Richard Brown

Social media is an increasingly prominent channel for communicating menopause information and experiences, yet the affective and behavioral consequences of different narrative framings remain unclear. We examined how distress, normalizing, and transformative narratives influenced women's immediate responses to menopause content online, drawing on established narrative framings of menopause as normality, distress, and transformation. In an online experiment, UK women aged 40 to 83 years who were perimenopausal or postmenopausal were recruited via Prolific, a widely used online recruitment platform for behavioral and social science research. A total of 737 women were randomly assigned to view 4 anonymized and standardized social media posts from a pool of 12 reflecting 1 of 3 narratives: normal (n=248, 33.6%), distress (n=241, 32.7%), or transformative (n=248, 33.6%). Participants then reported affective reactions, expected behavioral responses, and perceptions of the posts using 5-point ordered response scales. Ordinal logistic regression models tested demographic predictors and condition effects controlling for demographic factors. Participants who viewed distress-framed posts reported greater levels of worry (β=.910; P<.001), confusion (β=.818; P<.001), and anxiety (β=.817; P<.001) and lower levels of reassurance (β=-.970; P<.001), optimism (β=-.708; P<.001), and empowerment (β=-.540; P<.001). Distress framing also increased perceived knowledge of menopause (β=.564; P<.001) despite participants feeling more negatively toward the posts. Neither distress nor transformative narratives influenced expected behavioral intentions to like, share, save, comment on, search for, or discuss social media posts compared with normalizing narratives. Postmenopausal status (β=-.630; P<.001) and older age (β=-.492; P<.001) were independently associated with less worry and anxiety. Participants rated distress (β=-.806; P<.001) and transformative posts (β=-.968; P<.001) as less representative of health professionals than normalizing posts; transformative posts were also judged to be less representative of newspapers or television (β=-.687; P<.001). Narrative framing shaped immediate affect but not intended engagement with menopause content. Because this study assessed short-term responses to controlled, standardized posts, future research should examine whether these effects persist over time and how they operate in more ecologically valid social media environments. As public discussion expands, diverse, balanced narratives may help reduce stigma and temper the disproportionate salience of negative framing. This study advances understanding of how narrative framing shapes responses to health content online.

BACKGROUND Social media is an increasingly prominent channel for communicating menopause information and experiences, yet the affective and behavioural consequences of different narrative framings remain unclear. OBJECTIVE We examined how distress, normalising and transformative narratives influence women’s immediate responses to menopause content online. METHODS In an online experiment, UK women aged 40-83 who were perimenopausal or post-menopausal (N = 737) were randomly assigned to view four anonymised and standardised social media posts reflecting one of three narratives: normal, distress or transformative. Participants then reported affective reactions, expected behavioural responses, and perceptions of the posts. Ordinal logistic regression models tested demographic predictors and condition effects, controlling for demographic factors. RESULTS Participants who viewed distress-framed posts reported greater levels of worry, confusion and anxiety, and reduced levels of reassurance, optimism and empowerment. Distress framing also increased perceived knowledge of menopause, despite participants feeling more negatively towards the posts. Neither distress nor transformative narratives influenced expected behavioural intentions to like, share, save, comment on, search for or discuss social media posts, compared to normal narratives. Post-menopausal status and older age were independently associated with less worry and anxiety. Participants rated distress and transformative posts as less representative of health professionals than normalising posts; transformative posts were also judged to be less representative of newspapers or TV. CONCLUSIONS Narrative framing shaped immediate affect but not intended engagement with menopause content. As public discussion expands, diverse, balanced narratives may help reduce stigma and temper the disproportionate salience of negative framing. This study advances understanding of how narrative framing shapes responses to health content online.

We investigate perceptions of AI among university students and staff, focusing on sociodemographic predictors of use, attitudes and literacy. We follow an explanatory mixed-methods approach: an online survey (269 students and staff) capturing self-reported AI use, attitudes, and literacy, and 24 semi-structured online interviews exploring barriers to acceptance in higher education and research. Quantitative data reveal differences in perceptions of AI usage between students and staff. Males report higher use, more positive attitudes, and greater AI literacy than females. Higher socioeconomic status predicts more frequent use, and older age predicts lower AI literacy. Qualitative findings highlight concerns about academic repercussions of AI and threat to jobs. Participants highlight a lack of guidance and need for support to promote responsible use. Universities should increase engagement, and provide unambiguous guidance, to tackle misperceptions of how AI is used by others and address staff and student fears impacting AI acceptance and adoption.

There are growing calls for a comprehensive, evidence-based national eating disorder (ED) strategy for England. This is due to the rising prevalence of EDs, the lack of national guidance around different ED presentations (and potentially varying treatment needs), ad hoc data collection, and inconsistencies in both care and evaluation of service provision quality. Furthermore, the shift towards remote delivery of care during the COVID-19 pandemic underscores the need for government strategy to include specific guidance on remote delivery of ED services. The increased use of remote healthcare presents an opportunity to mitigate regional disparities in the provision of care. However, there are distinct challenges when delivering ED services remotely. In this position paper, we firstly highlight the growing need for a comprehensive national ED strategy to combat the rising prevalence and harm of EDs. Secondly, we specify the importance of ensuring that future governmental strategy incorporates evidence-based guidelines specific to remote delivery of ED services. This is crucial for promoting consistent provision of ED care. We set out the lack of comprehensive national data, and the need for further research into remote service delivery.

