Virtual nurse can persuade you to get vaccinated

SWPS University

Facebook

XLinkedInWeChatBlueskyMessageWhatsAppEmail

 

image: 

Image: An initial screen in the FLORA application.

view more 

Credit: SWPS University

Can a virtual nurse persuade people to get vaccinated? Scientists from SWPS University have proven that it is possible. Finding new forms of informing people about vaccinations is particularly important for public health while some question their validity.

While the consensus in the medical and scientific community is that preventive vaccinations are among civilization's greatest achievements, there are groups that resist this most effective method for preventing infectious diseases[1]. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has proven that mass vaccination is an effective method for achieving herd immunity and defeating a virus. Unfortunately, it has also led to an unprecedented level of misinformation and questioning of the scientific community's consensus, along with the intensification of the activity of anti-vaccination movements[2]. In the age of social media boom, false information spreads more easily than evidence-based positions of scientists.

Only a small percentage of society openly opposes vaccines. A significantly larger portion has some concerns and doubts related to this preventive measure. A marked decrease in the vaccination rate is particularly alarming in the context of the reappearance of diseases that were practically eliminated long ago (such as the highly infectious measles). Due to this, combating conspiracy theories and false information gains particular importance. It can positively influence attitudes toward science and directly affect our health and safety.

Let's have a (virtual) talk about vaccinations

A dialogue, understood as a social influence tool, may be an effective method of promoting vaccinations. However, if we take into account the permanently excessive workload that healthcare professionals have to deal with, a longer conversation with a doctor may be simply impossible. Researchers from SWPS University have proposed a solution:  a simulation of a dialogue with the use of an avatar instead of a conversation between the patient and a real human. They described their conclusions in the paper "A virtual assistant can persuade you to get vaccinated against the flu. Online dialogue as a tool of social influence in promoting vaccinations”, published in Social Science & Medicine.

The FLORA application created by scientists leads a discussion about health with participants, specifically about influenza, a disease that poses a serious threat to public health, against which only a small percentage of the population is vaccinated. The vaccine not only minimizes the risk of the disease spreading, but also protects against serious complications, to which the elderly, pregnant women and people suffering from chronic diseases are particularly vulnerable. FLORA is a virtual nurse whose avatar is displayed to the application user.

The first experiment, in which 903 participants took part, assessed the impact of a virtual conversation on the willingness to get vaccinated, while the second one (870 participants) additionally included a direct request to get vaccinated. Each participant was randomly assigned to one of three groups. The first group talked to a virtual assistant. The dialogue concerned their health and physical condition. The program also assessed the individual risk of post-influenza complications, and encouraged some participants to get vaccinated. The second group of participants filled out a questionnaire enabling them to assess the risk of post-influenza complications. The third group was given a leaflet to read on their own (without the possibility of assessing the risk).

The application guided the conversation by asking specific questions to which users provided predefined responses. To make the simulation of social contact more credible, the boards were decorated with a virtual nurse - FLORA, who smiles, expresses interest or concern. The avatar does more than presenting dry facts - the dialogue resembles a real conversation, even seasoned with a dose of humour.

The virtual assistant is convincing, but is it empathetic?

We showed that people who talked to the avatar declared a significantly lower risk of post-influenza complications compared to participants from other groups (questionnaire, leaflet). This was particularly visible in the low-risk group, in which the dialogue clearly increased the willingness of participants to get vaccinated, says Professor Dariusz Doliński from the Faculty of Psychology in Wrocław of the SWPS University, head of the Department of Social Psychology in Wrocław SWPS University. The co-authors of the study are Agnieszka Kozłowska from the Faculty of Psychology in Wrocław of the SWPS University, and Professor Tomasz Grzyb, dean of the Faculty of Psychology in Wrocław SWPS University.

The second part of the study brought interesting results. It turned out that after supplementing the dialogue conducted by FLORA with a clearly formulated request to get vaccinated, the participants' willingness to get vaccinated was 33 times higher than in other conditions. This suggests that while the virtual dialogue itself does not necessarily change the users' attitudes, a direct request following the dialogue can have a significant impact on their approach (in this case, to vaccinations). However, the researchers acknowledge that additional factors could also play a role, such as individual predispositions or the credibility attributed to FLORA.

Among the practical applications of the study results, the authors point to support for healthcare providers. Numerous studies demonstrate that patients expect empathy from their doctors[3], as well as well-developed communication skills[4], credibility and trust[5]. All these attributes are connected with dialogue as a form of communication. Meanwhile, the time doctors can devote to their contact with patients has been decreasing. In this situation, solutions such as FLORA could relieve doctors to some extent.

