背景:COVID-19大流行是一场毁灭性的公共卫生事件,引发了错误信息的涌入。数字和社交媒体的速度和规模以及某些新闻机构和政客积极传播有关该病毒的错误信息,有助于可疑健康内容的增加。某些COVID-19神话的流行造成了人们对有效卫生协议的困惑,并影响了人们对为管理大流行而部署的医疗保健和政府部门的信任。
目的:本研究探讨了人们的信息习惯,他们的机构信任水平,他们消费的新闻媒体和他们访问它的技术,他们的媒介素养技能影响了他们的COVID-19知识。
方法:我们使用AmazonMechanicalTurk(MTurk)进行了一项基于网络的调查,以评估美国成年人(n=1498)COVID-19知识,媒体和新闻习惯,媒体素养技能,以及对政府和卫生相关机构的信任。使用分层线性回归分析数据,以检查信任之间的关联,媒介素养,新闻使用,和COVID-19知识。
结果:人口统计学变量的回归模型,政治派别,对机构的信任,媒介素养,在预测COVID-19知识得分方面,对观看Fox或CNN的偏好有统计学意义(R2=0.464;F24,1434=51.653;P<.001;调整后的R2=0.455)。被认定为政治保守派的人,看了福克斯新闻,据报道,机构信任和媒体素养水平较低,在COVID-19知识问题上的得分低于那些被认定为政治自由派的人,没有看福克斯新闻,报道了更高水平的机构信任和媒体素养。
结论:这项研究表明,人们转向的媒体,他们对机构的信任,他们感知到的识别可信信息的代理程度会影响人们对COVID-19的了解,这对管理其他公共卫生事件中的沟通有潜在的影响。
BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic was a devastating public health event that spurred an influx of misinformation. The increase in questionable health content was aided by the speed and scale of digital and social media and certain news agencies\' and politicians\' active dissemination of misinformation about the virus. The popularity of certain COVID-19 myths created confusion about effective health protocols and impacted trust in the health care and government sectors deployed to manage the pandemic.
OBJECTIVE: This study explored how people\'s information habits, their level of institutional trust, the news media outlets they consume and the technologies in which they access it, and their media literacy skills influenced their COVID-19 knowledge.
METHODS: We administered a web-based survey using Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) to assess US adults\' (n=1498) COVID-19 knowledge, media and news habits, media literacy skills, and trust in government and health-related institutions. The data were analyzed using a hierarchical linear regression to examine the association between trust, media literacy, news use, and COVID-19 knowledge.
RESULTS: The regression model of demographic variables, political affiliation, trust in institutions, media literacy, and the preference for watching Fox or CNN was statistically significant (R2=0.464; F24,1434=51.653; P<.001; adjusted R2=0.455) in predicting COVID-19 knowledge scores. People who identified as politically conservative, watched Fox News, and reported lower levels of institutional trust and media literacy, scored lower on COVID-19 knowledge questions than those who identified as politically liberal, did not watch Fox News and reported higher levels of institutional trust and media literacy.
CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that the media outlets people turn to, their trust in institutions, and their perceived degree of agency to discern credible information can impact people\'s knowledge of COVID-19, which has potential implications for managing communication in other public health events.