Abstract
Social media has an important role in diffusion of information, during COVID-19 pandemic it could help to promote preventive behaviors, however its role and the pathway is still unclear.ObjectiveTo investigate the association among social media exposure, risk perception, preventive behaviors, and attitudes toward the COVID-19 epidemic in Bolivia.MethodsWe launched an online survey in La Paz and El Alto, Bolivia, during April and May 2020. The questionnaire examined: Socio-demographic factors, Social media use, Risk Perception, Preventive behaviors, attitudes and the willingness to use a vaccine if it were available in the context of the COVID-19 epidemic. A logistic regression was used to evaluate factors associated with risk perception and a structural equation model (SEM) was performed to explore the pathway of the relationship among social media exposure, risk perception and preventive behaviors and attitudes.ResultsAmong 886 participants, the most were young adults, between 18–25 years old (73.4%) and 577 (65.1%) were female. During the the week before the survey 387 (43.7%) reported be exposure to social media Covid-19 information almost always or always. Moreover 304 (34.3%) were categorized as with a high risk perception. The multivariable analyses show that being female (aOR = 1.5, CI 95% 1.1–2.1) and having high exposure to Covid-19 information on social media (aOR = 2.5, CI 95% 1.3–5.3) were associated with a higher risk perception for Covid-19. Furthermore, SEM results indicated that risk perception is associated with the adoption of preventive behaviors and attitudes (β = 0.605, p < 0.001) including the acceptance of a vaccine if one were available (β = 0.388, p < 0.001).ConclusionSocial media exposure to COVID-19 information influences the adoption of preventive attitudes and behaviors through shaping risk perception. Understanding the role of social media during the pandemic could help policymakers and communicators to develop better communication strategies that enable the population to adopt appropriate attitudes and behaviors.
Highlights
In December 2019, the first pneumonia cases caused by an unknown agent were identified in Wuhan, China [1]
The multivariable analyses show that being female and having high exposure to Covid-19 information on social media were associated with a higher risk
structural equation model (SEM) results indicated that risk perception is associated with the adoption of preventive behaviors and attitudes (β = 0.605, p < 0.001) including the acceptance of a vaccine if one were available (β = 0.388, p < 0.001)
Summary
In December 2019, the first pneumonia cases caused by an unknown agent were identified in Wuhan, China [1]. Coronaviruses are similar to the influenza virus, due to its contagion and its high transmissibility and they have triggered epidemics, such as SARS-CoV in 2002–2004 [5] and the MERS-CoV in 2015 [2, 6] The experience of these previous epidemics shows that a modification in behavior to adopt protective measures is required, such as the use of masks, washing hands, and isolation, principally among the affected populations [7]. Its role in previous epidemics has been studied, demonstrating that social media information can influence people’s own risk perception and behaviors [8, 9] In this new scenario, the traditional media has reported the progression of the Covid-19 pandemic and social media has assumed an important role in the faster diffusion of information and further and in some cases with fear-mongering [10]. The role of social media and risk perception in the implementation of protective measures against the COVID-19 is still unknown
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
