Abstract
Due to changes in the information environment since the last global epidemic, high WHO officials have spoken about the need to fight not only the current COVID-19 pandemic but also the related infodemic. We thus explored how people search for information, how they perceive its credibility, and how all this relates to their engagement in self-protective behaviors in the crucial period right after the onset of COVID-19 epidemic. The online questionnaire was circulated within 48 h after the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Slovenia. We gathered information on participants’ demographics, perception of the situation, their emotional and behavioral responses to the situation (i.e., self-protective behavior), perceived subjective knowledge, perceived credibility of different sources of information, and their level of trust. We looked into the relationships between perceived credibility and trust, and self-protective behavior of 1,718 participants and found that mass media, social media, and officials received relatively low levels of trust. Conversely, medical professionals and scientists were deemed the most credible. The perceived credibility of received information was linked not only with lower levels of negative emotional responses but also with higher adherence to much needed self-protective measures, which aim to contain the spread of the disease. While results might vary between societies with different levels of trust in relevant governmental and professional institutions, and while variances in self-protective behavior scores explained by our model are modest, even a small increase in self-protective behavior could go a long way in viral epidemics like the one we are facing today.
Highlights
With the emergence of social networks and their omnipresence, especially as a source of information in critical situations, the information environment has become significantly more complex since the last worldwide epidemic of H1N1 influenza
People are faced with an abundance of information from various sources, many of them not credible, and the way key Information Credibility During COVID-19 Outbreak information is relayed to the public has become critical (The Lancet, 2020)
We proposed and tested two structural models linking each of the constructs to self-protective behavior, which was mediated by the effect of negative emotions and subjective knowledge about the disease
Summary
With the emergence of social networks and their omnipresence, especially as a source of information in critical situations, the information environment has become significantly more complex since the last worldwide epidemic of H1N1 influenza. Alarmist framing and intensive reporting of mass media can, on the contrary, spark fear and even hysteria (Van den Bulck and Custers, 2009), resulting in the reduced possibility of mobilizing the public (Sherlaw and Raude, 2013). Such emotions can be further amplified by prolonged exposure to negative reporting, while personal experience with the disease is limited (Brug et al, 2004; Lau et al, 2011)
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