Increase Public Knowledge Research Articles

TRAINING PROCESSING HERBAL PLANTS TO INCREASE APPLICATION AND IMMUNITY TO CHILDREN IN THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a very negative impact on various sectors, as well as on the health sector. These include nutrition and maternal and child health services. The COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to hinder the access of mothers and children to optimal health services. The decrease in the number of visits to nutrition and Maternal and Child Health (KIA) services has the potential to create new nutrition and health problems. In an effort to fulfill the need for information and health services for school-age children and adolescents in the midst of minimizing the transmission of COVID-19, various adjustments to programs and activities related to their health are needed, one of which is training to make food made from herbal plants to increase appetite as well as immunity in children. The method used is training demonstrating the processing of herbal plants into delicious food for children to consume. The targets were PKK women, residents of the herbal village, Nginden Jangungan Village, Surabaya City, which was attended by 25 PKK women. This activity will be held on June 21-19 July 2021.The results obtained from the training of the Community Training Program increase public knowledge about herbal plant processing, increase appetite and immunity in children. Increase RT/RW community-based activities to jointly develop the use of herbal plants. Conclusion Herbal plants can be processed into food products with many benefits, such as temulawak pudding which increases immunity and appetite in children.

Sehat Jiwa pada Masa Pandemi Covid-19 Di RT 51 Kelurahan Kenali Besar Kecamatan Alam Barajo

The 2019 coronavirus disease pandemic (COVID-19) has not only threatened physical health, but has also threatened the mental health of many people. Some of the mental disorders that often arise today are emotional, stress, excessive anxiety, depression, and so on. Anxiety and mental disorders will then cause an imbalance in the brain, which in turn results in a psychic disorder, also known as psychosomatic.To increase public knowledge about covid -19 and understand mental health, and steps in maintaining mental health during the Covid-19 pandemic as an effort to change behavior so that later it can improve the degree of public health in RT 51 Kelurahan Kenali Besar Jambi City, interventions carried out are provide health education about mental health by thinking optimistically in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. The method used in education is observation, counseling and evaluation.After health education was carried out for residents of RT 51, Kenali Besar Village, 100% were able to explain the meaning of mental health by thinking optimistically in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic

Men's perception and understanding of male-factor infertility in the UK.

Male-factor infertility is a common but stigmatised issue, and men often do not receive the emotional support and the information they need. This study sought to understand awareness of male fertility issues compared to female fertility among the UK general male public, and also what were perceived as being the optimum methods for providing support for affected men, emotionally and through information. Men feel that male infertility is not discussed by the public as much as female infertility. Lifestyle issues that affect male fertility are not well understood, and men affected by infertility desire more support, including online, from health professionals and through peer support. Health professionals, including those in public health, could offer evidence-based programmes to reduce stigma and increase public knowledge about infertility, as well as offer emotional support to men with infertility problems.

COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT TO PURIFY USED COOKING OIL FROM ACTIVE CARBON BANANA PEELS IN PAKINTELAN VILLAGE

Conditions The people of the Pakintelan area in village locations have a livelihood of selling cat rice, meatballs, and selling fried food. The repeated use of used cooking oil for frying is damaging human health to cause cancer. The availability of banana peel waste can be found at fried food sellers. This activity aims to increase the cooking oil user community's understanding and purify cooking oil by adsorption of activated carbon, and it can be reused. Increase public knowledge that banana peels can activate charcoal as a cooking oil purifier in the adsorber column. The method used is the socialization and education of conservation on the manufacture of activated carbon and the adsorption of cooking oil with a specific acid number. The results are by SNI and can be reused. Checking the results of purification and evaluation is carried out. Understanding the population using new cooking oil at week 4 reaches 83% of the samples tested. Cooking oil that is used at least five times is adsorbed with an acid number of 0.6. Products can benefit people's health, reduce cooking oil spending and increase knowledge and skills in purifying used cooking oil.

