Repercussions of infodemia associated with COVID-19 on the mental health of the elderly in Brazil

ABSTRACT

The phenomenon called infodemia refers to the increase in the volume of information on a specific topic, which multiplies rapidly in a short period of time, and has stood out in the context of the health crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Too much information can trigger feelings of fear, anxiety, stress, and other conditions of mental distress. The study aims to describe the profile of exposure to information about COVID-19 and its repercussions on the mental health of elderly Brazilians. This is a cross-sectional study carried out with 1924 elderly Brazilians. Data were collected through a web-based survey sent to the elderly via social networks and email, from July to October 2020. The results of the descriptive analysis of the data show that most of the elderly were aged between 60 and 69 years (69.02%), female (71.26%), married (53.79%) and white (75.57%). About 21.67% (n = 417) concluded their graduation, 19.75% (380) concluded their specialization and 16.63% (320) concluded their master's or doctoral degrees. Television 862 (44.80%) and social networks 651 (33.84%) were reported as frequent sources of exposure to news or information about COVID-19. Participants indicated that television (46.47%;n = 872), social networks (30.81%;n = 575) and radio (14.48%;251) affected them psychologically and/or physically. Receiving fake news about COVID-19 on television (n = 482;19.8%) and on social media (n = 415;21.5%) mainly resulted in stress and fear. The disseminated information contributes to awareness, but also affects physically and/or psychologically many elderly people, mainly generating fear and stress. © 2022, Centro Nacional de Informacion de Ciencias Medicas. All rights reserved.