Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic: How may communication strategies influence our behaviours?

Medvedec, Mario; Cofini, Vincenza; Desideri, Giovambattista; Necozione, Stefano

doi:10.1016/j.ijdrr.2020.101982

Cited by 22 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Indeed, the recently published studies in CHB reveal that analyzing big data related to online behavior could greatly broaden the public understanding of risks and crisis communications ( Wang et al, 2021 ), citizen engagement ( Chen et al, 2020 ), and death anxiety ( Barnes, 2021 ) during the deadly pandemic. In addition to analyzing data sourced from social media websites, such as Twitter ( Barnes, 2021 ; Chen et al, 2020 ; Wang et al, 2021 ), another approach of studying the role of cyberpsychology in the ongoing pandemic is by focusing on how online query data would track the public attention to COVID-19 ( Brodeur et al, 2021 ; Hu et al, 2020 ; Muselli et al, 2021 ; Springer et al, 2020 ) and how these data could be used for COVID-19 surveillance ( Ayyoubzadeh et al, 2020 ; Ma, 2021 , pp. 1–20; Mavragani & Gkillas, 2020 ; Nindrea et al, 2020 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…to obtain a measure of perceived (= subjective) coronavirus threat, given that online searches could assess the group-level spontaneous exposure to coronavirus-related information online ( Adam-Troian & Bagci, 2021 ) and that searching for COVID-19 related information ( Sorokowski et al, 2020 ) and reading these information ( Karwowski et al, 2020 ; Kim et al, 2021 ) induced people's perceived threat of COVID-19. Although people might have different purposes for conducting online searches, searching for coronavirus online is at least capturing people's psychological concern about COVID-19 in cyberspace ( Du et al, 2020 ; Muselli et al, 2021 ), given that people conduct online searches for finding answers, reducing uncertainty, and sensemaking ( Lai et al, 2017 ). Indeed, there was a strong and positive correlation between online query data on COVID-19 and epidemiological data on the novel coronavirus across different countries ( Du et al, 2020 ; Mavragani & Gkillas, 2020 ; Muselli et al, 2021 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although people might have different purposes for conducting online searches, searching for coronavirus online is at least capturing people's psychological concern about COVID-19 in cyberspace ( Du et al, 2020 ; Muselli et al, 2021 ), given that people conduct online searches for finding answers, reducing uncertainty, and sensemaking ( Lai et al, 2017 ). Indeed, there was a strong and positive correlation between online query data on COVID-19 and epidemiological data on the novel coronavirus across different countries ( Du et al, 2020 ; Mavragani & Gkillas, 2020 ; Muselli et al, 2021 ). Moreover, as searching for religious terms online (e.g., Jesus , God , and prayer ) is a terror management process ( Alper, 2019 ; Pelham et al, 2018 ), the evidence that searching for COVID-19 in cyberspace was accompanied by searching for religious terms online ( Ma & Ye, 2021 ) suggests that online query data on COVID-19 optimally capture COVID-19 concern in cyberspace.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

COVID-19 concerns in cyberspace predict human reduced dispersal in the real world: Meta-regression analysis of time series relationships across American states and 115 countries/territories

Zewei

2022

Computers in Human Behavior

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Built upon the parasite-stress theory of sociality and the behavioral immune system theory, this research examined how concern about COVID-19 in cyberspace (i.e. online search volume for corona , coronavirus , covid-19 , etc.) would predict human reduced dispersal in the real world (i.e. Google's COVID-19 Community Mobility Reports) between January 05, 2020 and May 22, 2021, accounting for COVID-19 cases per million, case fatality rate, death-thought accessibility, government stringency index, yearly trends, season, religious holiday, and serial autocorrelation. Meta-regressions analyzing the results of multiple regressions on weekly-level data showed that when people had higher levels of COVID-19 concern in cyberspace in a given week, the amount of time people spent at home increased from the previous week across U.S. states (Study 1) and 115 countries/territories (Study 2). Across studies, the association between COVID-19 concern and stay-at-home behavior was stronger in areas of higher levels of infectious-disease contagion risks. Compared with actual coronavirus threat, COVID-19 concern in cyberspace had a significantly larger effect on predicting human reduced dispersal in the real world, suggesting that online query data have an invaluable implication for predicting large-scale behavioral changes in response to life-threatening events in the real world and are indispensable for COVID-19 surveillance systems.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

COVID-19 concerns in cyberspace predict human reduced dispersal in the real world: Meta-regression analysis of time series relationships across American states and 115 countries/territories