---

[1] Hussain, A., Ali, S., Ahmed, M., & Hussain, S. (2018). The Anti-vaccination Movement: A Regression in Modern Medicine. Cureus. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.2919.

[2] Loomba, S., de Figueiredo, A., Piatek, S. J., de Graaf, K., & Larson, H. J. (2021). Measuring the impact of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation on vaccination intent in the UK and USA. Nature Human Behaviour, 5(3), Article 3. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-021- 01056-1.

[3] Kim, S. S., Kaplowitz, S., & Johnston, M. (2004). The Effects of Physician Empathy on Patient Satisfaction and Compliance. Evaluation & the Health Professions, 27, 237– 251. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163278704267037.

[4] Stewart, M. A. (1995). Effective physician-patient communication and health outcomes: A review. CMAJ: Canadian Medical Association Journal = Journal de l’Association Medicale Canadienne, 152(9), 1423–1433.

[5] Thom, D. H., Hall, M. A., & Pawlson, L. G. (2004). Measuring patients’ trust in physicians when assessing quality of care. Health Affairs (Project Hope), 23(4), 124–132. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.23.4.124.

---

Journal

Social Science & Medicine

DOI

10.1016/j.socscimed.2025.117825 

Method of Research

Randomized controlled/clinical trial

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

A virtual assistant can persuade you to get vaccinated against the flu. Online dialogue as a tool of social influence in promoting vaccinations

 

Sexual problems often overlooked at the doctor's office

New study highlights the need for better patient-provider communications regarding sexual health, especially during routine examinations

The Menopause Society

Facebook

XMessageWhatsAppEmail

CLEVELAND, Ohio (May 7, 2025)—Although most women and their healthcare professionals regard sexual health as essential to a woman’s overall quality of life, the topic seldom comes up, especially during routine examinations. A new study indicates general practitioners are less likely to inquire about sexual problems than obstetricians/gynecologists because of multiple barriers and depending on sex and age. Results of the study are published online today in Menopause, the journal of The Menopause Society.

Given today’s fast-paced, fee-for-service healthcare models, patients frequently complain that they feel rushed in the doctor’s office and don’t believe that their clinician takes sufficient time to get to know them. It turns out that this might be more than a feeling, as a new study involving more than 700 general practitioners (GPs) and obstetrician/gynecologists (OB/GYNs) documented that “shortness of appointment time” was the most frequently cited barrier to healthcare professionals mentioning sexual problems with patients. This was even though the study also confirmed that GPs and OB/GYNs considered treating sexual problems to be an important healthcare practice.

Other frequently mentioned barriers included: “sexual problem not being a priority in the appointment,” “personal attitudes and beliefs,” “personal discomfort when addressing sexual problems,” “lack of knowledge about sexual medicine,” “lack of experience with sexual medicine,” and “disability of the patient.” In every case, GPs were more likely to report having barriers than their OB/GYN counterparts, leading the researchers of this study to conclude that GPs are less likely to inquire about sexual problems during general medical history-taking and more likely to consider diagnosing female sexual problems as being difficult.

Another finding coming out of this latest research is that studies evaluating engagement with sexual problems with regard to physician specialty are limited. However, previous studies did show sex and age differences in attitudes and practice patterns in sexual medicine. Some studies, but not all, found female physicians to be more active in assessing sexual issues. Likewise, younger OB/GYNs have been shown to be more active in sexual history-taking than their more senior colleagues. That finding was supported in the current study that found that GPs in the oldest age groups were more likely to report difficulty in diagnosing female sexual problems and indicated frequent barriers to bringing up sexual problems.

Regardless of the age of the healthcare professionals, the researchers in this study concluded that continuing education is warranted to enhance physicians’ confidence in managing sexual problems.

Survey results are published in the article “Engagement with patients’ sexual problems: a comparative study among general practitioners and obstetrician-gynecologists.”

“This study highlights the known barriers that exist to asking women about sexual health. It also shows that primary-care practitioners may struggle a bit more than our OB/GYN colleagues in doing so, likely for a number of reasons, including time constraints, lack of education on sexual health, and competing priorities during the visit. The fact that younger physicians were more likely to address sexual health concerns is encouraging, but there remain significant gaps that need to be addressed,” says Dr. Stephanie Faubion, medical director for The Menopause Society.

