Association of digital health literacy and information-seeking behaviors among physicians during COVID-19 in Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study.

Background: Universal access to health information is a requirement for all global health strategies in the era of pandemics. Getting health information from the internet is a great concern for the quality of patient healthcare. This study aimed to determine the association between digital health literacy and information-seeking behavior among physicians during COVID-19. Methods: An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted from December to February 2021 with a total sample size of 423. A pretest was performed among physicians before the actual data collection. After the data collection, the data were checked, cleaned, and exported into STATA v. 14. Descriptive statistics, binary logistic regression, and multivariable logistic regression analysis were applied. Then a 95% CI and a p-value of less than 0.05 were used to declare statistical significance. Results: The study revealed that 53.81% of physicians had high digital health literacy and 52.46% had high information-seeking behaviors. Health information-seeking behaviors were determined by digital health literacy, which was 2.25 times more likely than those who had low digital health literacy (AOR = 2.25, 95% CI: [1.11-4.57]). Health-related websites (67.5%) were the most common sources of health information, and 63.30% of physicians find digital health literacy easy or very easy to learn. However, 206 (50.92%) find it difficult or very difficult to decide if the information is reliable, verified, and up-to-date. Internet access (AOR = 1.90, 95% CI: [1.16-3.12]), frequency of searching for information (AOR = 5.35, 95% CI: [2.01-14.29]). All were discovered to be significantly associated with physicians' health information-seeking behaviors. Conclusions: Digital health literacy is a key to seeking health information online for appropriate decision-making. Increasing internet access, and providing ICT training, and integrate it into the health information revolution agendas, helping to disseminate health information and provide timely, reliable, and relevant news and genuine information needed for their work.

Digital health literacy and online informationseeking behavior of Lebanese university students in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic and infodemic

This cross-sectional study evaluated digital health literacy (DHL) and web-based information-seeking behavior of Lebanese university students. A total of 602 students (60.1% female), 21.5 years (±4.1), participated in May-August 2020 in an online survey. We found that 76.2% used the Internet, in the past month, for COVID-19-related information. Those with a chronic health impairment more often had limited DHL for adding self-generated content (OR=0.448;95 % CI=0.185, 1.085) and for determining relevance (OR=0.276;95 %CI=0.114-0.670). Students in graduate studies had higher odds of having sufficient DHL for adding self-generated content (OR=2.328;95 % CI=1.104, 4.909) and evaluating reliability (OR=2.318;95 % CI=1.149, 4.679). Users of official sources of information had higher odds (OR=1.665;95 % CI=1.065, 2.605) of having sufficient DHL for adding self-generated content. Regular users of social media had lower odds (OR=0.576;95 % CI=0.358, 0.928) of having sufficient DHL for evaluating reliability. Self-efficacy, in this case one's potential to accomplish a search for reliable health information and adopt it in daily life, could improve with DHL. As such, health education needs to strengthen DHL competencies in university students, particularly among undergraduates, those relying on social media, and those with an existing health impairment © Copyright 2023 Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Navigating a Pandemic: A Qualitative Study of Knowledge, Sources of Information, and COVID-19-Related Precautions Taken by HBCU Students.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) has spread quickly across the nation with a disproportionate impact on Black Americans. Many college-aged students receive their COVID-19-related information through social media and television even though research suggests that social media sources are more likely to be incorrect. Some students report trusting these sources over government sources such as the CDC and WHO. The purpose of this study was to understand Historically Black College and University (HBCU) students' COVID-19 knowledge, sources of information, and planned precautions. There were 21 in-depth interviews conducted with students attending a large southern HBCU during Spring 2020. Themes regarding knowledge included the following: it is a flu-like condition, it has international roots, there is inaccurate and changing information, and it is a pandemic. Themes regarding sources included: the news, US government and related officials, social media, interactions with family, and other social interactions. Themes regarding severity included the following: statistics, a distrust for hospital reporting, a belief that COVID-19 deaths were conflated with baseline health, peer influence, and familial influence. Themes regarding precautions included the following: proper mask use, hand washing/ sanitizing, avoiding large crowds/small crowds only, physical distancing, COVID-19 testing/symptom monitoring, and COVID-19 vaccination.

Perceptions and engagement of Klang Valley urbanites on COVID-19 PSAs during the pandemic

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, rampant misinformation about the virus has created largescale panic and uneasiness among the Malaysian public. In response to this threat, the Malaysian government launched public service announcements (PSAs) on COVID-19 in various media to increase public awareness and knowledge, specifically on recommended solutions. The messages in the PSAs were tailored to underscore the various phases of the pandemic to persuade public belief as well as nurture positive attitude and behavioural changes. The objectives of this study are: (1) to investigate the public's information-seeking behaviours, (2) to investigate user perceptions and indicators of PSAs, and (3) to determine the effectiveness of PSAs as a communication platform to convey important information about the pandemic throughout the different Movement Control Order (MCO) phases. Through focus group discussions with eight urban Klang Valley informants, findings highlight the crucial elements in identifying motivation and factors of media preferences which affect how various media platforms benefit the Malaysian public. The findings also illustrate the need for the government to ensure that the content and context of the PSAs meet the audiences' demographics in ensuring effective dissemination of information and awareness during a pandemic.