Waste Bank as Green Business

The purpose of this research is to build a waste bank business using a mobile application. The method used in this research is descriptive method using a qualitative approach. Given the increasingly widespread problem of waste, one solution to this problem is that waste is processed through a waste bank. With an integrated special application, it can display a map of the location of waste banks spread across a number of areas, so that later it can be easier for the community. In addition, information about waste banks and waste education will be displayed in the application as an educational tool. The results of this study are using a mobile application to search for waste banks and increase public knowledge about waste.

PARENT'S KNOWLEDGE REGARDING INFLUENZA DISEASE AND VACCINE IN INDONESIA

Influenza vaccine is a vaccine that is not included in the national immunization program. An approach to support decision making for the introduction of influenza vaccine into national immunization programs by conducting a survey knowledge of parents in Indonesia that influences decision making for vaccinations. The purpose of this study was to determine the level of parental knowledge about influenza and influenza vaccines and to know the factors that influence. The research design used is observasional with a multi-center cross-sectional approach. The research instrument used a questionnaire to determine sociodemographic characteristics and level of knowledge. Data was collected through a survey of 500 parents respondents in 5 provinces in Indonesia, namely in West Java, DIY, Lampung, Central Sulawesi and Central Kalimantan using convenience sampling techniques. Data were analyzed using the Mann Whitney test. Resul of the study showed the average knowledge of respondents related to influenza disease and vaccine was 78.55±12.43. Only 145 (29%) parents know that influenza vaccines are not included in Indonesia's national immunization program. There was a significant difference in the value of knowledge between groups of characteristics in the experience of hearing influenza vaccine (p = 0,000) and the source of disease information (p = 0.045). It is recommended for government and health workers to carry out educational programs related to influenza and influenza vaccines to achieve equitable distribution of information and increase public knowledge.

Keputusan Menjadi Nasabah Bank Muamalat KCP Purwakarta Ditinjau Dari Pengetahuan Calon Nasabah

Presepsi kebanyakan orang tentang bank syariah masih sangat dangkal, hanya sebatas mengetahui bahwa bank syariah tidak menggunakan bunga tetapi menggunakan sistem bagi hasil. Maka bank muamalat kcp purwakarta dituntut untuk lebih meningkatkan pengetahuan masyarakat tentang bank syariah. Semakin tinggi pengetahuan tentang bank syariah membuat semakin tinggi kemungkinan untuk mengadopsi bank syariah. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk melihat sejauh mana pengaruh pengetahuan nasabah (pengetahuan produk (X1), pengetahuan pembelian (X2), pengetahuan pemakain (X3)) terhadap keputusan menjadi nasabah bank syariah kcp purwakarta serta untuk mengetahui dan menganalisis bagaimana pengaruh dari ketiga variabel bila diujikan secara bersama-sama (simultan) terhadap keputusan menjadi nasabah bank syariah kcp purwakarta. Penelitian ini dilakukan pada nasabah bank syariah KCP Purwakarta, dengan sampel sebanyak 99 orang diambil secara random sampling. Menggunakan analisis deskriptif untuk menjelaskan data penelitian dan deskripsi penelitian, Jenis penelitian ini adalah metode kuantitatif. Variabel yang akan diteliti pada penelitian ini adalah pengaruh pengetahuan produk (X1), pengetahuan pembelian (X2), pengetahuan pemakaian (X3) sebagai variabel bebas dan keputusan menjadi nasabah sebagai variable terikat (Y).Berdasarkan hasil analisis, penelitian dapat disimpulakan sebagai berikut: 1). Pengaruh X1 terhadap Y dengan nilai thitung 1,197<ttabel 1,985, sehingga dapat menunjukan bahwa tidak terdapat pengaruh X1 terhadap Y; 2). Pengaruh X2 terhadap Y dengan nilai thitung -0,894< ttabel 1,985, menunjukan bahwa tidak terdapat pengaruh X2 terhadap Y; 3). Pengaruh X3 terhadap Y dengan nilai thitung 4,618> ttabel 1,985, menunjukan bahwa terdapat pengaruh X3 terhadap Y; 4). Pengaruh X1, X2 dan X3 terhadap Y dengan nilai Fhitung sebesar 7,451>Ftabel 2,70 dengan nilai signifikansi (sig) 0,000 < 0,05, menunjukan adanya pengaruh terhadap keputusan menjadi nasabah bank syariah (Bank Muamalat KCP Purwakarta). Pengaruh variabel X1,X2 dan X3 secara simultan terhadap Y adalah sebesar 19,0%. Sedangkan sisanya merukapakan pengaruh dari faktor lain yang tidak diteliti oleh peneliti.

