for trend), with no difference between study arms. Financial cost per household visited was estimated as USD 2.33 for the first visit and USD 2.24 for the second.

Conclusions

Behavior change communication provided during the campaign or through other channels was sufficient to induce high levels of net hanging and use and additional “hang-up” activities were not cost-effective.     

Impact Monitoring of the National Scale Up of Zinc Treatment for Childhood Diarrhea in Bangladesh: Repeat Ecologic Surveys

Background

Zinc treatment of childhood diarrhea has the potential to save 400,000 under-five lives per year in lesser developed countries. In 2004 the World Health Organization (WHO)/UNICEF revised their clinical management of childhood diarrhea guidelines to include zinc. The aim of this study was to monitor the impact of the first national campaign to scale up zinc treatment of childhood diarrhea in Bangladesh.

Methods/Findings

Between September 2006 to October 2008 seven repeated ecologic surveys were carried out in four representative population strata: mega-city urban slum and urban nonslum, municipal, and rural. Households of approximately 3,200 children with an active or recent case of diarrhea were enrolled in each survey round. Caretaker awareness of zinc as a treatment for childhood diarrhea by 10 mo following the mass media launch was attained in 90%, 74%, 66%, and 50% of urban nonslum, municipal, urban slum, and rural populations, respectively. By 23 mo into the campaign, approximately 25% of urban nonslum, 20% of municipal and urban slum, and 10% of rural under-five children were receiving zinc for the treatment of diarrhea. The scale-up campaign had no adverse effect on the use of oral rehydration salt (ORS).

Conclusions

Long-term monitoring of scale-up programs identifies important gaps in coverage and provides the information necessary to document that intended outcomes are being attained and unintended consequences avoided. The scale-up of zinc treatment of childhood diarrhea rapidly attained widespread awareness, but actual use has lagged behind. Disparities in zinc coverage favoring higher income, urban households were identified, but these were gradually diminished over the two years of follow-up monitoring. The scale up campaign has not had any adverse effect on the use of ORS. Please see later in the article for the Editors'' Summary     

Getting the Message Across: Outcomes and Risk Profiles by Awareness Levels of the “Measure-Up” Obesity Prevention Campaign in Australia

Background

Obesity campaign evaluations have used campaign awareness to assess impact, yet have not compared unprompted campaign recallers, with prompted recallers and those with no campaign recall. Using data from an Australian mass-media obesity prevention campaign linking waist circumference and chronic disease we examined whether those with different degrees of campaign recall are distinct groups demographically and for subsequent campaign effects.

Methods

A national cross-sectional telephone survey of randomly selected adults aged 18 to 65 years was conducted post- campaign (n = 2812) covering campaign recall, self-reported diet and physical activity (PA) and waist-measuring knowledge, behaviours and intentions to make lifestyle changes. Respondents were divided into three groups indicating campaign recall: Unprompted Recallers (n=1154); Prompted Recallers (n=1284); and No Recallers (n=374) and compared on demographic, knowledge, and behavioural risk factors for obesity/chronic disease.

Results

Unprompted Recallers were more likely to speak English at home (p<.001), be in the primary campaign target group (25-45 years with children) (p<0.001) than the other two groups and to be university educated and female than the Prompted Recall group only (p=0.001). Unprompted Recallers had better knowledge about recommended waist circumference (p<.001), fruit (p=0.004), vegetable (p<0.001) and PA guidelines (p<0.001) than both the other groups. The No Recall group was less likely than the other two to be overweight/obese (46% vs 55%, p=0.020 and 54%, p=0.037), comparable on meeting fruit consumption and PA guidelines but more likely to meet vegetable intake recommendations (than Unprompted Recallers only).

Conclusions

Unprompted recallers were more knowledgeable about campaign messages; behaviour change and intentions to change were stronger for the two recall groups compared with the No Recall group but not different between them. The current analysis revealed subtle differences in campaign exposure and/or attendance by different demographic subgroups that would not be apparent in a simple aware/unaware dichotomy.     

Ethnography and the Meta-Narratives of Modernity

Current attempts to increase the relevance of sociocultural anthropology encourage anthropologists to engage in the study of modernity. In this discourse dominated by sociologists, the contribution of anthropology is often to reveal cultural diversity in globalization, leading to the notion of multiple modernities. Yet such ethnographic accounts draw upon familiar sociological abstractions such as time-space compression, commodification, individualization, disenchantment, and reenchantment. This article shows how an underlying meta-narrative preempts social scientific argument by making shifts in analytical scales look natural, as in the alleged need to "situate" the particular in "wider" contexts. This analytical procedure undermines what is unique in the ethnographic method-its reflexivity, which gives subjects authority in determining the contexts of their beliefs and practices. Two ethnographic case studies are presented to support this argument, one from Melanesia on current interests in white people, money, and consumption and the other from Africa on born-again Christianity and individuality. The article ends by reflecting not only on the limits of metropolitan meta-narratives in returning relevance to anthropology but also on the contemporary conditions of academic work that undermine the knowledge practices of ethnography and render such meta-narratives plausible.     

