Recent Articles
The sugar market in Indonesia reflects the distinct consumer behavior shaped by economic and deeply rooted cultural factors. This study explores how symbolic values attached to sugar sustain persistent, often irrational or uncontrollable consumption, highlighting the need for a demand-side perspective in the economic sociology of sugar markets.
Social media has transformed the landscape of health communication. Video content can optimally activate our cognitive systems, enhance learning, and deliver accessible information. Evidence has suggested the positive impact of videos on health knowledge and health-related behaviors, yet the impact of social media videos on quantitative health outcomes is underresearched. Evaluating such outcomes poses unique challenges in measuring exposure and outcomes within internet-based populations.
The illegal use of opioids has emerged as a major global public health concern, contributing to widespread addiction and a growing number of overdose-related deaths. In response, the US federal government has invested billions of dollars in combating the opioid epidemic through treatment, prevention, and law enforcement initiatives. Despite these efforts, there remains an urgent need for automated tools capable of detecting overdose cases and assessing the risk levels of substances—tools that can enable faster, more effective responses with less reliance on human intervention. Social media, particularly Reddit, has become a valuable source of self-reported data on opioid misuse, offering rich insights into user experiences and symptoms.
As TikTok (ByteDance) grows as a major platform for health information, the quality and accuracy of Arabic-language cancer prevention content remain unknown. Limited access to culturally relevant and evidence-based information may exacerbate disparities in cancer knowledge and prevention behaviors. Although large language models offer scalable approaches for analyzing online health content, their utility for short-form video data, especially in underrepresented languages, has not been well established.
Language barriers between Canadian patients and health care providers are associated with poorer health outcomes, including decreased patient safety and quality of care, misdiagnosis and longer treatment initiation times, and increased mortality. However, research exploring language as a social determinant of health is limited, as Canadian health data are scattered across many jurisdictions, each with its own policies and procedures. This fragmentation makes it difficult for researchers to identify, locate, and use existing data. This paper presents the results of a pilot study that attempts to address this gap by creating a metadata repository (MDR) to act as a central source of information about what data are available at which data holdings across Canada.
The month of June has been recognized as the National Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Awareness Month since 2011 in the United States. Established by government resolution, the goal is to increase awareness and reduce the incidence of congenital CMV infection, a leading cause of preventable birth defects and developmental disabilities. Social media is a powerful tool to support public health by making health information easily accessible. With an estimated 246 million users in the United States and more than half of adults seeking health information through such platforms, social media offers an unparalleled opportunity to promote CMV awareness and prevention.
Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a leading cause of vision loss, particularly in the Middle East. With the rise of online health information, many patients turn to the internet for knowledge about health conditions. However, the accuracy and quality of this information can be questionable, particularly in languages other than English. Objectives: We sought to evaluate the quality and reliability of Arabic websites on DR to address this knowledge gap and improve patient care.
Digital media memes have emerged as influential tools in health communication, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. While they offer opportunities for emotional engagement and community resilience, they also act as vectors for health misinformation, contributing to the global infodemic. Despite growing interest in their communicative power, the role of memes in shaping public perception and misinformation diffusion remains underexplored in infodemiology.
