Author: Prasantha De Silva
Prospect theory in message framing
Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky’s Prospect theory has helped improve our quality of life in a variety of ways. I have written about it in another blog post. According to the Prospect theory, we overvalue even a small loss much more than its comparable gain. More clearly, we do not…
How to deal with COVID19 vaccine hesitancy
COVID 19 vaccine hesitancy is real. It hurts. With Omicron, vaccine hesitancy has become a major roadblock. The problem has gone viral very much like the COVID19 spread. What is COVID 19 vaccine hesitancy? Vaccine hesitancy refers to situations when someone either refuses or delay getting the CVODI19 vaccines. Vaccine…
The third dose may prevent your hospital admission
A group of Isreal researchers have documented hospital admissions due to COVID-19. They have compared the patients’ vaccine status and found that majority did not have the third dose. Following is the graph from their research paper published on The Lancet, October 29, 2021. Following is the link to the…
COVID-19 can be airborne – Reframe your messages
Evidence is growing that COVID-19 can transmit through the air. Need evidence? Julian W Tang et al.’s BMJ article dissects the evidence. Furthermore, governments are changing their health education messages accordingly. In this video clip, the Canadian government are now promoting adequate ventilation as a method of reducing transmission. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZjTT4nrWu4&t=24s
“Upstream versus downstream” in public health
The upstream versus downstream metaphor helps public health practitioners to choose the most cost-effective public health interventions. This post curate peer-reviewed articles of which the main focus is the “upstream versus downstream” metaphor. 1. The upstream versus downstream metaphor to reduce health inequalities In this article Naoimh, E. McMahon, a…
What is upstream vs downstream in public health?
Those who know public health know Prof. Irving Zola‘s “upstream vs downstream” parable. Irving Zola is a medical sociologist. His friend, John McKinlay, describes Zola’s parable in his 2019 article titled “A case for re-focusing upstream: The political economy of illness”1. The “Upstream boat” sails through this upstream path. Following…
Nudge with the opt-out default option
Think of a situation where you are automatically enrolled for organ donation when you obtain your vehicle license; however, you have the option to “opt-out”. This is a classic “opt-out” default option. Here, you are being nudged for organ donation. Its counterpart option is “opt-in”. In that situation, the default…
Nudge with the E.A.S.T. tool
The above image is a typical road nudge. It draws road users’ attention to two choices; either go straight or turn. The word, nudge, refers to “prodding (a gentle push) someone’s elbow to draw attention”. This post dips a toe into its ocean of knowledge base. A brief history of…
Swiss Cheese Model for COVID-19
The Swiss Cheese Model for COVID-19 is an excellent mental tool to visualize COVID-19 prevention strategies at the system level, a bird’s eye view. First, about the Swiss Cheese Model. As emphasized by James Reason, the model’s creator, it invites us to view human errors as a consequence, not as…
Swiss Cheese Model and the Hot Cheese Model
Updated on September 18, 2022 September 17 is the #patientsafetyday. This year’s theme is medication safety. WHO calls for urgent action for achieving medication without harm. Healthcare institutions employ the Swiss Cheese Model to prevent medication errors. This post discusses this model and its improved version: The hot cheese model….
