CSDE Affiliates Emma Spiro and Jevin West from the Information School recently published their research with co-authors, “Selective and deceptive citation in the construction of dueling consensuses” in the Science Advances. The COVID-19 pandemic provides a unique opportunity to study science communication and, in particular, the transmission of consensus. In this study, authors show how “science communicators,” writ large to include both mainstream science journalists and practiced conspiracy theorists, transform scientific evidence into two dueling consensuses using the effectiveness of masks as a case study. They do this by compiling one of the largest, hand-coded citation datasets of cross-medium science communication, derived from 5 million Twitter posts of people discussing masks. They find that science communicators selectively uplift certain published works while denigrating others to create bodies of evidence that support and oppose masks, respectively. Anti-mask communicators in particular often use selective and deceptive quotation of scientific work and criticize opposing science more than pro-mask communicators. Their findings have implications for scientists, science communicators, and scientific publishers, whose systems of sharing (and correcting) knowledge are highly vulnerable to what we term adversarial science communication.

*This CSDE news story is a corrected repost of a story that ran in the Oct. 2nd newsletter. CSDE Affiliate Emma Spiro is an author on the featured article.

CSDE Affiliates Tracy M. Mroz (Rehabilitation Medicine), Rachel Prusynski (Physical Therapy), and co-authors published two articles that examine patient outcomes in the context of skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). The first article “Current Evidence on the Impact of Medicare Payment Policy on Stroke Rehabilitation in Skilled Nursing Facilities” is published in Current Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Reports, where the authors focus on patients recovering from stroke. Patients recovering from stroke benefit from frequent, multi-disciplinary therapies in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). As a major driver of spending, rehabilitation in SNFs is vulnerable to scrutiny from payers including Medicare. This review explored impacts of current payment programs (Patient Driven Payment Model, Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Advanced, Accountable Care Organizations, and Medicare Advantage) on access and outcomes of rehabilitation in SNFs after stroke. The authors’ second article “Skilled Nursing Facility Changes in Ownership and Short-Stay Medicare Patient Outcomes” is published in JAMA Network Open. In this study, the authors examine what types of skilled nursing facilities (SNF) change ownership, and are SNF sales associated with short-stay patient outcomes? In this cohort study of 11 004 SNFs, urban, for-profit, and chain SNFs with lower staffing ratings and more Medicaid patients were more likely to change ownership. Ownership change was associated with short-term increases in emergency department visits but was not associated with hospital readmissions or community discharge rates. These findings suggest that SNF ownership changes may be a symptom, rather than a cause, of lower quality care for short-stay patients.

CSDE Affiliate Kenneth Sherr (Global Health) and co-authors recently published their research in The Lancet HIV, titled “Impact of differentiated service delivery models on 12-month retention in HIV treatment in Mozambique: an interrupted time-series analysis“. HIV treatment has been available in Mozambique since 2004, but coverage of, and retention in, antiretroviral therapy (ART) remain suboptimal. Therefore, to increase health system efficiency and reduce HIV-associated mortality, in November, 2018, the Ministry of Health launched national guidelines on implementing eight differentiated service delivery models (DSDMs) for HIV treatment. The authors assessed the effect of this implementation on retention in ART 12 months after initiation, and explored the associated effects of COVID-19. They find that the implementation of eight DSDMs for HIV treatment had a positive impact on 12-month retention in ART. COVID-19 negatively influenced this outcome.

Kyle Crowder, CSDE Affiliate (Sociology) and co-authors published their research, “Real Estate Platforms, the Housing Search Process, and Racial Residential Stratification” in the journal Race and Social Problems. Recent theoretical arguments suggest that, in addition to ongoing, overt racial housing discrimination and unequal access to resources, multiple subtle housing search processes are racially stratified and contribute to persistent racial segregation. Yet, little prior research has examined these processes. The present paper helps to fill this gap by investigating the racialized differences in the subtle ways that individuals use online housing search tools and identify real estate agents to assist them through the housing search process. To do so, we rely on novel survey data collected by Redfin from 2647 housing consumers using multiple online platforms to search for housing in markets across the United States and examine racialized differences in the likelihood of homebuyers attempting various types of activities using online housing search tools, successfully using the online search tools, and methods of identifying real estate agents with whom to work. While the nature of the data preclude definitive conclusions, our findings point to significant racialized differences in attempting, and successfully completing, online activities across three different ‘types’ of online tool engagement—early search, neighborhood search, and housing unit—as well as in identifying real estate agents. After reviewing our results, we discuss the implications of these findings for persistent racial residential stratification, and directions for future research.

CSDE Affiliate Roberto Orellana (Social Work) and co-authors recently published research in the JAIDS Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, titled “Impact of a Multi-Institutional Initiative to Engage Students and Early-Stage Scholars From Underrepresented Racial and Ethnic Minority Groups in HIV Research: The Centers for AIDS Research Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Pathway Initiative“. The Centers for AIDS Research Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Pathway Initiative (CDEIPI) aims to establish programs to develop pathways for successful careers in HIV science among scholars from underrepresented racial and ethnic populations. This article describes cross-site evaluation outcomes during the first 18 months (July 2021-December 2022) across 15 programs. The aims of the evaluation were to characterize participants, describe feasibility, challenges, and successes of the programs and provide a basis for the generalizability of best practices to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs in the United States. Two primary data collection methods were used: a quarterly programmatic monitoring process and a centrally managed, individual-level, participant quantitative and qualitative survey. These data provide evidence to support the feasibility and impact of novel DEI programs in HIV research to engage and encourage racially and ethnically diverse scholars to pursue careers in HIV science.