The impact of COVID-19-related changes in media consumption on public knowledge: results of a cross-sectional survey of Pennsylvania adults

Objective: During the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans have increasingly relied on internet versus television news. The extent to which this change in health news consumption practice impacts health knowledge is not known. This study investigates the relationship between most trusted information source and COVID-19 knowledge. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was sent to a convenience sample from a list of adults on a central Pennsylvania health system’s marketing database 25–31 March 2020. Respondents were grouped by their trusted news sources and comparison of respondent COVID-19 knowledge was made between these groups for 5948 respondents. Results: Those who selected government health websites as their most trusted source were more likely to answer COVID-19 questions correctly than those who selected other internet news sources or television news (OR 1.21, p <.05; 1.08, p >.05; and 0.87, p <.05, respectively). Those who used Facebook as an additional source of news in any way were less likely to answer COVID-19 questions correctly than those who did not (OR 0.93, p <.05). Conclusions: COVID-19 knowledge correlates with trusted news source. To increase public knowledge of COVID-19 in order to maximize information dissemination and compliance with COVID-19-related public health recommendations, those who provide health information should consider use of the public’s most trusted sources of information, as well as monitoring and correcting misinformation presented by other sources. Independent content review for accuracy in media may be warranted in public health emergencies to improve knowledge.

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Work Title The impact of COVID-19-related changes in media consumption on public knowledge: results of a cross-sectional survey of Pennsylvania adults
Access
Open Access
Creators
  1. Surav Man Sakya
  2. Lauren Jodi Van Scoy
  3. John C. Garman
  4. Erin L. Miller
  5. Bethany Snyder
  6. Emily Wasserman
  7. Vernon M. Chinchilli
  8. Robert P. Lennon
License In Copyright (Rights Reserved)
Work Type Article
Publisher
  1. Current Medical Research and Opinion
Publication Date January 1, 2021
Publisher Identifier (DOI)
  1. https://doi.org/10.1080/03007995.2021.1901679
Deposited November 18, 2021

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Version 1
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  • Created
  • Added Sakya_et_al__Current_Medical_Research_and_Opinion_2021_.pdf
  • Added Creator Surav Man Sakya
  • Added Creator Lauren Jodi Van Scoy
  • Added Creator John C. Garman
  • Added Creator Erin L. Miller
  • Added Creator Bethany Snyder
  • Added Creator Emily Wasserman
  • Added Creator Vernon M. Chinchilli
  • Added Creator Robert P. Lennon
  • Published
  • Updated
  • Updated
  • Updated