Internet and health contents

Information and communication technologies provide autonomy possibilities to individuals, concerning their social and individual background, favouring a disposition to escape from traditional control, enabling them to face modern society’s contradictions, without forgetting the relevance of networks in constructing new social movements, possible only in a context of a broader use of information and communication technologies. Therefore, the question that is discussed in this paper is what is the meaning of daily information and communication practices to the health problem individual management? How ICT’s are shaped by individual needs and social contexts, namely in the case of health communication? Individual health and its daily management never involved as much information as nowadays. Great amounts of health and medicine information are available from several sources – whether professional health sources, different kinds of specialists, public and private institutions or patient and/or consumers groups – through a multiplicity of information channels, from media to local or interpersonal base, interacting with doctors and other health professionals, family, friends, work colleagues, etc. Closely connected to network societies problematic and a relevant health component in contemporary societies, is the issue of understanding how Internet and media in general contribute to subjects autonomy. In this paper we will focus on the questions related directly with the internet use for health purposes, in the Portuguese case

A existência net: o valor da net para relações públicas/comunicação estratégica

As Relações Públicas/Comunicação Estratégica remetem para o uso tradicional dos processos de Comunicação, assumindo as possibilidades oferecidas tanto pelos meios de Comunicação baseados na electricidade quanto nos processos de interacção face a face. Contudo, o surgimento da internet desdobra esses processos, gerando uma dimensão própria de existência da identidade das organizações e dos assuntos (mesmo que relacionados com os mass media) permitindo a consideração de uma ideia: a de existência net, a seu modo incontrolável embora deixando vestígios, que para além de ser polimórfica, é integradora e tem consequências diversas nos processos tanto de trabalho quanto de conhecimento da acção dos comunicadores das organizações

The users’ shaping of networked communication

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The users’ shaping of networked communication

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Revisão crítica: Uma abordagem aos estudos sobre o uso dos media sociais durante a pandemia Covid-19

Since the coronavirus disease (covid-19) was declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization in January 2020, it has led to the loss of millions of human lives and a global economic recession. Recently, there has been a recognized need for effective health communication via social media to deliver accurate information and promote pertinent behavioral change. Thus, this study provides a systematic review to explore what has been done, what conflicts exist, and what knowledge gap remains in terms of social media use during the covid-19 wave, indicating relevant communication strategies. This research is based on 76 relevant papers taken from searches on the Web of Science and Google Scholar. The analysis revealed that much of the literature confirms the positive effect of social media on information propagation and promotion of precautions in the control of covid-19. The spreading of rumors, especially about government performance, in social media is clearly of increasing concern. Currently, heated debate continues about the association between exposure to social media and public mental health. Another fiercely debated question is whether rumors are shared more widely than fact-checking information. Up to date, far too little attention has been paid to information disparities and vulnerable groups on social media.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Open access and multilingual approach to communication journals – the case and the editor’s perspective of Observatorio (OBS*) journal and the importance of open science for the knowledge society

This paper is about the contribution of the network society to a more open and cross-cultural way of making and publishing science. Basically, and speaking of Observatorio (OBS*) e-journal that has been published by OberCom-Lisbon, we believe that it might be relevant to note the tendency that science, in relation to its distribution model, has been showing lately. We think more traditional ways of publishing science in closed platforms (as paper format), where legitimacy was only dependent on the strict editorial team, has definitely lost its space in scientific publications on open online platforms, where legitimacy is now managed from the contribution of several experts: a model named Open Science. The open science movement replaces the traditional, hierarchical and centralized logic with more dynamic horizontal collaboration among peers: a form of community production, decentralized and self-selective. One can say that the growth of the OBS* e-journal in Portugal, rather than other scientific journals in the same areas, but in more traditional formats, clearly demonstrates that a self-centred science with fewer users and whose distribution of produced knowledge implies bigger reliance on funding, is giving rise to a more open science with more users, for whom the transmission of produced knowledge is more autonomous, effective, cheaper, etc

Open access and multilingual approach to communication journals – the case and the editor’s perspective of Observatorio (OBS*) journal and the importance of open science for the knowledge society

This paper is about the contribution of the network society to a more open and cross-cultural way of making and publishing science. Basically, and speaking of Observatorio (OBS*) e-journal that has been published by OberCom-Lisbon, we believe that it might be relevant to note the tendency that science, in relation to its distribution model, has been showing lately. We think more traditional ways of publishing science in closed platforms (as paper format), where legitimacy was only dependent on the strict editorial team, has definitely lost its space in scientific publications on open online platforms, where legitimacy is now managed from the contribution of several experts: a model named Open Science. The open science movement replaces the traditional, hierarchical and centralized logic with more dynamic horizontal collaboration among peers: a form of community production, decentralized and self-selective. One can say that the growth of the OBS* e-journal in Portugal, rather than other scientific journals in the same areas, but in more traditional formats, clearly demonstrates that a self-centred science with fewer users and whose distribution of produced knowledge implies bigger reliance on funding, is giving rise to a more open science with more users, for whom the transmission of produced knowledge is more autonomous, effective, cheaper, etc