For more information about menopause and healthy aging, visit www.menopause.org.

The Menopause Society (formerly The North American Menopause Society) is dedicated to empowering healthcare professionals and providing them with the tools and resources to improve the health of women during the menopause transition and beyond. As the leading authority on menopause since 1989, the nonprofit, multidisciplinary organization serves as the independent, evidence-based resource for healthcare professionals, researchers, the media, and the public and leads the conversation about improving women’s health and healthcare experiences. To learn more, visit menopause.org.

---

Journal

Menopause

DOI

10.1097/GME.0000000000000002551 

Method of Research

Survey

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Engagement with patients' sexual problems: a comparative study among general practitioners and obstetricians-gynecologists

Article Publication Date

7-May-2025

 

Stability solution brings unique form of carbon closer to practical application

Penn State

Facebook

XLinkedInWeChatMessageWhatsAppEmail

 

image: 

The image shows how special molecules break down when heated inside a tiny carbon tube, forming a perfectly straight chain of carbon atoms known as carbyne.
 

view more 

Credit: Elizabeth Floresgomez Murray/Jennifer M. McCann/Penn State

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Carbyne, a one-dimensional chain of carbon atoms, is incredibly strong for being so thin, making it an intriguing possibility for use in next-generation electronics, but its extreme instability causing it to bend and snap on itself made it nearly impossible to produce at all, let alone produce enough of it for advanced studies. Now, an international team of researchers, including from Penn State, may have a solution.  

The research team has enclosed carbyne in single-walled carbon nanotubes — tiny, tube-shaped structures made entirely of carbon that are thousands of times thinner than a human hair. Doing this at low temperatures makes carbyne more stable and easier to produce, potentially leading to new advancements in materials science and technology, the researchers said. They called the development “promising news,” as scientists have struggled for decades to create a stable form of carbyne in large enough quantities for deeper investigation. 

“The history of carbyne’s discovery is like a detective story,” said Slava V. Rotkin, professor of engineering science and mechanics and co-author of the study published ACS Nano. “It was predicted theoretically, but for many years, attempts to synthesize it were unsuccessful because the chains would either bend or form unintended bonds.” 

This instability made it difficult to study and even harder to imagine using in real-world applications. However, like graphene, the atomically thin two-dimensional carbon material already applied in some electronics, carbyne’s extreme strength and electronic properties continued to entice researchers with its potential to revolutionize electronics, Rotkin said. The pull is even greater with carbyne, though, as it has a built-in advantage over graphene.  

“Like graphene, carbyne can allow electrons to move very quickly,” Rotkin said. “However, carbyne also has something called a 'semiconductor gap,' which makes it useful for building transistors, the tiny switches that power electronics. Graphene, on the other hand, doesn’t have this gap, so it can’t be used in the same way.” 

A semiconductor gap is a small energy gap that allows a material to act as a switch for electrical current. Graphene, in its pure form, cannot be a transistor in of itself because electrons can always flow through it since it doesn’t have this gap. Graphene can be engineered to have a gap through various additions and manipulations, but carbyne has the gap naturally. This means that in the future, carbyne-based electronics could more easily offer faster, more efficient performance compared to today’s silicon-based technology. 

Along with potentially solving the instability issue, the researchers’ new synthesis approach could also solve another roadblock in the path to carbyne meeting its great potential. One of the biggest challenges in carbyne research has been producing it in significant quantities. In the past, only tiny amounts of carbyne could be made, often under extreme conditions such as high temperatures, intense pressures or in chemically reactive environments. These are factors that made it difficult for scientists to fully explore its properties. However, the new synthesis method changes that.  

What makes this new method stand out is how much easier and more effective it is compared to older techniques, the researchers said. First, the team used a special precursor, which acts as gentle starting material, called ammonium cholate to grow carbyne at much lower temperatures. Second, they used single-walled carbon nanotubes as a kind of protective shell around the carbyne, which works much better than the thicker, multi-layered tubes used in the past. This shell helps keep the fragile carbyne stable. Finally, the new method produces a lot more carbyne than before, which means scientists can now study it in greater detail and explore how it might be used in real-world applications. 

“Two major advancements of this technique are its low cost and high yield,” Rotkin said. “This opens the door for broader studies, both in fundamental science and moving toward real applications.” 

By encapsulating carbyne inside carbon nanotubes, researchers have also found a way to preserve its unique properties. The nanotubes act as protective shells, preventing the carbyne from breaking down while still allowing scientists to study it in its nearly pure form.  

