RESUMEN
Background: Social media is considered a critical source for seeking health information, especially during outbreaks. During the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, social media played an important role in disseminating information. However, it has been a source of misinformation in many communities throughout the pandemic. Whether this disseminated information has a positive or negative impact, individuals' risk perceptions of disease are influenced. It is important to explore factors that build public behaviors and their adaptation of risk reduction measures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine the role of social media and its impact on the risk perceptions of the COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study, and participants were recruited using different social media outlets between August to October 2020. The survey was delivered through Qualtrics platform targeting Saudi Arabian residents over the age of 18 years old. The questionnaire was delivered in English and Arabic. A convenience sampling was used to recruit participants to the study. The survey link was posted on several social media platforms. Results: A total of 2,680 respondents completed the online survey. The results showed that male gender, individuals earning 4,000-12,000 SAR, and employed had positive and significant relationships with risk perception compared to their counterparts (ß: 0.044, p-value: 0.035 and ß: 0.051, p-value: 0.041, ß: 0.108 p-value: < 0.001, ß: 0.119 p-value: < 0.001), respectively. In second block, individuals exposed to social media had higher risk perception (ß: 0.096, p-value < 0.001). In third block, self-efficacy was significantly but negatively associated with risk perception, indicating individuals who were self-efficient were less likely to perceive risk for the COVID-19 (ß: -0.096, p-value < 0.001). There was no interactive effect of social media and self-efficacy on risk perception. Conclusion: The current study results show that social media exposure to the COVID-19 information has a positive impact in shaping an individuals' risk perception. The study also suggests that there is a need for public officials and policymakers to develop effective communication strategies through risk communication campaigns targeted at women, individuals with lower socioeconomic status, and those who are single as they showed a negative relationship with risk perception.
Asunto(s)
COVID-19 , Medios de Comunicación Sociales , Adulto , COVID-19/epidemiología , Estudios Transversales , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Pandemias , SARS-CoV-2 , Arabia Saudita/epidemiologíaRESUMEN
Despite relatively high medical expenditures, the United States performs poorly on population health indicators relative to many other countries. A key step in addressing this situation involves determining impactful and cost-effective interventions for at-risk populations. This requires an understanding of medical, social, behavioral health and safety domains of risk. Of immediate interest are those risks that are modifiable at the individual and family levels and could be reduced through intervention and broader care coordination efforts. Unfortunately, a comprehensive list of such risks does not exist in the published literature. Using multiple interrelated methods, including clinical, social, and care coordination experience, expert elaboration and validation, and reviews of existing assessments and literature, we present what we believe to be the most comprehensive listing of individually modifiable risk factors (IMRFs), relevant to care coordination, available for individuals aged 0-12 months. The list addresses IMRFs within four broad domains of risk (medical, social, behavioral health, and safety). Comprehensive risk registries such as the one presented here can enhance our collective efforts to identify and mitigate risks for specific populations. Such registries can also support research to build understandings of the impact of risks, individually and in interconnected signature combinations. The risk registry presented here and the enhanced understandings flowing from it may yield useful insights for clinicians, social service providers and researchers seeking a whole person approach to care, as well as for payers and policymakers seeking to enable health policy and payment reforms to improve population health.