Smail Emily J, Livingston Torie, Wolach Adam, Cenko Erta, Kaufmann Christopher N, Manini Todd M
Department of Health Outcomes and Biomedical Informatics, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States.
Institute on Aging, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States.
JMIR Form Res. 2023 May 22;7:e46230. doi: 10.2196/46230.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, media sources dedicated significant time and resources to improve knowledge of COVID-19 precautionary behaviors (eg, wearing a mask). Many older adults report using the television, radio, print newspapers, or web-based sources to get information on political news, yet little is known about whether consuming news in the early phase of the pandemic led to behavior change, particularly in older adults.
The goals of this study were to determine (1) whether dosage of news consumption on the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with COVID-19 precautionary behaviors; (2) whether being an ever-user of social media was associated with engagement in COVID-19 precautionary behaviors; and (3) among social media users, whether change in social media use during the early stages of the pandemic was associated with engagement in COVID-19 precautionary behaviors.
Data were obtained from a University of Florida-administered study conducted in May and June of 2020. Linear regression models were used to assess the association between traditional news and social media use on COVID-19 precautionary behaviors (eg, mask wearing, hand washing, and social distancing behaviors). Analyses were adjusted for demographic characteristics, including age, sex, marital status, and education level.
In a sample of 1082 older adults (mean age 73, IQR 68-78 years; 615/1082, 56.8% female), reporting 0 and <1 hour per day of media consumption, relative to >3 hours per day, was associated with lower engagement in COVID-19 precautionary behaviors in models adjusted for demographic characteristics (β=-2.00; P<.001 and β=-.41; P=.01, respectively). In addition, increasing social media use (relative to unchanged use) was associated with engagement in more COVID-19 precautionary behaviors (β=.70, P<.001). No associations were found between being an ever-user of social media and engaging in COVID-19 precautionary behaviors.
The results demonstrated an association between higher media consumption and greater engagement in COVID-19 precautionary behaviors in older adults. These findings suggest that media can be effectively used as a public health tool for communication of prevention strategies and best practices during future health threats, even among populations who are historically less engaged in certain types of media.
在新冠疫情期间，媒体投入了大量时间和资源来提高人们对新冠预防行为（如佩戴口罩）的认知。许多老年人表示通过电视、广播、纸质报纸或网络来源获取政治新闻信息，但对于疫情初期获取新闻是否会导致行为改变，尤其是在老年人中，人们知之甚少。
本研究的目的是确定：（1）新冠疫情新闻的消费剂量是否与新冠预防行为相关；（2）曾经使用社交媒体是否与参与新冠预防行为相关；（3）在社交媒体用户中，疫情初期社交媒体使用的变化是否与参与新冠预防行为相关。
数据来自2020年5月和6月由佛罗里达大学开展的一项研究。线性回归模型用于评估传统新闻和社交媒体使用与新冠预防行为（如佩戴口罩、洗手和保持社交距离行为）之间的关联。分析针对人口统计学特征进行了调整，包括年龄、性别、婚姻状况和教育水平。
在1082名老年人样本（平均年龄73岁，四分位距68 - 78岁；615/1082，56.8%为女性）中，在针对人口统计学特征进行调整的模型中，报告每天媒体消费0小时和少于1小时，相对于每天超过3小时，与较低的新冠预防行为参与度相关（β = -2.00；P <.001和β = -.41；P =.01）。此外，社交媒体使用增加（相对于使用不变）与更多的新冠预防行为参与度相关（β =.70，P <.001）。在曾经使用社交媒体与参与新冠预防行为之间未发现关联。
结果表明老年人中较高的媒体消费与更多地参与新冠预防行为之间存在关联。这些发现表明，即使在历史上较少参与某些类型媒体的人群中，媒体也可有效用作在未来健康威胁期间传播预防策略和最佳实践的公共卫生工具。