“Importantly, single-wall nanotubes don’t disturb the carbyne chain much,” Rotkin noted. “There are only gentle van der Waals interactions — weak forces that allow the carbyne to stay in place without bonding to the nanotube walls.” 

While real-world applications are still in the early stages, carbyne’s potential is vast, Rotkin said. Because it is a strongly correlated material, its properties extend beyond classical physics, meaning it could have applications in next-generation computing and nanotechnology.  

“Materials like this have complex behaviors, both when they're in their normal state and when they're excited,” Rotkin said. “This means we're dealing with quantum materials, which could lead to entirely new technologies.” 

The research team also made an unexpected discovery during the study. They found that a common solvent — cholate, a salt of cholic acid that the human body uses to dissolve organic compounds — could transform into carbyne chains without additional complex steps.  

“It was a complete surprise that a common solvent like cholate can transform into the carbyne chain without any further issue,” Rotkin said. "It showed how even familiar materials can take on new roles in advanced chemistry.” 

Although many questions about carbyne remain unanswered, Rotkin said he believes this is a significant step forward. With a stable way to produce carbyne in larger quantities, researchers can now explore its potential more deeply.  

“In the past, the amount of material available for study was barely enough for one or two groups to confirm its existence,” Rotkin said. “Now, we have the opportunity to truly understand its properties and applications.” 

Along with Rotkin, Bo-Wen Zhang, Xi-Yang Qiu, Qingmei Hu, Ikuma Kohata, Shohei Chiashi, Keigo Otsuka and Shigeo Maruyama of the University of Tokyo; Yicheng Ma, Yongjia Zheng and Rong Xiang of Zhejiang University; Aina Fitó-Parera, Dmitry I. Levshov, Sofie Cambré and Wim Wenseleers of the University of Antwerp; Ya Feng of Dalian University; Yutaka Matsuo of Nagoya University; and YuHuang Wang and Chiyu Zhang of the University of Maryland also contributed to this research. Maruyama led the research team and was the corresponding author of the paper.  

The U.S. Department of Energy and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science supported this research. 

---

Journal

ACS Nano

DOI

10.1021/acsnano.4c17104 

Article Title

Low-Temperature Synthesis of Weakly Confined Carbyne Inside Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

 

New research illustrates the relationship between moral outrage on social media and activism

Society for Personality and Social Psychology

LinkedInWeChatBlueskyMessageWhatsApEmail

A new study published in Social Psychological and Personality Science examines how expressions of moral outrage on social media are linked to online activism, specifically petition signing behavior.

A research team led by Dr. Stefan Leach from Lancaster University analyzed over 1.2 million posts on X (formerly Twitter) containing links to nearly 25,000 petitions on Change.org. The findings reveal a surprising disconnect: while expressions of moral outrage significantly increase a post's virality (likes and reposts), they don't necessarily translate to other forms of action.

"Platforms are calibrated to capture attention by amplifying moralized and emotional content. This can have benefits, such as raising awareness of injustices by propagating expressions of outrage," explains Dr. Leach. "At the same time though, the findings suggest that online moral outrage may sometimes fail to translate into other types of collective responses, such as petition signing, which can influence stakeholders and policymakers."

The study discovered that expressions focusing on agency, group identity, and prosociality were more likely to generate petition signatures, though these posts received less viral attention on social media platforms.

"The most significant result is a double-dissociation of sorts," says Dr. Leach. "We find that expressions of moral outrage are directly linked to the virality of online petitions but not to the number of signatures they receive. Other expressions, such as those about helping others (i.e., prosociality), had no link to virality, but did predict a greater number of signatures."

These findings come amid growing concerns about social media's role in activism and political engagement.

"There is growing concern about the impacts of social media on political engagement, mental health, educational outcomes, and even our basic ability to focus," Dr. Leach notes. "As debates continue, it is clear that we need an empirically-grounded understanding of how these platforms are shaping society."

The research team plans to explore why online expressions of moral outrage often fail to connect with real-world collective action.

"The next step is to better understand why online expressions of moral outrage are so often unrelated to other forms of collective action," Dr. Leach adds. "Social media makes it easier to express outrage, amplifies those expressions, and can reward them with attention and engagement. This dynamic may shift priorities and promote certain kinds of responses over others."

Dr. Leach encourages "a healthy skepticism about the role of social media in activism and collective action," noting that while platforms can help raise awareness of injustices, the elements truly crucial to collective action—such as identifying with a cause and feeling one can make a difference—may be at a disadvantage in online spaces.

