Zhao Xinyan, Tsang Stephanie J
Hussman School of Journalism and Media University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill North Carolina USA.
Department of Communication Studies Hong Kong Baptist University Kowloon Hong Kong.
J Conting Crisis Manag. 2022 Jun;30(2):171-184. doi: 10.1111/1468-5973.12372. Epub 2021 Aug 12.
The COVID-19 pandemic has witnessed the proliferation of a plethora of (mis)information on various media platforms and inconsistent crisis instructions from different sources. People consume crisis information from multiple channels and sources to better understand the situation and fact-check COVID-19 information. This study elucidates how Americans determine their preventive behaviours based on their information seeking and verifying behaviours during the pandemic. Our results were based on a US nationally representative sample ( = 856), and showed that proactive preventive behaviours (e.g., washing hands frequently) were positively affected by information-seeking through interpersonal channels, news media, and the government, whereas avoidance preventive behaviours (e.g., avoiding social gatherings) were only positively affected by information-seeking through news media. Crisis information verifying had positive effects on all types of preventive behaviours. Crisis managers are recommended to reach out to the public using appropriate channels and sources and facilitate individual's ability and motivation in verifying pandemic information.
在新冠疫情期间，各种媒体平台上充斥着大量（错误）信息，不同来源的危机指示也不一致。人们从多个渠道和来源获取危机信息，以便更好地了解情况并核实新冠疫情相关信息。本研究阐明了美国人在疫情期间如何根据其信息寻求和核实行为来确定他们的预防行为。我们的研究结果基于一个具有美国全国代表性的样本（n = 856），结果表明，积极的预防行为（如频繁洗手）受到通过人际渠道、新闻媒体和政府寻求信息的积极影响，而回避性预防行为（如避免社交聚会）仅受到通过新闻媒体寻求信息的积极影响。危机信息核实对所有类型的预防行为都有积极影响。建议危机管理者通过适当的渠道和来源与公众接触，并促进个人核实疫情信息的能力和动机。
