Effects of media on preventive behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic required implementation of a variety of measures. In addition to pharmaceutical measures, such as vaccines, changing individuals’ nonpharmaceutical preventive behaviour is essential to prevent the spread of infection. In uncertain situations, such as a pandemic, media sources are important for guiding individuals’ decision-making behaviour. In this study, we examined the effects of media use on preventive behaviour during COVID-19. Earlier studies have shown that social networking service (SNS) browsing promotes preventive behaviour. However, those studies only assessed a single point during the early stages of the pandemic; therefore, the effects on ongoing preventive behaviour are unclear. Thus, a two-wave panel survey was conducted in 2020 and 2021 for an exploratory analysis of changes in the effects of media on individuals’ preventive behaviour over time. The results show that the effect of SNS browsing on preventing going out was confirmed only during the early stage of the pandemic and was not observed 1 year later. It is also shown that those who shifted from self-restraint to going out within 1 year were not affected by the type of media use, but by cognitive factors. As the situation changes during a pandemic, analyses that consider time-series changes are essential for gaining insights about the effects of media on the promotion and maintenance of continuous prevention behaviours.

“What’s in a name?”: Using mpox as a case study to understand the importance of communication, advocacy, and information accuracy in disease nomenclature

“…Previous research about the impact of news media on infectious diseases—including mpox, H1N1, Ebola, and COVID-19—has demonstrated that increased exposure to quality information through news and social media can increase vaccine uptake, 75,76 reduce disease transmission, 77 and encourage protective behaviors. 78–80 Our work reflects the need for awareness campaigns during infectious disease crises, emphasizing proper nomenclature as well as providing high-quality information on disease spread and populations most at-risk. Future research evaluating media communications regarding the mpox name change may provide valuable insights into how the news media referred to the disease over time; whether there were any political, geographical, or temporal trends; and what messaging at what time point corresponded to higher uptake of ‘mpox’.…”

The role of social media on COVID-19 preventive behaviors worldwide, systematic review

“…This study includes 32 studies conducted in 20 countries globally in which, six studies in USA [ 44 – 49 ], China five [ 34 , 50 – 53 ] Malaysia three,[ 54 – 56 ], Korea two[ 57 , 58 ] Pakistan [ 59 ], Spain [ 60 ], Poland and Jordan [ 61 ], Indonesia [ 62 ], Guatemala [ 63 ], Japan [ 64 ], Jordan [ 31 ], Vietnam [ 65 ], Bangladesh [ 66 ], Ethiopia [ 67 ], Italy [ 68 ], Nigeria [ 69 ], Saudi Arabia [ 70 ], Canada [ 71 ], SSA [ 72 ], and in United States, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Spain, [ 73 ] one study in each country. Most of the studies were cross-sectional study design except five, which were experimental studies.…”

“…One particularly effective way to use social media platforms to promote dialogue is by raising public awareness and sensitization about the COVID-19 prevention campaign. Facebook campaigns, for example, have shared information and sparked discussions about pertinent COVID-19 emergency topics between scientists and the general public [ 57 , 58 , 64 , 68 ].…”

“…The use of social media empowers individuals in terms of knowledge seeking, knowledge sharing, socializing and entertainment to promote preventive behaviors. Social media had stronger predictive power to browse information on COVID-19 pandemic prevention [ 34 , 46 , 56 , 57 , 61 , 62 , 64 , 67 ]. This was consistent with the studies discussed that social media platforms played a vital part in controlling pandemics and were useful communication tools for supporting public health initiatives and information dissemination.…”