---

Journal

Social Psychological and Personality Science

DOI

10.1177/19485506251335373 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Moral Outrage Predicts the Virality of Petitions for Change on Social Media, But Not the Number of Signatures They Receive

GOOD NEWS

Mercury levels in the atmosphere have decreased throughout the 21st century

American Chemical Society

Facebook

XLinkedInWeChatBlueskyMessagWhatsApEmail

 

image: 

This plant (left), found along the slopes of Mount Everest, grows in individual layers (right) that have been used to understand how atmospheric mercury levels have changed in the past 40 years.

view more 

Credit: Adapted from ACS ES&T Air 2025, DOI:10.1021/acsestair.4c00296 (left) and Yindong Tong (right)

Mercury is released by environmental and human-driven processes. And some forms, specifically methylmercury, are toxic to humans. Therefore, policies and regulations to limit mercury emissions have been implemented across the globe. And, according to research published in ACS ES&T Air, those efforts may be working. Researchers found that atmospheric mercury levels have decreased by almost 70% in the last 20 years, mainly because human-caused emissions have been reduced.

“By tracking mercury pollution over four decades at the top of the world, we show that global efforts to reduce pollution are working — mercury levels in the air around Mount Everest have dropped significantly in the last two decades,” explains Yindong Tong, the corresponding author on the study.

Humans contribute mercury to the air by burning fossil fuels, incinerating waste and mining. Environmental protections, such as the Minamata Convention on Mercury, aim to target those sources of pollution. The convention’s effectiveness is judged partly on the amount of mercury in the atmosphere. Gaseous elemental mercury is also released from its largest natural reservoir, the soil, which might be accumulating even more mercury because of a changing climate. To distinguish between new, human-caused emissions and re-emissions of terrestrial mercury stored in the soil, researchers can look at patterns of mercury isotopes in the atmosphere. But regular atmospheric mercury isotope measurements have been collected for only about a decade. So, Tong, Ruoyu Sun and colleagues wanted to reconstruct information on past atmospheric mercury levels to understand how they’ve changed.

To look back in time, the researchers turned to the leaves of a tiny, low-to-the-ground perennial plant (Androsace tapete) growing at high elevations on Mount Everest. Much like the rings in a tree trunk, this plant grows a new layer of outer leaves every year, and they reflect what the plant’s surrounding environment was like. So, by sampling older leaves from the center of two plants on Everest, the team gained a sense of atmospheric mercury levels as far back as 1982. They found that between 2000 and 2020, the total atmospheric concentration of elemental mercury decreased by 70%, with terrestrial mercury emissions making up a larger fraction of total emissions year over year. Currently, the soil emits significantly more mercury (62%) than human-related sources (28%).

Researchers attribute this overall decrease, based on patterns observed in mercury isotope data in plant leaves, to reduced human-caused mercury emissions led by efforts like the Minamata Convention. These observed trends match the reductions in atmospheric mercury seen from areas across the northern hemisphere that have been reported in previous studies. The researchers conclude that though recent efforts focused on human-related emissions appear to be successful, future efforts should be aimed at curbing re-emissions from soil.

The authors acknowledge funding from the Tianjin Natural Science Foundation and the National Natural Science Foundation of China.

###

The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1876 and chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS is committed to improving all lives through the transforming power of chemistry. Its mission is to advance scientific knowledge, empower a global community and champion scientific integrity, and its vision is a world built on science. The Society is a global leader in promoting excellence in science education and providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple research solutions, peer-reviewed journals, scientific conferences, e-books and weekly news periodical Chemical & Engineering News. ACS journals are among the most cited, most trusted and most read within the scientific literature; however, ACS itself does not conduct chemical research. As a leader in scientific information solutions, its CAS division partners with global innovators to accelerate breakthroughs by curating, connecting and analyzing the world’s scientific knowledge. ACS’ main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

Registered journalists can subscribe to the ACS journalist news portal on EurekAlert! to access embargoed and public science press releases. For media inquiries, contact newsroom@acs.org.

Note: ACS does not conduct research but publishes and publicizes peer-reviewed scientific studies.

Follow us: Facebook | LinkedIn | Instagram

---

Journal

ACS ES&T Air

DOI

10.1021/acsestair.4c00296 

Article Title

“Four Decades of Atmospheric Mercury Records at Mt. Everest Reveals Significant Reduction in Anthropogenic Mercury Emissions Over the Past Decade”