On the prediction of statistical parameters in high-throughput screening using resampling techniques

A severe drawback in the high-throughput screening (HTS) process is the unintentional (random) presence of false positives and negatives. Their rates depend, among others, on the screening process being applied and the target class. Although false positives can be sorted out in subsequent process steps, their occurrence can lead to increased project cost. More fundamentally, it is not possible to rescue false nonhits. In this article, we investigate the prediction of the primary hit rate, hit confirmation rate, and false-positive and false-negative rates. Results for approximately 2800 compounds are considered that are tested as a pilot screen ahead of the primary screening work. This pilot screen is done at several concentrations and in replicates. The rates are predicted as a function of the proposed hit threshold by having the replicates serve as each other's confirmers, and confidence limits to the prediction are attached by means of a resampling scheme. A comparison of the rates resulting from the resampling with the primary hit rate and the confirmation rates obtained during the screening campaign shows how accurate this method is. Hence, the "optimal" compound concentration for the screen as well as the optimal hit threshold corresponding to low false rates can be determined prior to starting the subsequent screening campaign.     

Perspectives of immunization program managers on 2009-10 H1N1 vaccination in the United States: a national survey

In June and July 2010, we conducted a national internet-based survey of 64 city, state, and territorial immunization program managers (IPMs) to assess their experiences in managing the 2009-10 H1N1 influenza vaccination campaign. Fifty-four (84%) of the managers or individuals responsible for an immunization program responded to the survey. To manage the campaign, 76% indicated their health department activated an incident command system (ICS) and 49% used an emergency operations center (EOC). Forty percent indicated they shared the leadership of the campaign with their state-level emergency preparedness program. The managers' perceptions of the helpfulness of the emergency preparedness staff was higher when they had collaborated with the emergency preparedness program on actual or simulated mass vaccination events within the previous 2 years. Fifty-seven percent found their pandemic influenza plan helpful, and those programs that mandated that vaccine providers enter data into their jurisdiction's immunization information system (IIS) were more likely than those who did not mandate data entry to rate their IIS as valuable for facilitating registration of nontraditional providers (42% vs. 25%, p<0.05) and tracking recalled influenza vaccine (50% vs. 38%, p<0.05). Results suggest that ICS and EOC structures, pandemic influenza plans, collaborations with emergency preparedness partners during nonemergencies, and expanded use of IIS can enhance immunization programs' ability to successfully manage a large-scale vaccination campaign. Maintaining the close working relationships developed between state-level immunization and emergency preparedness programs during the H1N1 influenza vaccination campaign will be especially important as states prepare for budget cuts in the coming years.     

Migraine prodromes separated from the aura: complete migraine.

Detailed questioning of 50 patients with uncomplicated migraine has shown that 17 had symptoms that preceded the headache phase by several hours. These prodromes consisted of changes in mood, behaviour, wakefulness, appetite, bowel activity, or fluid balance. The term "complete migraine" is proposed for attacks that include prodromal symptoms, whose occurrence implies an initial diffuse cerebral or hypothalamic disturbance.     

The sociocultural context of nursing in Japan

Both by the standards of American nurses and in the eyes of the Japanese public, nurses in Japan appear subservient. In this paper I explore this situation from three perspectives. Most Japanese nurses lack a sense of professionalism which the nursing elite in Japan as well as sociological theory attributes to the low educational levels of the nurses. The second perspective investigates the nurses' functional role as intermediary between the medical world and the many patients who regard physicians as socially distant. Thirdly, Japanese nurses might be considered the housewives of the hospital in terms not only of their physical duties but also of their caretaking role. If the housewife analogy holds, the values, behavior, and attitudes that give Japanese housewives their satisfaction and their autonomy would considerably alter the role of the nurse in the delivery of cosmopolitan medical care.     

Rape revisited: sexual violence against women in the former Yugoslavia

This article presents information on the rape of women in the former Yugoslavia, focusing more on Muslim women in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and examines the evolutionary, sociological, psychological, and feminist theories of this form of sexual violence. Using a case study approach, through documentation from newspapers and other media accounts, this paper investigated the sexual violence that featured strongly in the campaign of ethnic cleansing or genocide of Muslims in Bosnia-Herzegovina. It was noted that the variables of power, sex, and aggression in the context of war seem to be linked. This is particularly evident when authority legitimates sexual aggression. Without the backing of authority, some rape is expected, but not of such proportion or brutality. In terms of the theories, the evolutionary perspective appears to have limited applicability in explaining rape as an act of war. However, the feminist and macrosociological multivariate theories that focus on heterogeneity of the population, a cultural foundation of very traditional gender roles, and a historical tradition that legitimates sexual violence by armies in war-time, provide more persuasive insights.     

