Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: May 8, 2020
Date Accepted: Jun 25, 2020
Date Submitted to PubMed: Jul 24, 2020
Impact of mass and social media on psychobehavioural responses to COVID-19: A survey of medical university students in Fujian, China during the downward trend of COVID-19
ABSTRACT
Background:
Overwhelmed COVID-related information swirling about on mass and social media since the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic first broke out in Wuhan, China, in late December 2019.
Objective:
This study assessed the psychobehavioural responses to the COVID-19 outbreak and examined their associations with mass and social media exposure.
Methods:
A cross-sectional study among university students from the Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China, was conducted from 6 to 22 April 2020.
Results:
A total of 2,086 complete responses were received. In multivariable analyses, four constructs of the Health Belief Model (HBM), namely, higher perception of susceptibility (OR = 1.44; 95% CI 1.07–1.94), severity (OR = 1.32; 95% CI 1.10–1.59), self-efficacy (OR = 1.61; 95% CI 1.21–2.15), and perceived control or intention to carry out prevention measures (OR = 1.32; 95% CI 1.09–1.59), were significantly associated with a higher mass media exposure score, whereas only three constructs, namely, higher perception of severity (OR = 1.43; 95% CI 1.19–1.72), self-efficacy (OR = 1.85; 95% CI 1.38–2.48) and perceived control or intention to carry out prevention measures (OR = 1.32; 95% CI 1.08–1.58), were significantly associated with a higher mass media exposure score. Lower emotional consequences and barriers to carry out prevention measures were also significantly associated with higher mass and social media exposure. The finding on anxiety levels revealed that 38.1% (95% CI 36.0–40.2) of respondents reported moderate-to-severe anxiety. A lower anxiety level was significantly associated with higher mass and social media exposure in the univariable analyses; however, the associations were not significant in the multivariable analyses.
Conclusions:
Higher exposure of both mass and social media related to the COVID-19 epidemic increase positive attitudes in all the domains of the HBM. Emotional consequences and behavioural prevention barriers also reduced with higher use of both mass and social media. In essence, both mass and social media are useful means of getting health messages across and contribute to the betterment of psychobehavioural responses to COVID-19 to ensure the declining infection trend continues.
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