The Role of Risk Perception in Flu Vaccine Behavior among African‐American and White Adults in the United States

Seasonal flu vaccination rates are low for U.S. adults, with significant disparities between African and white Americans. Risk perception is a significant predictor of vaccine behavior but the research on this construct has been flawed. This study addressed critical research questions to understand the differences between African and white Americans in the role of risk perception in flu vaccine behavior: (1) What is the dimensionality of risk perception and does it differ between the two races?  (2) Were risk perceptions of white and African‐American populations different and how were sociodemographic characteristics related to risk for each group? (3) What is the relation between risk perception and flu vaccine behaviors for African Americans and whites? The sample, drawn from GfK's Knowledge Panel, consisted of 838 whites and 819 African Americans. The survey instrument was developed from qualitative research. Measures of risk perception included cognitive and emotional measures of disease risk and risk of side effects from the vaccine. The online survey was conducted in March 2015. Results showed the importance of risk perception in the vaccine decision‐making process for both racial groups. As expected, those who got the vaccine reported higher disease risk than those who did not. Separate cognitive and emotional factors did not materialize in this study but strong evidence was found to support the importance of considering disease risk as well as risk of the vaccine. There were significant racial differences in the way risk perception predicted behavior.     

历史学语境中的瘟疫

步入21世纪之后,鼠疫、流感等瘟疫时常在人类之间爆发。事实上,它们在历史上早已存在。那么,历史长河之中的它们表现怎样,从这种对瘟疫的历史考察中又可以得出怎样的启示。笔者力图就上述问题做一浅显解释,以求教于学界方家。     

禽流感防治与SPS协议的适用

在国际贸易的发展过程中,人类及动植物生命与健康问题越来越受到国际上的关注。禽流感事件就是其中的典型事件。但是,禽流感背后的故事却鲜为人知。SPS协议是WTO体系下专门处理此问题的多边货物贸易协议,因此,其法律适用对此类事件的解决有着重要的意义。     

传媒对两次突发性公共卫生事件报道的比较

文章通过比较传媒对禽流感疫情与非典型肺炎的报道,指出面对突发性公共卫生事件,传媒的报道有明显进步,在报道时效、传播渠道、报道内容、传媒与政府的协同性等方面有了较大的提高。并进一步提出信息公开、提高政府部门应对能力、建立传媒与政府良好的协同关系等,将有助于处理突发性公共卫生事件。     

突发公共卫生事件中实施药品专利强制许可的思考

人感染高致病性禽流感疫情在世界多个国家的传播,不仅对社会大众健康产生了威胁,而且更加凸显药品专利保护与公众健康需要之间的矛盾,药品专利强制许可无疑是解决这个矛盾的一条途径。文章对药品专利强制许可的背景、理论进行了分析,指出了目前实施这一许可的障碍,并提出了相应的对策。