JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Video played an important role in health communication throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. It was used to communicate pandemic information to the public, with a variety of formats, presenters, and topics. Evidence regarding the effectiveness of video features is available, while how individual characteristics of recipients influence communication comprehension is still limited.

Objective:

The aim of this study was to test six individual characteristics and assess their effect on the comprehension of pandemic video communication.

Methods:

Short health communication videos were presented to a large sample of subjects, receiving questionnaire-responses from 1194 participant. Individual characteristics consisted of age, sex, living area, education level, income level, and belief in science. Communication comprehension consisted of both perceived and objective comprehension. The data was analyzed by multiple linear regression.

Results:

Age had a negative effect on both perceived and objective comprehension – increasing age is associated with lower comprehension. There were sex differences with higher perceived comprehension among women than men, while lower objective comprehension among women compared to men. Living in an urban or a rural area had no significant effect. The level of education and income had a positive effect on both subjective and objective comprehension. Finally, the belief in science had a positive effect on perceived comprehension, while no statistically significant effect on objective comprehension.

Conclusions:

The main differences between those who think they understand pandemic communication and those who comprehend it better are gender (women have a higher perception of having comprehended, while men have higher levels of objective comprehension) and belief in science (higher belief in science leads to higher perceived comprehension, while it does not have any impact on objectively understanding the message conveyed).