Differences in Perceptions of Health Information Between the Public and Health Care Professionals: Nonprobability Sampling Questionnaire Survey

Gesser‐Edelsburg, Anat; Shahbari, Nour Abed Elhadi; Cohen, Ricky; Halavi, Adva Mir; Hijazi, Rana; Paz-Yaakobovitch, Galit; Birman, Yael

doi:10.2196/14105

Cited by 20 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 131 publications

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“…A quantitative questionnaire was designed to test the following variables: risk perception, crisis management, compliance with directives imposed on the public (report of behavioral intentions), and information sources. The questionnaire was based on previous questionnaires culturally accommodated to populations in Israel; it also accommodated the characteristics of the COVID-19 crisis and the measures taken in its wake [46][47][48][49][50].…”

Section: Research Toolsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Gesser‐Edelsburg¹,

Cohen²,

Hijazi³

et al. 2020

J Med Internet Res

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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.

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Section: Research Toolsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Gesser‐Edelsburg¹,

Cohen²,

Hijazi³

et al. 2020

J Med Internet Res

Self Cite

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“…Therefore, it was considered by the researchers that the instructions, the items and the scoring pattern were fully understood. [37] Psychology experts did not provide any obsession to the epistemonology of the items and PSSQ-29 as a whole. As a result, the content of the items and the overall questionnaire were thought to be consistent to current empirical evidence.…”

Section: Face Validity and Content Validitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Introducing the ‘Psychosomatic Screening Questionnaire - 29’ (PSSQ-29): Reliability and Validity in an Epidemiological Sample of 1,158 Participants in Greece during the COVID-19 Domestic Lockdown

Pilafas¹,

Prouzou²,

Strongylaki³

2021

Int J Health Sci Res

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Background: Although the field of psychosomatics is one of the oldest in behavioral health science, there may be a total absence of a self-reported psychometric scale that measures simultaneously mental and somatic symptoms. Thus, the present study introduces a new 29-item psychometric tool, named ‘Psychosomatic Screening Questionnaire - 29’ (PSSQ-29). Aim: PSSQ-29 was designed in order to provide a reliable and valid scale that measures both mental and somatic symptoms in a single questionnaire. Methods & Materials: Research methods were employed and statistical analysis was performed to test ‘face validity’, ‘content validity’, ‘internal validity’, ‘construct validity’ and ‘predictive validity’ of PSSQ-29, while a ‘factor analysis’ also took place. The rest materials that were used in this study include the Greek versions of the ‘Nicholson McBride Resilience Questionnaire’ and the ‘Acute Stress Disorder Scale’. Results: The highlights of the analysis include a 95.5% reliability ratio, a strong correlation with ‘psychological resilience’ and ‘acute stress disorder’, while 59% of variance of PSSQ-29 was predicted by the levels of acute stress of the same sample at the same time. Discussion: The findings of this study support the use of PSSQ-29 by health professionals and researchers in the foreseeable future. What is more, PSSQ-29 may provide much assistance in research regarding multi-morbid conditions in Behavioral Medicine. Conclusion: Finally, PSSQ-29 was found both reliable and valid in the Greek population. Amongst many proposed ways of use, it is highly recommended to be used at any new ‘mass panic’ situation in Greece. Key words: Psychosomatic Screening Questionnaire; PSSQ-29; Psychometrics; COVID-19; Greece.

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“…Individuals also seek aesthetic success, increased affective and sexual desire by peers, job opportunities and financial enrichment. In this scenario, as much as social media can be used in favor of health, the information posted must have professional and mainly scientific support (Gesser-Edelsburg et al, 2019;.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although content consumers read and are able to understand this information, few users investigate, or are capable to judge whether the information posted is of quality or not (Gesser-Edelsburg et al, 2019). The fact that they are better acquainted with the covered topics may be one of the reasons why professional health readers consider academic articles more reliable than the general public content, even though they are not the only sources of information available (Gesser-Edelsburg et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is it possible to teach good health practices using social media?

Paes

Scapim

Lade

et al. 2021

RSD

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Social media represents a powerful weapon to promote health education. The aim of the present study was to investigate how health information is discussed and disseminated by people who do not have specific academic certification but are legitimized due to their experiences. We conducted a narrative review of the literature published from 2016 to 2021 in PubMed, using the search terms “Social Media”, “Health” and “Education”, and their variations according to MeSH. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) which evaluated the use of social media to disseminate health information content were included in the analysis. Despite the undeniable role of social media in disseminating content concerning health practices, the use of these platforms without proper scientific support or academic certification by so-called health influencers can promote questionable content. A number of studies demonstrate that content published on social media can negatively influence the health of users. Greater scientific rigor and professional training could contribute to guarantee reliability of data regarding health information shared on social media. More studies must assess the relevance of using virtual tools for sharing content aimed at improving health and scientific reliability.

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Differences in Perceptions of Health Information Between the Public and Health Care Professionals: Nonprobability Sampling Questionnaire Survey

Cited by 20 publications

References 131 publications

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

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

Introducing the ‘Psychosomatic Screening Questionnaire - 29’ (PSSQ-29): Reliability and Validity in an Epidemiological Sample of 1,158 Participants in Greece during the COVID-19 Domestic Lockdown

Is it possible to teach good health practices using social media?

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