UPAYA PENCEGAHAN PENULARAN COVID-19 PADA MASYARAKAT KAMPUANG SUMUA KELURAHAN LADANG CAKIAH KOTA BUKITTINGGI

Corona virus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) adalah penyakit jenis baru yang belum pernah diidentifikasi sebelumnya pada manusia. Di Indonesia, setiap saat terjadi peningkatan kasus dampak Covid-19 ini. Bahkan penyebaran virus ini telah sampai ke berbagai daerah termasuk Sumatera Barat (Sumbar). Di Sumbar, daerah yang memiliki kasus tertinggi adalah Kota Padang. Tinggi kasus penyebaran virus ini sehingga pemerintah telah menerapkan peraturan PSBB (Pembatasan Sosial Berskala Besar) di tingkat Provinsi. Untuk kota Bukittinggi, sebagian besar masyarakat memiliki pekerjaan dengan upah harian, seperti pedagang, supir angkutan umum, tukang ojek, petani, dan lain-lain. Masyarakat mengeluhkan dampak PSBB ini menyebabkan hilangnya penghasilan mereka untuk kebutuhan sehari-hari. Tujuan kegiatan ini adalah untuk meningkatkan ketahanan pangan masyarakat melalui pendistribusian sembako, dan meningkatkan pengetahuan masyarakat melalui media leaflet, serta pemberian masker non medis sebagai upaya pencegahan penularan Covid-19. Kegiatan ini dilaksanakan di RT 04 Kampung Sumua Kelurahan Ladang Cakiah Kecamatan Aur Birugo Tigo Baleh Kota Bukittinggi. Metode kegiatan berupa penyuluhan dan pemberian leaflet, masker dan paket sembako. Hasil kegiatan yang telah dilaksanakan berupa penyuluhan mengenai Covid-19 kepada masyarakat Kampung Sumua dalam bentuk leaflet yang dibagikan kepada masyarakat langsung ke tiap rumah untuk menghindari adanya perkumpulan. Selanjutnya dilakukan pemberian masker sebagai bentuk pencegahan Covid-19. Upaya selanjutnya memberi bantuan langsung yaitu membagikan paket sembako kepada masyarakat Kampung Sumua terkena imbas dari PSBB selama masa Covid-19 berupa beras, telur, minyak goreng dan gula sebanyak 40 paket. Kegiatan ini dapat memberikan dampak positif bagi masyarakat dengan pemberian bantuan secara materi. Harapannya agar ke depan masyarakat dapat terhindar dari Covid-19 dan penyebaran virus ini serta kehidupan kita dapat berlangsung normal.

Can the Use of Video-Based Interventions Increase Public Knowledge About Endocrine Surgeons?

BackgroundEndocrine surgery (ES) is a relatively young subspecialty of general surgery, and prior research has shown low public awareness of these specialists’ roles. We hypothesized that a video-based intervention could increase public knowledge of the specialty in an effective and efficient manner. MethodsParticipants were recruited at three public locations (a farmer's market, a public park, and a university hospital) and were given a three-question survey to assess baseline knowledge of ES. They then watched one of two video-based educational interventions and completed an identical postintervention survey. Two surveyors recruited 80 individuals per site, with 40 participants in each intervention group. Participants’ sex and age and whether or not they were on clinical staff at the University of Alabama at Birmingham were recorded. ResultsA total of 240 participants were recruited; 61.3% female with median age 40 y. Preintervention, only 42.1% of participants could correctly define ES. ES were confused with endocrinologists by 44.6%, which was not different between sites (P = 0.09). Significantly, more participants at all sites could correctly define ES postintervention (67.9% versus 42.1%; P < 0.001). Clinical staff did not perform better than the lay public at any location (P = 0.32). The long video had a significantly greater increase in correct responses compared with the short video overall (32.5% versus 19.1%; P < 0.001) and at each location. ConclusionsThis study confirms the public's general lack of knowledge about ES and their scope of practice. A video-based intervention was successful in improving knowledge of the practice of ES, with a longer, explanatory video being most effective.