Susceptibility to COVID-19 Nutrition Misinformation and Eating Behavior Change during Lockdowns: An International Web-Based Survey.

To understand the susceptibility to nutrition-health misinformation related to preventing, treating, or mitigating the risk of COVID-19 during the initial lockdowns around the world, the present international web-based survey study (15 April-15 May 2020) gauged participants' (n = 3707) level of nutrition-health misinformation discernment by presenting them with 25 statements (including unfounded or unproven claims circulated at the time), alongside the influence of information sources of varying quality on the frequency of changes in their eating behavior and the extent of misinformation held, depending on the source used for such changes. Results revealed widespread misinformation about food, eating, and health practices related to COVID-19, with the 25 statements put to participants receiving up to 43% misinformed answers (e.g., 'It is safe to eat fruits and vegetables that have been washed with soap or diluted bleach'). Whereas higher quality information sources (nutrition scientists, nutrition professionals) had the biggest influence on eating behavior change, we found greater misinformation susceptibility when relying on poor quality sources for changing diet. Appropriate discernment of misinformation was weakest amongst participants who more frequently changed their eating behavior because of information from poor quality sources, suggesting disparities in the health risks/safety of the changes performed.

Understanding University Students’ Health Information Seeking Behaviours on Social Media During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Developing Country Perspective

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the COVID-19 pandemic is considered the worst global health crisis in the 21st century that caused unprecedented disruption to many sectors around the world (e.g. education, business, and tourism). Misinformation on social media is one of the major issues during the COVID-19 pandemic, which must be carefully considered. To address this issue, people’s health information-seeking behaviours play an important role to access accurate and reliable information on social media. In this study, we conducted a questionnaire-based study in Myanmar, which is one of the developing countries according to the United Nations to understand university students’ health information-seeking behaviours on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings suggest that social media plays a vital role to spread reliable and accurate information during the pandemic. The role of governments and authorities is also important to effectively use social media platforms (e.g. Facebook) to reach out to the public so that they can spread timely and accurate information during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lastly, users need to assess and verify the credibility of information related to pandemics on social media when they seek health-related information. This study suggests opportunities for further research in health information seeking on social media. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Egyptian physicians' information-seeking behavior while serving in public isolation hospitals for coronavirus patients

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the information-seeking behavior of Egyptian physicians serving in COVID-19 isolation hospitals. Design/methodology/approach: A sample of 91 physicians serving in Egyptian isolation hospitals answered the study questionnaire. Findings: Demographically, more than half of respondents were males. Over one-third of them are holding Doctor of Medicine (M.D), followed by one-third holding Master of Medicine (MMed). Respondents' age ranged from 30 to 60 years. Internal medicine is the most common specialty, accounting for nearly half of all physicians, followed by chest medicine and intensive care medicine. The information-seeking behavior of these three groups in their regular work is believed to be different, but since all of the participants are working in COVID-19 isolation hospitals, they should have the same information resources, Internet access and the same needs relevant to COVID-19 in order to make accurate clinical decisions. The physicians used traditional and electronic information sources to fulfill their information needs, the most important of which were to make a specific research, find an answer to a specific case, and deliver a medical lecture. Colleagues, coworkers, nurses and pharmacists were the most important channels pursued by Egyptian physicians to obtain information. Originality/value: This study is the first study that focuses on investigating the information-seeking behavior of Egyptian physicians serving in isolation hospitals. Any findings resulted from this study may serve as a noteworthy reference that may be useful to the Egyptian health sector, experts, researchers, as well as policymakers in establishing strategic decisions for making the understating much better. Peer review: The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-08-2020-0350 © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Media Use During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Throughout the pandemic, the general population was encouraged to use media to be kept informed about sanitary measures while staying connected with others to obtain social support. However, due to mixed findings in the literature, it is not clear whether media use in such a context would be pathogenic or salutogenic. OBJECTIVE: Therefore, the associations between COVID-19-related stressors and frequency of media use for information-seeking on trauma- and stressor-related (TSR) symptoms were examined while also investigating how social media use for support-seeking and peritraumatic distress interact with those variables. METHODS: A path model was tested in a sample of 5913 adults who completed an online survey. RESULTS: The number of COVID-19-related stressors (ß=.25; P<.001) and extent of information-seeking through media (ß=.24; P=.006) were significantly associated with the severity of TSR symptoms in bivariate comparisons. Associations between levels of peritraumatic distress and both COVID-19-related stressors and information-seeking through media, and social media use for support- and information-seeking through media were found (ßCOVID-19 stressors: Peritraumatic Distress Inventory=.49, P<.001; ßseeking information: Peritraumatic Distress Inventory=.70, P<.001; ßseeking information-seeking support=.04, P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that exposure to COVID-19-related stressors and seeking COVID-19-related information through the media are associated with higher levels of peritraumatic distress that, in turn, lead to higher levels of TSR symptoms. Although exposure to the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic may be unavoidable, the frequency of COVID-19-related information consumption through various media should be approached with caution.

Information needs and seeking behaviors of Israeli citizens during the COVID-19 outbreak

Purpose: The aim of this study is to examine the information needs and information seeking behaviors of Israeli citizens during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in 2020, with an emphasis on the dissemination of digital information by government agencies. Design/methodology/approach: The research approach underlying this investigation is of the “case study” type, employing semi-structured, in-depth interviews conducted with 24 Israeli citizens regarding their perceptions and experiences with government information and government services during the first months of the coronavirus. Findings: The findings of this study reveal that most participants indicated feelings of media fatigue as a result of increased exposure to news media and social media, to the point of experiencing information overload. Second, participants described feeling a lack of clear information and poor access to accurate health and official information at the outset of the COVID-19 crisis in Israel. Third, participants in the authors’ study noted that most of the information to which they were exposed about the virus came to them through communal connections such as friends and family, via social media and messaging apps like WhatsApp. In general, the participants expressed satisfaction with the quality and availability of the data and extensive information of government ministries on social networks, together with a lack of satisfaction due to difficulties in usage and a lack of clear information on traditional government websites. Originality/value: The findings present the information acquisition and the experience of citizens in situations of national emergencies and crises, in a new light, through a focus on the dissemination of government, health and news information. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Examining In-Person and Asynchronous Information-Seeking Behavior Instruction Among First-Year Engineering Students

This is a complete evidence-based practice paper. The current COVID-19 global pandemic has required educators to pioneer online instruction even as they deliver it. This shift has particularly impacted first-year programs, in which training engineering students to find reliable information is fundamental to their professional development and ABET and CEAB accreditation criteria. Typically, information seeking is taught in person so that instructors and librarians can directly observe and guide student behavior, a practice still evolving but well-established by research. However, the effects of online information-seeking training and the sudden transition on students' learning are very poorly understood. Even less is known about the use of asynchronous instructional methods. This paper significantly enhances existing knowledge by directly examining the efficacy of in-person and asynchronous online instructional modalities. For 60 students in a mandatory engineering-communication course, we deployed an enhanced online baseline-assessment exercise to understand students' existing information-seeking behavior. Librarians then deployed an asynchronous online lesson to teach engineering research practices, critical evaluation, and information literacy. We evaluated the extent to which the online lesson impacted student information-seeking behavior and compared it to existing data from the prior year's classroom version. Our results demonstrate that the asynchronous learning module significantly enhanced the students' critical evaluation of sources and student outcomes were comparable with results in the previous synchronous course. These results have dramatic implications for how we understand students' baseline information-seeking behaviors, pedagogical design to bring about meaningful changes in students' use of sources, and how course design can incorporate effective asynchronous online delivery in diverse models. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2021

Trends and Predictors of COVID-19 Information Sources and Their Relationship With Knowledge and Beliefs Related to the Pandemic: Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: During the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a heightened need to understand health information seeking behaviors to address disparities in knowledge and beliefs about the crisis. OBJECTIVE: This study assessed sociodemographic predictors of the use and trust of different COVID-19 information sources, as well as the association between information sources and knowledge and beliefs about the pandemic. METHODS: An online survey was conducted among US adults in two rounds during March and April 2020 using advertisement-based recruitment on social media. Participants were asked about their use of 11 different COVID-19 information sources as well as their most trusted source of information. The selection of COVID-related knowledge and belief questions was based on past empirical literature and salient concerns at the time of survey implementation. RESULTS: The sample consisted of 11,242 participants. When combined, traditional media sources (television, radio, podcasts, or newspapers) were the largest sources of COVID-19 information (91.2%). Among those using mainstream media sources for COVID-19 information (n=7811, 69.5%), popular outlets included CNN (24.0%), Fox News (19.3%), and other local or national networks (35.2%). The largest individual information source was government websites (87.6%). They were also the most trusted source of information (43.3%), although the odds of trusting government websites were lower among males (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 0.58, 95% CI 0.53-0.63) and those aged 40-59 years and ≥60 years compared to those aged 18-39 years (AOR 0.83, 95% CI 0.74-0.92; AOR 0.62, 95% CI 0.54-0.71). Participants used an average of 6.1 sources (SD 2.3). Participants who were male, aged 40-59 years or ≥60 years; not working, unemployed, or retired; or Republican were likely to use fewer sources while those with children and higher educational attainment were likely to use more sources. Participants surveyed in April were markedly less likely to use (AOR 0.41, 95% CI 0.35-0.46) and trust (AOR 0.51, 95% CI 0.47-0.56) government sources. The association between information source and COVID-19 knowledge was mixed, while many COVID-19 beliefs were significantly predicted by information source; similar trends were observed with reliance on different types of mainstream media outlets. CONCLUSIONS: COVID-19 information source was significantly determined by participant sociodemographic characteristics and was also associated with both knowledge and beliefs about the pandemic. Study findings can help inform COVID-19 health communication campaigns and highlight the impact of using a variety of different and trusted information sources.