Perceptions,paradigms and ethics: A perspective on the social context of environmental issues

The rapid evolution in public perceptions and understandings of environmental issues in Canada has evolved to the point where today such issues are beginning to be seen as cultural issues. The array of environmental and other societal problems is bringing into question the taken-for-granted assumptions or the worldview of cultural paradigm common to all industrialized countries. Many social analysts are suggesting that these problems are inherent in the industrial worldview and can therefore only be resolved by moving onward to another way of making sense of the world around us, and that elements of a new paradigm appear to be emerging. The major characteristics of the industrial worldview are described, and those of an emerging alternate worldview are sketched. Part of this societal questioning is evidenced in a resurgence of interest in environmental ethics but, except for deep ecology, this debate has yet to be linked to the broader discussion of shifting cultural paradigms. The changing social context suggests that there are opportunities to use different policy instruments than regulation that would prevent the occurence of environmental damage in the first place. It also suggests that the active involvement of thoughtful and responsible citizens is essential if the current period of questioning is to lead to a society that is sound and dynamic in ecological and human terms.     

Using Mobile Health (mHealth) and Geospatial Mapping Technology in a Mass Campaign for Reactive Oral Cholera Vaccination in Rural Haiti

Background

In mass vaccination campaigns, large volumes of data must be managed efficiently and accurately. In a reactive oral cholera vaccination (OCV) campaign in rural Haiti during an ongoing epidemic, we used a mobile health (mHealth) system to manage data on 50,000 participants in two isolated communities.

Methods

Data were collected using 7-inch tablets. Teams pre-registered and distributed vaccine cards with unique barcodes to vaccine-eligible residents during a census in February 2012. First stored on devices, data were uploaded nightly via Wi-fi to a web-hosted database. During the vaccination campaign between April and June 2012, residents presented their cards at vaccination posts and their barcodes were scanned. Vaccinee data from the census were pre-loaded on tablets to autopopulate the electronic form. Nightly analysis of the day''s community coverage informed the following day''s vaccination strategy. We generated case-finding reports allowing us to identify those who had not yet been vaccinated.

Results

During 40 days of vaccination, we collected approximately 1.9 million pieces of data. A total of 45,417 people received at least one OCV dose; of those, 90.8% were documented to have received 2 doses. Though mHealth required up-front financial investment and training, it reduced the need for paper registries and manual data entry, which would have been costly, time-consuming, and is known to increase error. Using Global Positioning System coordinates, we mapped vaccine posts, population size, and vaccine coverage to understand the reach of the campaign. The hardware and software were usable by high school-educated staff.

Conclusion

The use of mHealth technology in an OCV campaign in rural Haiti allowed timely creation of an electronic registry with population-level census data, and a targeted vaccination strategy in a dispersed rural population receiving a two-dose vaccine regimen. The use of mHealth should be strongly considered in mass vaccination campaigns in future initiatives.     

Influence of the frontal zones on ichthyoplankton and mesopelagic fish assemblages in the Crozet Basin (Indian sector of the Southern Ocean)

One of the aims of oceanographic campaign MD 68/SUZIL, carried out in austral autumn 1991 in the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean and its adjacent subtropical waters, was to investigate the influence of hydrography on the ichthyoplankton and mesopelagic fish assemblages in the Crozet Basin. It appears that, in contrast to other sectors of the Southern Ocean, the main biogeographical barriers are the Subantarctic Front and the Agulhas Front which appear to be vertical convergence fronts. The importance of the Antarctic Polar Front and the Subtropical Front as barriers to fish seems to be minimized in this area because of its particular hydrological features, such as the lack of a subantarctic zone, the maximum current intensity of the Subantarctic Front between these fronts, and their structures — they are horizontal convergence fronts.     

An evaluation of the extent to which young people are informed about the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

The data on the evaluation of the volume of information on the transmission routes of HIV infection, risk groups and prophylactic measures, acquired by young people aged 14-18 years, their attitude to different sources of information on AIDS, as well as the evaluation of the influence of lectures on the formation of their opinion of these problems, are presented. As found by questioning, 84.4-98.7% of adolescents who answered the questionnaires correctly indicated the routes of the transmission of HIV infection, prophylactic measures were known to 73.1-90.3%, risk groups were correctly defined by 80.6-98.0%, more than 70% of adolescents covered by questioning believed that mass media provided insufficient information on AIDS. In a group of adolescents given a lecture an increase in the number of correct answers and a decrease in the number of wrong answers on the transmission routes of HIV infection and on risk groups were registered.