Níveis de conhecimento sobre cancro dos estudantes da área da saúde em Portugal

Introduction: Cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide and its incidence has been increasing. It is estimated that almost half of all cancer cases could be prevented by lifestyles changes. Cancer Knowledge may be key to addressing this growing trend. This study focused on health students and its primary objective was to evaluate students’ knowledge and perceptions about cancer. Methods: In this study, the tool “Students Knowledge and Perceptions about Cancer” was used to retrieve quantitative data about students’ knowledge. Their perceptions were evaluated using a Likert scale that ranged from “Don’t know” to “Know almost everything”. This tool was shared on LinkedIn and Facebook, making the sampling method non-probabilistic. Results and discussion: From a sample of 170 health students, 72.4% (123) got more than half of the questions right. Lung cancer is the topic with lower knowledge. Overall, there seems to be a positive statistically significant correlation between students' knowledge and their perceptions about their knowledge (p≤0.05). Despite the satisfactory levels of general knowledge about cancer, there should be more campaigns that are appealing to students that emphasize prevention as a mean to reduce cancer incidence. There is still work to be done to have more awareness among health students, especially regarding risk behaviours and screenings related to cancer. New studies with more representative samples should be conducted.Introdução: O cancro é a segunda principal causa de morte no mundo e tem tido uma incidência crescente. Estima-se que quase metade de todos os casos de cancro poderiam ser evitados através de mudanças de estilo de vida. O conhecimento sobre o cancro pode ser a chave para enfrentar essa tendência crescente. Este estudo teve como foco estudantes da área da saúde e o objetivo principal foi avaliar o conhecimento e as perceções dos estudantes sobre o cancro. Métodos: Neste estudo, utilizou-se a ferramenta “Students Knowledge and Peceptions about Cancer” para recolher dados quantitativos sobre o conhecimento dos estudantes. As perceções foram avaliadas através de uma escala que variou de “Não sei” a “Sei quase tudo”. Esta ferramenta foi compartilhada no LinkedIn e no Facebook o que torna o método de amostragem não probabilístico. Resultados e discussão: De uma amostra de 170 estudantes da área da saúde, constatou-se que 72,4% (123) acertaram mais da metade das questões. Observou-se que o cancro de pulmão é o tema onde há maior desconhecimento. Globalmente, parece existir uma correlação positiva estatisticamente significativa entre o conhecimento dos alunos e a perceção do que estes sabem acerca dos conteúdos abordados (p≤0,5). Apesar dos níveis satisfatórios de conhecimento geral sobre o cancro, deveriam existir mais campanhas, que sejam apelativas aos estudantes, que enfatizem a prevenção como forma de reduzir a incidência do cancro. Conclui-se que ainda há trabalho a ser feito para uma maior consciencialização dos estudantes da área da saúde, especialmente em relação aos comportamentos de risco e aos rastreios relacionados com o cancro. Contudo, será necessária a realização de novos estudos com uma amostra representativa.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Informação sobre saúde: as fontes de informação e a construção da autonomia

As tecnologias de informação e comunicação fornecem possibilidades de autonomia para os indivíduos em relação aos seus contextos, sociais e individuais, tornando-nos cada vez mais aptos para enfrentar as contradições das sociedades modernas, em particular no campo da Saúde. Este artigo pretende demonstrar qual o papel das fontes de informação no campo da saúde na construção dessa autonomia, num contexto de rede, por um incremento substancial do nível de acesso à informação, à sua compreensão e capacidade de gestão dessa informação por parte dos sujeitos e da própria sociedade civil, em relação aos profissionais de saúde e às instituições.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Health information technology implementation - Impacts and policy considerations: a comparison between Israel and Portugal

The use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in health systems is increasing worldwide. While it is assumed that ICT holds great potential to make health services more efficient and grant patients more empowerment, research on these trends is at an early stage. Building on a study of the impact of ICT on physicians and patients in Israel, a Short Term Scientific Mission (STSM) sponsored by COST Net in conjunction with CIES/ISCTE IUL (Portugal) facilitated a comparison of ICT in health in Israel and Portugal. The comparison focused on patient empowerment, physician behavior and the role of government in implementing ICT. The research in both countries was qualitative in nature. In-depth interviews with the Ministry of Health (MOH), the private sector, patients associations, health plans and researchers were used to collect data. Purposeful sampling was used to select respondents, and secondary sources were used for triangulation. The findings indicate that respondents in both countries feel that patient empowerment has indeed been furthered by introduction of ICT. Regarding physicians, in both countries ICT is seen as providing more information that can be used in medical decision making. Increased access of patients to web-based medical information can strengthen the role of patients in decision making and improve the physician-patient relationship, but also shift the latter in ways that may require adjustments in physician orientation. Physician uptake of ICT in both countries involves overcoming certain barriers, such as resistance to change. At the national level, important differences were found between the two countries. While in Israel, ICT was promoted and adopted by the meso level of the health system, in particular the health plans and government intervention can be found in a later stage, in Portugal the government was the main developer and national strategies were built from the beginning. These two approaches present different advantages and disadvantages. Government involvement in earlier stages could provide benefit in terms of interoperability of systems between different healthcare organizations. However, innovation could be slowed down due to government bureaucracy or lack of leadership. The work provides information in order to understand and improve ICT services. Additionally, it provides input regarding impact of ICT on the physician/patient relationship and national policies in the area.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio