Atin Adhikari

Public health implications of social media use during natural disasters, environmental disasters, and other environmental concerns

Social media allows users to share information and communicate interpersonally during natural disasters, environmental disasters, and other environmental concerns. We conducted a scoping review of the literature using the Arksey and O’Malley framework to examine how social media is used during these environmental concerns, determine what the implications are for public health officials, and identify research gaps. Thirty-four articles were retrieved for the review. From these articles, four main questions were answered: How can social media be used to disseminate information to others? How is social media used for data prediction and early warnings? How is social media used for environmental awareness and health promotion? Lastly, how can social media be used as an indicator of public participation in social media during environmental concerns? We found evidence supporting social media as a useful surveillance tool during natural disasters, environmental disasters, and other environmental concerns. Public health officials can use social media to gain insight into public opinions and perceptions. Social media allows public health workers and emergency responders to act more quickly and efficiently during crises. Further research is needed to improve the use of social media during natural disasters, environmental disasters, and other environmental concerns.

English Language YouTube Videos as a Source of Lead Poisoning and Other Lead Related Information: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract Exposure to lead is detrimental to children’s development. YouTube is a form of social media through which people may learn about lead poisoning. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to analyze the variation in lead poisoning-related YouTube contents between different video sources. The 100 most viewed lead poisoning-related videos were manually coded, among which, 50 were consumer-generated, 19 were created by health care professionals, and 31 were news. The 100 videos had a total of more than 8.9 million views, with news videos accounting for 63% of those views. The odds of mentioning what lead poisoning is, how to remove lead, and specifically mentioning the danger in ages 1–5 because of rapid growth among videos created by health care professionals were 7.28 times (Odds ratio, OR = 7.28, 95% CI, 2.09, 25.37, p = 0.002); 6.83 times (OR = 6.83, 95% CI, 2.05, 22.75, p = 0.002) and 9.14 times (OR = 9.14, CI, 2.05, 40.70, p = 0.004) that of consumer-generated videos, respectively. In this study, professional videos had more accurate information regarding lead but their videos were less likely to be viewed compared to consumer-generated videos and news videos. If professional videos about lead poisoning can attract more viewers, more people would be better informed and could possibly influence policy agendas, thereby helping communities being affected by lead exposure.

Field Evaluation of N95 Filtering Facepiece Respirators on Construction Jobsites for Protection against Airborne Ultrafine Particles

Exposure to high concentrations of airborne ultrafine particles in construction jobsites may play an important role in the adverse health effects among construction workers, therefore adequate respiratory protection is required. The performance of particulate respirators has never been evaluated in field conditions against ultrafine particles on construction jobsites. In this study, respiratory protection levels against ultrafine particles of different size ranges were assessed during three common construction related jobs using a manikin-based set-up at 85 L/min air flow rate. Two NanoScan SMPS nanoparticle counters were utilized for measuring ultrafine particles in two sampling lines of the test filtering facepiece respirator—one from inside the respirator and one from outside the respirator. Particle size distributions were characterized using the NanoScan data collected from outside of the respirator. Two models of N95 respirators were tested—foldable and pleated. Collected data indicate that penetration of all categories of ultrafine particles can exceed 5% and smaller ultrafine particles of <36.5 nm size generally penetrated least. Foldable N95 filtering facepiece respirators were found to be less efficient than pleated N95 respirators in filtering nanoparticles mostly at the soil moving site and the wooden building frameworks construction site. Upon charge neutralization by isopropanol treatment, the ultrafine particles of larger sizes penetrated more compared to particles of smaller sizes. Our findings, therefore, indicate that N95 filtering facepiece respirators may not provide desirable 95% protection for most categories of ultrafine particles and generally, 95% protection is achievable for smaller particles of 11.5 to 20.5 nm sizes. We also conclude that foldable N95 respirators are less efficient than pleated N95 respirators in filtering ultrafine particles, mostly in the soil moving site and the wooden building framework construction site.

Disinfection of Microbial Aerosols

Disinfection of microbial aerosols gained significant attention among researchers worldwide due to increasing flu pandemics and bioterrorism threats. Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation, HEPA filtration, and photocatalytic oxidation are conventional methods of bioaerosol inactivation, and new approaches developed in recent years include application of cold plasma and plasmacluster ions, microwave irradiation, ion emission, thermal treatment, applications of nanoparticles and nanotubes in filtration media, and application of natural products in filtration media. Although all these methods have shown promising responses for airborne microbial inactivation, they have some inevitable limitations. Most of the methods were tested in the laboratories, and adequate field data are still lacking. Furthermore, most of these methods were never tested for real pathogens and emerging drug-resistant pathogens. Advantages and disadvantages of all these conventional and newly developed approaches have been discussed in this review article. The authors conclude that a perfect solution to inactivate all airborne microorganisms does not exist yet. We can combine different microbial inactivation methods to achieve a more effective disinfection approach depending on the types of suspected microorganisms and indoor environmental conditions.