Project description:Conservation gardening (CG) represents a socio-ecological approach to address the decline of native plant species and transform the gardening industry into an innovative conservation tool. However, essential information regarding amenable plants, their ecological requirements for gardening, and commercial availability remains limited and not readily available. In this study, we present a workflow using Germany as a case study to bridge this knowledge gap. We synthesized the Red Lists of all 16 federal states in Germany, and text-mined a comprehensive platform for garden plants, as well as multiple German producers of native plants. To provide accessible information, we developed a user-friendly app ( https://conservation-gardening.shinyapps.io/app-en/ ) that offers region-specific lists of CG plants, along with practical guidance for planting and purchasing. Our findings reveal that a median of 845 plant species are red-listed across federal states (ranging from 515 to 1123), with 41% of these species amenable to gardening (ranging from 29 to 53%), resulting in a total of 988 CG species. Notably, 66% of these species (650) are already available for purchase. Additionally, we observed that many CG plants exhibit drought tolerance and require less fertilizer on average, with implications for long-term urban planning and climate adaptation. Collaborating with gardening experts, we present a selection of purchasable CG balcony plants for each federal state, highlighting the feasibility of CG even for individuals without gardens. With a multitude of declining plants amenable to gardening and the vital role of gardens as refuges and green corridors, CG holds substantial potential to catalyze transformative change in bending the curve of biodiversity loss.
Project description:UnlabelledCollaborative care models for depression in primary care are effective and cost-effective, but difficult to spread to new sites. Translating Initiatives for Depression into Effective Solutions (TIDES) is an initiative to promote evidence-based collaborative care in the U.S. Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Social marketing applies marketing techniques to promote positive behavior change. Described in this paper, TIDES used a social marketing approach to foster national spread of collaborative care models.Tides social marketing approachThe approach relied on a sequential model of behavior change and explicit attention to audience segmentation. Segments included VHA national leadership, Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) regional leadership, facility managers, frontline providers, and veterans. TIDES communications, materials and messages targeted each segment, guided by an overall marketing plan.ResultsDepression collaborative care based on the TIDES model was adopted by VHA as part of the new Primary Care Mental Health Initiative and associated policies. It is currently in use in more than 50 primary care practices across the United States, and continues to spread, suggesting success for its social marketing-based dissemination strategy.Discussion and conclusionDevelopment, execution and evaluation of the TIDES marketing effort shows that social marketing is a promising approach for promoting implementation of evidence-based interventions in integrated healthcare systems.
Project description:ObjectiveTo evaluate the effectiveness of a social marketing intervention in enhancing knowledge, attitudes and practice (KAP) related to consumption of vitamin A-fortified oil.DesignThe intervention employed community events, distribution of educational materials and radio broadcasts. The intervention was assessed in a quasi-experimental non-equivalent control group study design by collecting information on KAP regarding vitamin A-fortified oil consumption before and after 9 months of a 13-month intervention.SettingSix districts in Manyara and Shinyanga regions in Tanzania were non-randomly selected as the intervention districts and two districts served as the control districts.ParticipantsAt baseline, 568 lactating mothers with children aged <5 years were randomly selected from the intervention and control districts. Of these, 494 mothers were followed up at endline.ResultsAfter 9 months of intervention, knowledge of fortification and actual consumption of adequately fortified oil were significantly higher in the intervention districts compared with the control districts (P <0·05). Knowledge of the health benefits of vitamin A improved significantly from about 33 to 45 % in both the intervention and control districts. The major sources of information for women were health clinics and community health workers (CHW).ConclusionsThe study showed that a social marketing intervention is effective in improving KAP regarding fortified oil consumption at the household level. Clinics and CHW are channels that should be prioritized when communicating health messages, particularly those targeting women.
Project description:BackgroundSince 2012, several states have legalized non-medical cannabis, and cannabis businesses have used social media as a primary form of marketing. There are concerns that social media cannabis exposure may reach underage viewers. Our objective was to identify how cannabis businesses cultivate an online presence and exert influence that may reach youth.MethodsWe chose a cyber-ethnographic approach to explore cannabis retailers on social media. We searched cannabis retailers with Facebook and Instagram presence from Alaska, Oregon, Colorado, and Washington, and identified 28 social media business profiles. One year of content was evaluated from each profile. In-depth, observational field notes were collected from researchers immersed in data collection on business profiles. Field notes were analyzed to uncover common themes associated with social media cannabis marketing.ResultsA total of 14 businesses were evaluated across both Facebook and Instagram, resulting in 14 sets of combined field notes. A major theme was Normalization of Cannabis, involving both Broad Appeal and Specific Targeting.ConclusionsIt is concerning that Normalization of Cannabis by cannabis businesses may increase cannabis acceptability among youth. In a digital world where the majority of youth are spending time online, it is important for policymakers to examine additional restrictions for cannabis businesses marketing through social media.