DISEMINASI TEKNOLOGI PAKAN BUATAN ALTERNATIF UNTUK PENGEMBANGAN BUDIDAYA IKAN GURAME INTENSIF DALAM UPAYA MENINGKATKAN PRODUKTIVITAS PERIKANAN DI KELURAHAN LIMAU MANIS KECAMATAN PAUH KOTA PADANG

IPTEKS berbasis dosen dan masyarakat (IbDM) bertujuan untuk mengaplikasikan atau mendiseminasikan teknologi pakan buatan alternatif untuk pengembangan budidaya ikan gurame intensif dalam upaya meningkatkan produktivitas perikanan dan meningkatkan pengetahuan serta keterampilan petani ikan (masyarakat) di Kelurahan Limau Manis, Kecamatan Pauh, Kota Padang dalam bidang usaha budidaya ikan di Sumatra Barat. Di samping itu, juga diharapkan petani ikan di Sumatra Barat dapat melakukan pemeliharaan dengan teknik yang baik dan ramah lingkungan. Dengan demikian kegiatan IbDM ini juga diharapkan mampu menekan biaya operasional dalam budidaya ikan gurami intensif dan pada akhirnya dapat meningkatkan pendapatan para petani/ masyarakat Kelurahan Limau Manis melalui pengembangan usaha budidaya ikan yang berkelanjutan. Untuk mencapai hasil diseminasi teknologi yang optimal maka sasaran utama IbDM di Kecamatan Pauh ini adalah kelompok tani ikan dan para pembina/pemuka masyarakat Kelurahan Limau Manis yang diharapkan mampu memberikan motivasi kepada petani untuk mensosialisasikan metode pembuatan pakan formula alternatif untuk pengembangan budidaya ikan gurame secara intensif dan ramah lingkungan. Metode yang digunakan dalam kegiatan ini adalah (1) Penyuluhan (ceramah), dengan materi utama: (a) pengenalan berbagai jenis bahan baku (raw material) yang dapat digunakan untuk makanan ikan gurame, (b) memberikan pengetahuan tentang penyusunan formulasi pakan buatan dengan metode kuadrat, (c) memberikan pengetahuan tentang proses pembuatan makanan buatan (d) menambah pengetahuan masyarakat tentang cara menyimpan pelet yang baik agar lebih tahan lama dan (e) pemberian materi tentang pengujian mutu pakan, baik secara fisika, kimia dan biologis; dan (2) Peragaan pembuatan pakan buatan alternatif untuk budidaya ikan gurame. Dari hasil kegiatan IbDM ini didapatkan bahwa pengetahuan dan keterampilan kelompok tani Kelurahan Limau Manis Kecamatan Pauh, Padang sebelum dilaksanakan kegiatan IbDM ini masih sangat rendah. Namun demikian motivasi atau keinginan masyarakat kelompok tani mitra IbDM untuk melakukan usaha budidaya atau pemeliharaan ikan sangat besar. Hal ini terlihat dari keinginan masyarakat kelompok tani mitra IbDM untuk menguasai teknologi pembuatan pakan alternatif ikan gurame dari hasil limbah daun dan batang talas yang diproses menjadi tepung relatif cukup tinggi. Lebih jauh dari hasil kegiatan IbDM pada masyarakat ini dapat menambah pengetahuan dan keterampilan masyarakat dalam mencari pakan alternatif untuk pakan ikan gurame sehingga kegiatan budidaya dapat berjalan dengan baik di daerah mitra IbDM. Agar kegiatan budidaya berjalan dengan baik di daerah mitra IbDM perlu dilakukan kegiatan IbDM secara berkelanjutan tentang teknik pembuatan pelet ikan alternatif dan teknik pemeliharaan ikan yang efisien dan efektif. Di samping itu perlu dukungan dana atau pemberian kredit oleh pihak yang berwenang kepada masyarakat atau petani ikan untuk modal pengembangan usahanya.

Women's Risk Tolerance in Indonesia

The Financial Services Authority (OJK) survey on 2016 shows that the financial literacy index in Indonesia is 21.8% approximately. There are a lot of illegal investment in the Indonesian society in recent years is proof that the Indonesian people have not been well-literated and have not fully understood the benefits and risks of investment. Efforts to improve financial literacy are aimed at certain groups of people such as women and housewives. Risk factors are important in financial decisions. Previous research has concluded that women often avoid risk and are more intolerant of risk than men. This study aims to determine whether risk tolerance in women is different from men. Data collection techniques were carried out using questionnaires distributed online to 850 samples of Indonesian people representing three regions of Indonesia, namely the western, central and eastern regions of Indonesia. The results showed that there were no significant differences between women and men in terms of risk tolerance, these results indicate that both women and men have identical viewpoint of risk. The government could conduct education and increase public knowledge without differentiating financial products for women and men.

Evaluation of two outreach tools, an educator program and a mobile tidepool exhibit, in reducing deleterious visitor activities and raising marine protected area awareness in rocky intertidal ecosystems of southern California, USA

Rocky intertidal habitats in urbanized settings, such as in southern California, USA, are heavily perturbed by human visitors (tidepoolers) through the deleterious activities of collecting, handling, and trampling. To protect rocky intertidal biota, certain locations have been designated as Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), yet MPA status can be ineffective when public knowledge of regulations is low and regulations do not protect flora and fauna from the impacts of handling and trampling. To help reduce detrimental activities of visitors, propagate environmentally-safe tidepooling behaviors, and increase public knowledge of MPA regulations, two outreach tools were instituted in southern California, USA: 1) an education program whereby trained educators are on-site, interacting with the public and educating visitors about MPA regulations, and 2) the ISOpod (Interactive Sealife Outreach pod) vehicle, a mobile tidepool exhibit parked near the site for visitors to observe organisms in a controlled setting and where MPA awareness is emphasized. To determine if these tools were effective in reducing deleterious activities, visitors were discretely observed at two sites, counted, and placed into behavior categories under four scenarios based on combinations of the presence and absence of both the ISOpod and educators. A questionnaire was conducted at one site to determine if MPA regulation and conservation knowledge increased with public interaction with outreach programs. The ISOpod and, in part, educators were effective in reducing the frequency of individuals engaged in detrimental activities. This occurred despite high MPA awareness of visitors, which was further increased by public interaction with the ISOpod. Results from this study suggest that outreach programs focused on conservation education can be effective options to assist with protection of coastal ecosystems.

Community based disaster management: Indonesian experience

Natural disasters are events that friendly to Indonesia. Every year natural disasters come in turns ranging from earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, floods, tornado, landslides, forest fires, social conflicts and so on and covering the entire territory of Indonesia. To deal with these disasters, the Government of Indonesia has developed community-based disaster management (CBDM). This paper intended to explain the implementation of community-based disaster management. The data used in this paper are secondary data onto several references. Between 1815 and 2014 (200 years ) there was 13.172 times disaster happened and killed 291.427 people. In the last ten years, significant disasters were volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, earthquakes, floods and social conflict. The CBDM in Indonesia is implemented by increasing the capacity of communities to prepare for and cope with a disaster by encouraging full participation of government, private and public. To institutionalize this effort, it has been developed disaster organization by local conditions; increase public knowledge and awareness and maintain the possibility of catastrophe caused by human activity. There was some limitation faced in implementation of CBDM such as lack of understanding of stakeholders due to lack of socialization, and lack of formal organization BNPB capacity in disaster management.

