Identifying the Impacts of Access to Different Information on Emergency Behaviors During COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Existing studies have verified the effect of information access on health behaviors, while less is known about the different impacts of distinct information access in a pandemic context. This study identified four information types (including disease knowledge, dynamic news, government measures, and social news) and then investigated how different information access affected preventive behaviors via perceived risk and media credibility during the COVID-19 outbreak in China. A nationally representative sampling survey on Chinese netizens was conducted ([Formula: see text]). It found that access to dynamic news, disease knowledge, and government measures positively predicted perceived severity, while only social news positively predicted perceived susceptibility. Access to disease knowledge, government measures, and social news were positively correlated with media credibility. The mediating roles of perceived risk and media credibility were proved. Besides, the statement of “cues-to-action” was also proved, which indicated that information access impacted behavioral changes more directly rather than through the mediators during COVID-19 pandemic. These findings contribute to a better understanding of how information access impacts public health behaviors in a pandemic context.