Project description:This paper reviews evidence about the impact of marketing on ill health. We summarize evidence that marketing practices in six industries (tobacco, alcohol, pharmaceutical, processed food, firearm, and fossil fuel) are causal influences on the occurrence of injury, disease, and premature death. For each industry, we provide a brief overview on the extent of harmful marketing, efforts from each industry to obscure or otherwise conceal the impact of their marketing strategies, and efforts to counter the impact of harmful marketing in these industries. However, considering the ubiquitous belief that regulation is harmful to society, little headway has been made in reducing harmful marketing. We propose the substitution of a public health framework for the currently dominant free market ideology. Doing so would situate harmful marketing as a social determinant of health and consolidate the disparate efforts to regulate marketing of harmful products. Implications for future policy and research efforts are discussed.
Project description:Background: The purpose of this work is to study the prospects of using charity lotteries as a marketing tool for involving consumers and employees in charitable activities. Methods: The research methodology is based on the principles of the theory of planned behavior by Ajzen. Results: The study confirmed that behavioral intention is correlated with actual behavior. Subjective norms factors have the most significant influence on behavioral intention. Conclusions: Correlation analysis allowed us to establish a weak effect of socio-demographic characteristics (Age, Gender, Capital Status, Ownership of Home, Educational Qualification, Employment, Annual Income) on behavior. The experience of participating in the lottery in the past also turned out to be insignificant. There is reason to believe that Russian consumers' decision to participate in the charity lottery is impulsive or due to pressure from their surroundings.
Project description:BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has prompted many countries to formulate guidelines on how to deal with a worst-case scenario in which the number of patients needing intensive care unit (ICU) care exceeds the number of available beds. This study aims to explore the experiences of triage teams when triaging fictitious patients with the Dutch triage guidelines. It provides an overview of the factors that influence decision-making when performing ICU triage with triage guidelines.MethodsEight triage teams from four hospitals were given files of fictitious patients needing intensive care and instructed to triage these patients. Sessions were observed and audio-recorded. Four focus group interviews with triage team members were held to reflect on the sessions and the Dutch guidelines. The results were analyzed by inductive content analysis.ResultsThe Dutch triage guidelines were the main basis for making triage decisions. However, some teams also allowed their own considerations (outside of the guidelines) to play a role when making triage decisions, for example to help avoid using non-medical criteria such as prioritization based on age group. Group processes also played a role in decision-making: triage choices can be influenced by the triagists' opinion on the guidelines and the carefulness with which they are applied. Intensivists, being most experienced in prognostication of critical illness, often had the most decisive role during triage sessions.ConclusionsUsing the Dutch triage guidelines is feasible, but there were some inconsistencies in prioritization between teams that may be undesirable. ICU triage guideline writers should consider which aspects of their criteria might, when applied in practice, lead to inconsistencies or ethically questionable prioritization of patients. Practical training of triage team members in applying the guidelines, including explanation of the rationale underlying the triage criteria, might improve the willingness and ability of triage teams to follow the guidelines closely.
Project description:Of the various types of preperformance preparatory behavior that are acquired during motor learning, the effect of a practice motion performed just prior to execution of an actual motion is not yet fully understood. Thus, the present study employed a golf putting task to investigate how a practice motion in the preparation phase would affect the accuracy of motor control in the execution phase and how proficiency would influence this relationship. To examine the impacts on kinematics and final ball position, the velocities of practice strokes made by tour professional and amateur golfers were experimentally manipulated in the following three conditions: the equal condition, which presented a target that was at the same distance during the practice strokes and the actual stroke; the confusing condition, which had two different distances during the practice and actual strokes; and the no condition, which did not include a practice stroke. The results, based on final ball position, indicated that practice strokes in the equal condition were linked with the highest accuracy levels during the actual stroke in both professionals and amateurs. In the confusing condition, regardless of skill level, the velocity of the actual stroke was influenced by a faster or slower stroke during the pre-shot phase. These relationships between the practice and actual strokes imply that the golfers effectively utilized kinesthetic information obtained during the practice strokes as a reference for the actual stroke. Furthermore, the differences in proficiency level indicated that the club head velocity of amateurs in the no condition was significantly faster than in the equal condition. Therefore, the present results imply that the role of a practice stroke may differ between professionals and amateurs.