Giant Inflatable Colon Enhances Community Knowledge and Intention for Colorectal Cancer Screening

Background and context: Cancer represents a global health threat and is considered a leading cause of death worldwide. Statistics in Lebanon show that cancer incidence rate has dramatically increased over the last decades, which calls for the development and implementation of effective strategies in combatting cancer through awareness, prevention, and early detection. Colorectal cancer (CRC) continues to be the second most common in women and fourth most common among men in Lebanon. Aim: Since March is the colorectal cancer awareness month, the Cancer Prevention and Control Program - Naef K. Basile Cancer Institute - American University of Beirut (AUB) Medical Center in collaboration with AMALOUNA, an AUB affiliated educational organization that aims to raise awareness about cancer, cancer prevention and cancer research, launched a campaign tailored for this type of cancer. The aim of this campaign was to raise awareness about colorectal cancer, break the cycle of fear, and increase public knowledge about CRC using interactive educational activities. Strategy/Tactics: A walk-through giant inflatable colon was built specifically for the event. This educational tool offers participants a visual representation of the normal histology of the colon, the different stages of colon cancer development ranging from a simple polyp to a metastatic cancer as well as preventive tips. Vouchers for colorectal cancer screening tests were distributed to eligible participants after the visit of the colon. Program/Policy process: Since 2017, we have conducted six outreach activities all over Lebanon in which the inflatable colon was displayed for educating the community about CRC. To evaluate whether this giant colon improves the community knowledge about CRC, pre and post-surveys related to the age of screening, risk factors, symptoms, and CRC prevention were collected anonymously before and after touring the inflatable colon. Outcomes: Data collected from more than 700 participants demonstrated that the inflatable colon increased participants' knowledge concerning CRC. Most importantly, it increased their intention to get screened by 27.5% and their comfort with talking to others about CRC screening by 19%. What was learned: These results indicate that the interactive colon is an effective educational tool that can make a positive impact by increasing public awareness about CRC and their intention to get screened. Such educational efforts conducted in the community promote cancer screening and encourage people to adopt healthier lifestyles.

OPTIMASI SUMBER DAYA ALAM MELALUI TEKNOLOGI TEPAT GUNA DALAM BIDANG BISNIS UNTUK MASYARAKAT DUSUN PATEH KECAMATAN SELAT KABUPATEN KARANGASEM

Pateh and Wates Kaja hamlets are located on the hillside slopes. 180 family heads mostly live fromagriculture. Unavailability of clean water in both villages, low public awareness on health and environmentalhygiene, low community productivity, waterfall Jaga Satru not yet organized and published as a touristattraction, the selling rate of salak Bali is low. Program achievements is, increasing public health withadequate clean water, cleanliness of the environment and counseling clean and healthy lifestyle. Increasepublic knowledge with the availability of reading books and the reading room facilities. Increasedcommunity productivity. Cost efficiency through assistance and introduction of hydram pump technology.Results of Activities is clean water system in Pateh hamlet with hydram pump method has been realized, theevaluation results show the amount of water that is compiled to the location of 43,200 liters / day. Everyperson needs water every day 80 liters / day then enough for 540 people or 108 families. Clean water systemgravity method in Wates Kaja hamlet has been done well and water distribution more evenly. Livestock health services achievement of 30 cattle. Reforestation of 100 coconut tree daksina has been done in thewaterfall environment. Publication activity Jaga Satru waterfall tour with balihoo method has been done andforeign tourist visits have increased by 100%. Environmental hygiene activities featuring 3 pieces of wastebins to collect inorganic waste. Making Master Plant tour waterfall keep 100% done.

Web search behavior for snow avalanches: an Italian study

Snow avalanches remain a lethal threat to skiers and snowboarders. Information campaigns in areas with ski resorts and with backcountry recreationists may help to increase awareness and consequently reduce risky behavior and casualties. However, useful targets for these campaigns are difficult to identify. Big data surveillance systems might provide promising resources for this target identification. In this study, we evaluated and characterized aggregated country-wide Web searches on snow avalanches in Italy. We aimed to identify which major factors influence online searches for avalanches and might be useful to shape awareness and information campaigns. Using Google Trends, data on search queries for the Italian term “valanga” (avalanche) between the January 1, 2004 and May 19, 2015 were collected and analyzed. Most searches occurred in mountain regions and cities. All peaks in searches volumes were temporally related to news headlines on avalanche accidents, suggesting that emotion might play a great role in using the Internet as a source of information. Public informative campaigns with high emotional content addressed to the general population might hence be considered to effectively promote awareness programs on risk of avalanches and increase public knowledge related to these persisting and serious threats.

Wikipedia and neurological disorders

Our aim was to evaluate Wikipedia page visits in relation to the most common neurological disorders by determining which factors are related to peaks in Wikipedia searches for these conditions. Millions of people worldwide use the internet daily as a source of health information. Wikipedia is a popular free online encyclopedia used by patients and physicians to search for health-related information. The following Wikipedia articles were considered: Alzheimer’s disease; Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; Dementia; Epilepsy; Epileptic seizure; Migraine; Multiple sclerosis; Parkinson’s disease; Stroke; Traumatic brain injury. We analyzed information regarding the total article views for 90 days and the rank of these articles among all those available in Wikipedia. We determined the highest search volume peaks to identify possible relation with online news headlines. No relation between incidence or prevalence of neurological disorders and the search volume for the related articles was found. Seven out of 10 neurological conditions showed relations in search volume peaks and news headlines. Six out of these seven peaks were related to news about famous people suffering from neurological disorders, especially those from showbusiness.Identification of discrepancies between disease burden and health seeking behavior on Wikipedia is useful in the planning of public health campaigns. Celebrities who publicly announce their neurological diagnosis might effectively promote awareness programs, increase public knowledge and reduce stigma related to diagnoses of neurological disorders.

An Exploratory Assessment of a Smartphone Application for Public Participation in Forest Fuels Measurement in the Wildland-Urban Interface

Wildfire management in the wildland-urban interface (WUI) protects property and life from wildland fire. One approach that has potential to provide information about the amount and location of fuels to forest managers and, at the same time, increase public knowledge and engagement in reducing wildfire threats is public participation in scientific research (PPSR)—also known as citizen science—where members of the public participate in the research process. In this exploratory study, residents of a wildfire-affected community tested a smartphone application to collect data about forest fuels and answered questions about wildfire, their community, and experiences using the application. In this paper, the application is introduced, the volunteers’ motivations, attitudes, and behaviors are considered, and the potential of using a PPSR approach for wildfire management discussed. Although there are practical challenges to applying PPSR approaches to wildfire hazard management, the participants in this study demonstrated the potential of PPSR to increase awareness and understanding of actions that can reduce the threat of wildfire. Wildfire managers may consider utilizing PPSR approaches to engage the community in wildfire preparedness.

Advertising strategies to increase public knowledge of the warning signs of stroke.

Public awareness of the warning signs of stroke is important. As part of an educational campaign using mass media, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario conducted public opinion polling in 4 communities to track the level of awareness of the warning signs of stroke and to determine the impact of different media strategies. Telephone surveys were conducted among members of the general public in 1 control and 3 test communities before and after mass media campaigns. The main outcome measure used to determine effectiveness of the campaigns was the ability to name > or =2 warning signs of stroke. In communities exposed to television advertising, ability to name the warning signs of stroke increased significantly. There was no significant change in the community receiving print (newspaper) advertising, and the control community experienced a decrease. Television increased the knowledge of both men and women and of people with less than a secondary school education but not of those > or =65 years of age. Intermittent, low-level television advertising was as effective as continuous, high-level television advertising. Results of this survey can be used to guide mass media-buying strategies for public health education.