Effectiveness Of Education Campaigns Research Articles

A delayed avian influenza model with avian slaughter: Stability analysis and optimal control

H7N9 avian influenza, a zoonotic disease caused by the transmission of the avian influenza A virus from poultry to humans, is low pathogenic for poultry but highly pathogenic for humans. Slaughter is an effective way to control the outbreak. In this paper, we consider the slaughter of avian population and the incubation periods of avian influenza A virus, and develop a poultry-to-human epidemiological model including time delays of being infectious for the avian and human populations after infection. By studying the dynamical behavior of this delay model, we obtain a threshold value for the extinction and prevalence of avian influenza, and show the local and global asymptotical properties of the two equilibria of the model. We further choose the slaughter intensity and the effect of education campaign as control variables, and formulate an optimal control problem to minimize the disease outbreak and control cost. We solve the optimal control problem and perform numerical simulations to illustrate the analytical results.

Determinants of the Willingness to Energy Monitoring by Residential Consumers: A Case Study in the City of Wroclaw in Poland

This paper analyses attitudinal and socio-economic determinants of the householders’ willingness to monitor their energy consumption. Residential consumers can monitor their energy consumption by means of traditional (electricity bill) and modern tools (smart metering information platforms, SMP). Within this empirical study we test the effect of environmental attitudes, knowledge and perceived possibilities on consumers’ stages of readiness to adopt SMP based the stage model of self-regulated behavioral change (SSCB). Perceived possibilities to monitor energy consumption on a regular basis was found to be the predictor of adoption in every examined stage of readiness. General knowledge predicted adoption of the stage in which consumers declared willingness to learn know-how of using SMP. The results suggest that an effectiveness of educational campaigns may be restricted to only some consumers.

Development of an education campaign to reduce delays in pre-hospital response to stroke

BackgroundSystematic reviews call for well-designed trials with clearly described intervention components to support the effectiveness of educational campaigns to reduce patient delay in stroke presentation. We herein describe the systematic development process of a campaign aimed to increase stroke awareness and preparedness.MethodsCampaign development followed Intervention Mapping (IM), a theory- and evidence-based tool, and was articulated in two phases: needs assessment and intervention development. In phase 1, two cross-sectional surveys were performed, one aiming to measure stroke awareness in the target population and the other to analyze the behavioral determinants of prehospital delay. In phase 2, a matrix of proximal program objectives was developed, theory-based intervention methods and practical strategies were selected and program components and materials produced.ResultsIn phase 1, the survey on 202 citizens highlighted underestimation of symptom severity, as in only 44% of stroke situations respondents would choose to call the emergency service (EMS). In the survey on 393 consecutive patients, 55% presented over 2 hours after symptom onset; major determinants were deciding to call the general practitioner first and the reaction of the first person the patient called. In phase 2, adult individuals were identified as the target of the intervention, both as potential “patients” and witnesses of stroke. The low educational level found in the patient survey called for a narrative approach in cartoon form. The family setting was chosen for the message because 42% of patients who presented within 2 hours had been advised by a family member to call EMS. To act on people’s tendency to view stroke as an untreatable disease, it was decided to avoid fear-arousal appeals and use a positive message providing instructions and hope. Focus groups were used to test educational products and identify the most suitable sites for message dissemination.ConclusionsThe IM approach allowed to develop a stroke campaign integrating theories, scientific evidence and information collected from the target population, and enabled to provide clear explanations for the reasons behind key decisions during the intervention development process.Trial registrationNCT01881152. Retrospectively registered June 7 2013

Local attitudes towards natural resources management in rural Ghana

Purpose – Local support is fundamental in natural resources management (NRM). However, recent studies indicate that NRM in protected areas in developing countries is often faced with local resistance due to its impacts on livelihoods. The purpose of this paper is to examine local attitudes – positive and negative responses – towards NRM in protected areas and implications of NRM benefits on local support for conservation of protected areas. Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative research method was used for this study. Structured questionnaire survey was administered to 310 respondents across four case study communities – Abrafo, Mesomagor, Adadientem and Nuamakrom – around the Kakum Conservation Area (KCA), Ghana. χ2 test and logistic regression were used to analyse the data with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software. Findings – Findings showed positive attitudes towards NRM in protected areas (85.9 per cent) and high support for conservation of KCA (86.5 per cent). Respondents recognised the importance of the KCA in managing natural resources especially forest and water resources. Positive attitudes towards conservation of KCA were largely influenced by receipt of socio-economic benefits from the KCA, in terms of employment, income and involvement in KCA management. However, those excluded from socio-economic benefits from the KCA also expressed positive attitudes towards conservation, suggesting that support for NRM transcends socio-economic benefits. On the other hand, local people recognised the challenges associated with NRM in protected areas such as increased farm raids by wildlife, loss of access to timber and non-timber forest products. Originality/value – This paper has revealed that although socio-economic benefits from NRM in protected areas influence local people’s support for conservation, local knowledge of the environmental benefits is equally important. The depth of local knowledge of NRM in the KCA is dependent on educational status and level of involvement of respondents in the KCA in terms of employment, and the effectiveness of educational campaigns by the park officials. Therefore, in the absence of clear development programmes from government and park officials to educate and involve local people in NRM, it appears the conservation objective upon which NRM in protected areas are designed may not be realised.