The Relationships among Media Usage Regarding COVID-19, Knowledge about Infection, and Anxiety: Structural Model Analysis.
J Korean Med Sci
; 35(48): e426, 2020 Dec 14.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-976188
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
We examined the effects of mass media usage on people's level of knowledge about coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), fear of infection, prejudice towards infected people, and anxiety level. In addition, we investigated whether knowledge about COVID-19 can reduce fear, prejudice, and anxiety.METHODS:
We performed an anonymous online survey in 1,500 residents aged 19-65 years between April 24 and May 5 of 2020. Anxiety level was assessed using the generalized anxiety disorder-7 scale. We used a questionnaire to investigate COVID-19-related media use, knowledge about COVID-19, fear of infection, and prejudice towards infected people. We analyzed the relationships among the variables using the structural equation model.RESULTS:
Media use had significant effects on fear of infection, prejudice against infected people, and anxiety. Knowledge about COVID-19 had a significant protective effect on fear of infection, prejudice against infected people, and anxiety. However, the effect of media use on knowledge about COVID-19 was not statistically significant. There was a partial mediating effect of prejudice against infected people and fear of infection on media usage and anxiety.CONCLUSION:
Our study demonstrated significant effects of mass media coverage regarding COVID-19 on fear, prejudice, and anxiety. While knowledge about COVID-19 could decrease fear, prejudice, and anxiety, the use of mass media did not enhance this knowledge. Medical societies should guide mass media reporting of COVID-19 and provide appropriate public education.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Anxiety
/
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
/
COVID-19
/
Mass Media
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Qualitative research
/
Randomized controlled trials
Topics:
Long Covid
Limits:
Adult
/
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
/
Young adult
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
English
Journal:
J Korean Med Sci
Journal subject:
Medicine
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
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