Healthcare organisations are increasingly targeted by cybercriminals. Such attacks are not just an attack on data but on this critical infrastructure – putting lives at risk. They face multiple challenges in maintaining their cybersecurity, including the technology infrastructure in use, the heterogeneity of healthcare and admin staff and the IT and cybersecurity skills within the organization. This paper focuses on healthcare and admin staff within a single hospital in Italy. The study sought to understand the differences in perceptions of culture between different staff groups and the overall relationship between these perceptions and behaviours. The methodology consisted of a cultural, behavioural and data use questionnaire, translated into Italian and distributed to doctors, nurses and administrators. Linear regression models suggest that security culture significantly predicts how important and achievable staff perceive cybersecurity behaviours to be. Further analyses found significant differences between the doctors and other staff groups. Doctors reported a significantly more negative perception of cybersecurity culture. They also perceived cybersecurity behaviours to be significantly less important and less achievable than the other two groups. Doctors were also most likely to copy and access patient data outside of the institution, albeit for benign or patient centered reasons. Overall, in terms of cybersecurity, doctors were the least compliant staff group – albeit with the best of intentions (i.e., focus upon patient care). These data, alongside other research, suggest that healthcare staff focus on delivering patient care and see cybersecurity as interfering with, rather than facilitating, their clinical practice. There is a need for change to ensure that cybersecurity measures are appropriate, work within the clinical workflow and staff accept cybersecurity as crucial to protecting patients.

There are growing calls for a comprehensive, evidence-based national eating disorder strategy. This is due to the rising prevalence of eating disorders (EDs) in England, the lack of national guidance in relation to different ED presentations (and potentially varying treatment needs), ad hoc data collection, and inconsistencies in both care and evaluation of quality-of-service provision. Furthermore, the shift towards the remote delivery of care during the COVID-19 pandemic underscores the need for government strategy to include specific guidance on remote delivery of ED services. The increased use of remote healthcare presents an opportunity to mitigate regional disparities in the provision of care. However, there are distinct challenges when delivering ED services remotely. In this position paper, we firstly highlight the growing need for a comprehensive national ED strategy for England to combat the rising prevalence and harm of EDs. Secondly, we specify the importance of ensuring that future governmental strategy incorporates evidence-based guidelines specific to remote delivery of ED services. This is crucial for promoting consistent provision of ED care. We set out the lack of comprehensive national data, and the need for further research into remote delivery of care. Finally, we provide recent research findings from the RHED-C project (Remote Healthcare for Eating Disorders throughout COVID-19) that present recommendations aimed at enhancing future service delivery for remote treatment and support.

Background: The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education and research is expanding rapidly, driven by tools like ChatGPT. Research suggests that while AI will likely transform education and research activities, its fair implementation hinges on understanding barriers and facilitators to adoption. This study investigates perceptions of AI among students and staff at a UK university, focusing on the impact of sociodemographic factors on AI use, attitudes and AI literacy. Method: We adopted an explanatory mixed-methods approach, beginning with an online survey of 269 students and staff across each of the host institution’s academic departments. This survey captured self-reported use of AI, attitudes, and a measure of self-perceived AI literacy. From this sample, 24 semi-structured online interviews (58.3% students, 41.7% staff) were conducted to further explore barriers and facilitators to AI acceptance and adoption in higher education and research. Results: Quantitative data revealed significant differences in perceptions of AI usage between students and staff, with both groups overestimating the use of AI by others. Males reported higher AI use, more positive attitudes towards it, and greater self-perceived AI literacy than females. Higher socioeconomic status also predicted more frequent use of AI and older age predicted lower AI literacy. Despite varied AI use reported in academic contexts, 27% of students and 31% of staff reported they had never used AI. Qualitative findings highlighted concerns about academic repercussions of AI use (e.g., punishment for misconduct and potentially diminished performance if AI is prohibited) and AI’s threat to job security. Participants highlighted a lack of clear guidance from universities on AI and there were strong calls for enhanced training and support from universities to promote responsible and ethical use of AI. Conclusions: To promote effective and responsible use of AI, universities should respond to calls for training from students and staff to allow individuals to make the most of the opportunities offered by AI. Universities should also look to engage in greater dialogue, and provide unambiguous guidance, to address misperceptions in how AI is used by others and to address staff and student fears that influence AI acceptance and adoption.

Introduction: COVID-19 necessitated a rapid move from face-to-face services to remote care for eating disorders/eating distress (EDs). This study explores the advantages and challenges of remote care, identifying future implications for service provision. Methods: Using a mixed methods approach, data were collected from 211 people with lived experience (PWLE); 27 participating in semi-structured interviews/workshops and 184 via an online survey. Participants reported on their ED status; the impact of the pandemic on symptoms; benefits and challenges of remote care (and type of support accessed); any reasons for not accessing support; and future recommendations. Participation was open to PWLE with and without formal diagnosis. Results: ED symptoms were reported as worsening during the pandemic with contributing factors including isolation, lack of routine, negative emotions, and feeling like the external situation was outside of one’s control. Exercise was reported as a coping mechanism (although it is noted that responses did not allow for clarifications of respondents’ understanding of what constitutes healthy or unhealthy exercise). Remote care was positively attributed to increased flexibility and facilitation of social connection. However, identified barriers to access included a lack of awareness about support availability, digital access and/or literacy, and competing commitments (e.g., childcare). Further challenges included approaches being perceived as too clinical; uncertainty around remote care quality, and concerns that remote platforms may facilitate masking of symptoms. Participants also reflected heavily upon distress caused by default self-view during video calls. Participants expressed a need for more holistic approaches including “real stories” of recovery, and hybrid (online and offline) options for greater flexibility and widening of access choices; complimented by appropriate training to mitigate digital literacy barriers. Discussion: Future recommendations emphasise user-centered holistic, hybrid approaches to ED remote support, supported by training to address digital literacy barriers and facilitate user control of platform functionalities (e.g., self-view). The study underscores the need for continued remote care with a focus on inclusivity and user empowerment.