Comparison of COVID-19 Information Seeking, Trust of Information Sources, and Protective Behaviors in China and the US

ABSTRACT Due to the increasing amount of new information that is emerging about COVID-19, traditional and web-based information sources are commonly used to spread and seek information. This study compared differences in information seeking, trust of information sources, and use of protective behaviors (e.g., mask wearing) among individuals in the US and China during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 722 valid responses in the US and 493 valid responses in China were collected via online surveys in May 2020. Pearson’s Chi-square tests, independent samples t-tests, and multiple linear regressions were used to conduct the analyses. Results showed that US respondents accessed significantly fewer COVID-19 information sources, rated significantly lower levels of trust in these sources, and reported significantly lower levels of protective behaviors than the Chinese respondents. In both countries, trust in newspapers, radio/community broadcasting, and news portals were significantly positively correlated with protective behaviors. While trust of TV was significant in both populations, in China it was positively correlated, whereas in the US was negatively correlated, with protective behaviors. Findings from this study showed that coordinated and consistent messages from governmental officials, health authorities, and media platforms are important to promote and encourage protective behaviors.

[1]  Elizabeth Avery,et al.  Perceived Knowledge as [Protective] Power: Parents’ Protective Efficacy, Information-Seeking, and Scrutiny during COVID-19 , 2020, Health communication.

[2]  Dahai Zhao,et al.  Institutional Diversity in Response to the COVID-19 Emergency , 2020, Healthcare.

[3]  H. Paek,et al.  Communicating Uncertainties during the COVID-19 Outbreak , 2020, Health communication.

[4]  Robin M. Kowalski,et al.  Protection Motivation and the COVID-19 Virus , 2020, Health communication.

[5]  Wenxue Zou,et al.  Health Information Consumption under COVID-19 Lockdown: An Interview Study of Residents of Hubei Province, China , 2020, Health communication.

[6]  N. Kapucu,et al.  Online media and trust in government during crisis: The moderating role of sense of security , 2020 .

[7]  E. Crimmins,et al.  Media trust and infection mitigating behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic in the USA , 2020, BMJ Global Health.

[8]  C. Zigler,et al.  Association Between Public Knowledge About COVID-19, Trust in Information Sources, and Adherence to Social Distancing: Cross-Sectional Survey , 2020, JMIR public health and surveillance.

[9]  S. Wong,et al.  Evaluation on different non-pharmaceutical interventions during COVID-19 pandemic: An analysis of 139 countries , 2020, Journal of Infection.

[10]  W. Parmet,et al.  COVID-19: The First Posttruth Pandemic , 2020 .

[11]  A. Florea,et al.  Facebook, Instagram, Reddit and TikTok: a proposal for health authorities to integrate popular social media platforms in contingency planning amid a global pandemic outbreak , 2020, Canadian Journal of Public Health.

[12]  R. Saltman,et al.  Policy Lessons From Early Reactions to the COVID-19 Virus in China. , 2020, American journal of public health.

[13]  A. Vespignani,et al.  Changes in contact patterns shape the dynamics of the COVID-19 outbreak in China , 2020, Science.

[14]  Xun Liu,et al.  The Effects of Governmental and Individual Predictors on COVID‐19 Protective Behaviors in China: A Path Analysis Model , 2020, Public administration review.

[15]  Lianshan Zhang,et al.  Media Complementarity and Health Information Acquisition: A Cross-sectional Analysis of the 2017 HINTS-China Survey , 2020, Journal of health communication.

[16]  N. Lo,et al.  Scientific and ethical basis for social-distancing interventions against COVID-19 , 2020, The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

[17]  Jessica T Davis,et al.  The effect of travel restrictions on the spread of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak , 2020, Science.

[18]  A. Mavragani.  Infodemiology and Infoveillance: Scoping Review , 2020, Journal of medical Internet research.

[19]  I. Löwy,et al.  Uncertainty in times of medical emergency: Knowledge gaps and structural ignorance during the Brazilian Zika crisis. , 2020, Social science & medicine.

[20]  M. Mckee,et al.  Systematic Literature Review on the Spread of Health-related Misinformation on Social Media , 2019, Social Science & Medicine.

[21]  Young Min Baek,et al.  When Information from Public Health Officials is Untrustworthy: The Use of Online News, Interpersonal Networks, and Social Media during the MERS Outbreak in South Korea , 2019, Health communication.

[22]  Jocelyn Raude,et al.  Understanding health behaviour changes in response to outbreaks: Findings from a longitudinal study of a large epidemic of mosquito-borne disease. , 2019, Social science & medicine.

[23]  Elmie Nekmat,et al.  Applying the Modified Comprehensive Model of Information Seeking to Online Health Information Seeking in the Context of India , 2018, Journal of health communication.

[24]  S. Sundar,et al.  Measuring Message Credibility , 2016 .

[25]  H. Paek,et al.  How Fear-Arousing News Messages Affect Risk Perceptions and Intention to Talk About Risk , 2016, Health communication.

[26]  Amanda D. Boyd,et al.  The More the Better? A Comparison of the Information Sources Used by the Public during Two Infectious Disease Outbreaks , 2015, PloS one.

[27]  Wen-Juo Lo,et al.  Review of Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) Using R: A Workbook , 2022, Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal.

[28]  J. Zhang,et al.  Self–Other Differences in H1N1 Flu Risk Perception in a Global Context: A Comparative Study Between the United States and China , 2014, Health communication.

[29]  H. Anisman,et al.  The 2009 H1N1 Influenza Pandemic: The Role of Threat, Coping, and Media Trust on Vaccination Intentions in Canada , 2013, Journal of health communication.

[30]  Seow Ting Lee,et al.  From Press Release to News: Mapping the Framing of the 2009 H1N1 A Influenza Pandemic , 2013, Health communication.

[31]  Teun Terpstra,et al.  Perception and Communication of Flood Risks: A Systematic Review of Empirical Research , 2013, Risk analysis : an official publication of the Society for Risk Analysis.

[32]  Kate Faasse,et al.  Public Anxiety and Information Seeking Following the H1N1 Outbreak: Blogs, Newspaper Articles, and Wikipedia Visits , 2012, Health communication.

[33]  Bradford W Hesse,et al.  Providing Health Messages to Hispanics/Latinos: Understanding the Importance of Language, Trust in Health Information Sources, and Media Use , 2010, Journal of health communication.

[34]  James D. Robinson,et al.  Incidental health information use and media complementarity: a comparison of senior and non-senior cancer patients. , 2008, Patient education and counseling.

[35]  Bruce Y. Lee,et al.  Predicting support for non-pharmaceutical interventions during infectious outbreaks: a four region analysis. , 2015, Disasters.

[36]  W. Curioso,et al.  International perspectives and initiatives , 2012 .