A Comparison of Covid-19-Related Tweets Disseminated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization During the Initial Months of the Pandemic

Abstract

The novel coronavirus (Covid-19) that plagued the world in 2020 also brought with it the need to rapidly disseminate information to the public to encourage health-related behavior change. This study examines Covid-19-related Twitter messaging disseminated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization from February 29 to September 22, 2020. The research examined tweets from four constructed weeks, with the first 2 weeks representing days prior to President Donald Trump’s announcement of U.S. withdrawal from WHO, and the second 2-week period after the announcement. The Health Belief Model was used as the theoretical foundation for this study. Frequencies and chi-square analyses revealed less of an overall focus on barriers but no significant differences in messages for tweets related to consequences, benefits, and barriers. Significant differences ( p < .01) were found in engagement messaging for the second 2-week period.