Zewei

2022

Computers in Human Behavior

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“…In the area of non-communicable diseases, studies can be found that examine public attention to preventive measures such as cancer screening or smoking cessation 24 – 27 . In the area of infectious diseases, studies mainly examine public attention to the disease itself 9 , 28 – 31 , but further examine attention to specific prevention measures 32 – 35 . Public interest in key institutions during a pandemic providing information on who is involved in risk communication, namely public health authorities, has not yet been studied.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the use of web searches for risk communication during COVID-19 in Germany

Kristensen

Lorenz

May

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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Risk communication during pandemics is an element of utmost importance. Understanding the level of public attention—a prerequisite for effective communication—implicates expensive and time-consuming surveys. We hypothesise that the relative search volume from Google Trends could be used as an indicator of public attention of a disease and its prevention measures. The search terms ‘RKI’ (Robert Koch Institute, national public health authority in Germany), ‘corona’ and ‘protective mask’ in German language were shortlisted. Cross-correlations between these terms and the reported cases from 15 February to 27 April were conducted for each German federal state. The findings were contrasted against a timeline of official communications concerning COVID-19. The highest correlations of the term ‘RKI’ with reported COVID-19 cases were found between lags of − 2 and − 12 days, meaning web searches were already performed from 2 to 12 days before case numbers increased. A similar pattern was seen for the term ‘corona’. Cross-correlations indicated that most searches on ‘protective mask’ were performed from 6 to 12 days after the peak of cases. The results for the term ‘protective mask’ indicate a degree of confusion in the population. This is supported by conflicting recommendations to wear face masks during the first wave. The relative search volumes could be a useful tool to provide timely and location-specific information on public attention for risk communication.

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“…pandemic is a global emergency [1]. Although the disease has been observed in all age groups, the virus is more threatening in the elderly, and the risk of death increases with age [2]. Especially, the elderly are bio-socially at higher risks than other age groups [3,4].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating Some Risk Factors Related to the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Middle-aged and Elderly

Dadgari

Mirrezaei

Talebi

et al. 2021

Salmand

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Objectives: The outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has influenced all age groups; however, the risk of mortality increases with age. Several factors impact the development of this disease. This study aimed to determine the relationship between some risk factors in the development of COVID-19 among community dwellers of ≥50 years of age.This cross-sectional study was performed at Shahroud University of Medical Sciences from April 1, 2019, to June 20, 2020. Methods & Materials: This cross-sectional study was conducted on individuals aged ≥50 years, including middle-aged and aging suspected of COVID-19 referring to registration centers in Shahroud University of Medical Sciences from Feb. 20th to Jun. 20th, 2020. The basis for diagnosing COVID-19 in suspected cases was a positive Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test based on a nasopharyngeal swab or Computed Tomography (CT) scan. The data used included demographic information, a history of smoking, and comorbidities. Data analysis was performed in SPSS by descriptive statistics, Chi-squared test, Independent Samples t-test, and logistic regression model. Results: In the first 4 months of the COVID-19 outbreak, 3945 suspicious cases were referred to Shahroud healthcare centers. After removing the missing cases, of the 3119 registered cases, 1348 participants were aged ≥50 years. Of all eligible participants, 602 cases were diagnosed with COVID-19, and 303 were males. The obtained data suggested that the Mean±SD age of the study subjects was 66.62±11.33 years. Diabetes (P=0.014) and other comorbidities, such as asthma, acute respiratory, hepatic and kidney diseases, and cancer in borderline significantly increased the incidence of COVID-19 by 38% and 32%, respectively. An increase of one unit in Body Mass Index (BMI) (P=0.002) enhanced the odds of infection by 4%. Conclusion: Based on the multivariate logistic regression results, high BMI and diabetes were significant risk factors in the development of COVID-19 among aged subjects. This conclusion emphasizes the importance of BMI and diabetes in the assessment of patients in middle-aged and aging groups.

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Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic: How may communication strategies influence our behaviours?

Cited by 22 publications

References 15 publications

COVID-19 concerns in cyberspace predict human reduced dispersal in the real world: Meta-regression analysis of time series relationships across American states and 115 countries/territories

COVID-19 concerns in cyberspace predict human reduced dispersal in the real world: Meta-regression analysis of time series relationships across American states and 115 countries/territories

Exploring the use of web searches for risk communication during COVID-19 in Germany

Investigating Some Risk Factors Related to the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Middle-aged and Elderly

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