Analysis of Public Perception of the Israeli Government’s Early Emergency Instructions Regarding COVID-19: Online Survey Study

Abstract

Background On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared coronavirus disease (COVID-19) to be a pandemic. This posed challenges to many countries, prominent among which is communication with the public to gain their cooperation. Israel faces different challenges from other countries in its management of the COVID-19 crisis because it is in the midst of a deep constitutional crisis. Objective The objective of this paper was to examine the response of the Israeli public to the government’s emergency instructions regarding the pandemic in terms of correlations between overall risk perception and crisis management; overall risk perception and economic threat perception; crisis management and compliance with behavioral guidelines; and crisis management and economic threat perception. We also made comparisons between crisis management and spokesperson credibility and between crisis management and the credibility of information sources. Methods The sample was established using an online survey that enabled rapid and effective distribution of an online questionnaire during the COVID-19 crisis. The self-selection online survey method of nonprobability sampling was used to recruit participants (N=1056) through social network posts asking the general public (aged ≥18 years) to answer the survey. Results Participants aged ≥65 years perceived higher personal risk compared to those aged 18-30 years (mean difference 0.33, 95% CI 0.04-0.61) and those aged 46-64 years (mean difference 0.38, 95% CI 0.12-0.64). Significant correlations were found between overall risk perception and attitudes toward crisis management (r=0.19, P<.001), overall risk perception and economic threat perception (r=0.22, P<.001), attitudes toward crisis management and compliance with behavioral guidelines (r=0.15, P<.001), and attitudes toward crisis management and economic threat perception (r=–0.15, P<.001). Participants who perceived that the prime minister was the most credible spokesperson evaluated the crisis management significantly higher than all other groups. The crisis management was evaluated significantly lower by participants who stated that infectious disease specialists were the most credible spokespersons. Participants for whom the Ministry of Health website was the most credible source of information evaluated the crisis management higher than all other groups. Participants for whom scientific articles were the most credible source of information evaluated the crisis management lower than those who perceived that the WHO/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention websites or Ministry of Health/hospital websites and health care workers were the most credible. Conclusions The higher the public trust and evaluation of crisis management, the greater the compliance of the public with guidelines. It was also found that crisis management and information cannot be approached in the same way for the overall public. Furthermore, unlike other epidemics, the COVID-19 crisis has widespread economic and social consequences; therefore, it is impossible to focus only on health risks without communicating economic and social risks as well.

Citizens’ Adherence to COVID-19 Mitigation Recommendations by the Government: A 3-Country Comparative Evaluation Using Web-Based Cross-Sectional Survey Data

“…This persuasion effect in terms of conveying information and communicating risks to the public during the COVID-19 crisis are becoming complicated due to the large amount of misinformation, uncertainty surrounding the source and spread of the virus, and the absence of a vaccine [ 31 - 35 ]. However, previous research has shown that trusting the health system has a significant impact on public willingness to receive and adhere to health instructions [ 36 ]. This persuasion effect is highly effective when the government provides guidelines’ context (ie, detailed explanations, implications, and consequences of the guidelines to the individuals).…”

“…Although reopening provides avenues for economic recovery, there is no guarantee that people will follow the suggested safe-distancing and other guidelines. Research finds that there is a positive and significant correlation between overall risk perception and economic threat perception [ 36 ]. People that perceive a high personal economic threat may feel that the government is not managing the crisis well; this thereby impacts their adherence.…”

Authorized, Clear and Timely Communication of Risk to Guide Public Perception and Action: Lessons of COVID-19 From China

“…This work has been developed in an iterative process and references the body of work that addresses the effects of public risk communications to the individual's perceived risk and preventive actions. It is acknowledged that our survey sample recruited online may mainly present participants prone to internet information, as most Internet-based questionnaire studies [15,16]. While internet is ever-becoming the primary channel for rapid and timely dissemination and access to information [17,18], our study provides vital evidence to understand people's trust of online information, thus to better guide their prevent behaviors via mass media.…”

Knowledge, Perceived Beliefs, and Preventive Behaviors Related to COVID-19 Among Chinese Older Adults: Cross-Sectional Web-Based Survey

“…A higher level of knowledge has been proved to be associated with positive behavior changes [ 20 , 21 ]. In addition, studies on individuals’ behavior changes toward infectious diseases have suggested that perceptions or beliefs about an outbreak are important in determining the adoption of particular preventive behaviors [ 22 - 24 ]. In particular, the health belief model (HBM) [ 25 ] has provided a theoretical framework in previous research for understanding and explaining various health-promoting behaviors [ 26 - 28 ], including preventive behaviors during global pandemics [ 29 - 31 ].…”