International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health

Ofiaeli OC et al. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2022 Apr;9(4):1662-1670

http://www.ijcmph.com

pISSN2394-6032 | eISSN 2394-6040

Original Research Article

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20220836

Preventive health practices and the mass media in view of the COVID-19 pandemic

Ogochukwu C. Ofiaeli1*, Joy C. Ebenebe1, Chioma P. Nnamani2, Ogochukwu R. Ofiaeli3, Ifeoma B. Udigwe4, Chika I. Ofiaeli2, Chisom G. Chigbo5

1Department of Paediatrics, 2Department of Family Medicine, 3Department of Medical Microbiology, 4Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, NnamdiAzikiwe University (NAU)/NnamdiAzikiwe University Teaching Hospital (NAUTH), Anambra state, Nigeria

5NAUTH Research Society, Nnewi,Anambra state, Nigeria

Received: 16 February 2022

Accepted: 11 March 2022

*Correspondence:

Dr. Ogochukwu C. Ofiaeli,

E-mail: ofiaeliogochukwuchioma@gmail.com

Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

ABSTRACT

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is a highly infectious disease caused by a novel corona virus. Preventive strategies are vital in controlling its spread and the mass media play a central role in disseminating needed information to the public. This study was carried out to determine how mass media has impacted on the health behaviour of individuals globally in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study targeting individuals in all inhabited continents of the world using an online anonymous pre-tested self-administered questionnaire.

Results: The data of 485 respondents were analysed. Respondents who had heard of COVID-19 were 98.4% (477) and those who knew it was a disease caused by a new corona virus were 92.4% (448); 81.9% (397) believed COVID-19 had no cure. Information on COVID-19 was from the mass media 77.5% (376); 52.8% (256) was from the internet while 23.5% (114) was from the television. All information on COVID-19 were thought to be authentic and believable 58.8% of the time (285). Respondents would always use a face mask when away from home 47.8% (232), maintain at least an arm length from others in public 32.4% (157), wash their hands with soap and water 58.6% (284) or use an alcohol based hand-sanitizer 45.2% (219). Source of information was significantly associated with knowledge on COVID-19 (p=0.002).

Conclusions: Preventive practices to militate against the spread of COVID-19 are suboptimal in view of the spread and severity of this pandemic. Most information on COVID-19 were obtained from mass media. The mass media can therefore be actively and better mobilized as means of disseminating vital information on COVID-19.

Keywords: Covid-19, Information, Media, World

INTRODUCTION

The corona virus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly contagious disease caused by a novel corona virus. This virus is mainly transmitted through droplets generated when an infected person coughs, sneezes or exhales. Infection can occur by breathing in the virus or being in close contact with a person infected with COVID-19. The droplets released while coughing, sneezing or exhalation are heavy and fall on floors and surfaces. Consequently, one can become infected by touching contaminated surfaces and then touching one’s eyes, nose and throat.1

Due to the highly infectious nature of this virus, it has been advocated and enforced by various governments in different countries for citizens to stay home.2 Information on this virus has been elusive and is still evolving. There are still a lot of grey areas and a wide knowledge gap.

The mass media is communication that reaches a large audience. It could be written, broadcast or spoken. It includes television, radio, adverts, movies, internet, social media, magazines, newspapers and others. Mass media is a powerful and significant force in modern culture.3

The mass media of today has become a powerful industry especially in developed countries.4 Two theories have been propounded to explain the media’s influence on people’s behaviour. One states that the mass media’s can change beliefs by providing relevant information. The second states that influence on behaviour occurs through persuasion independent of people’s information.5 Mass media is able to create currents, modify opinions, destroy personalities, promote or demote models with or without intention.6 As such, effect of mass media on the consumer can be quite overwhelming.6

Products available in the media, for example news, are largely influenced by subjects operating in the media market.7 In order words, the most topical and sensational issues will most likely be featured by mass media. Other influences on media products include censorship, government regulations and ethical requirements.7 In Nigeria and Africa as a whole, the influence of mass media is growing profoundly especially in the 21st century.8-11

A number of research have been carried out on COVID-19 in recent times.12-17 Some research report poor adherence to laid down preventive strategies as speculations abound on what the cure for Covid-19 is.15,18-20 In view of the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic, it becomes pertinent to search out how the media has influenced people’s beliefs and health practices. This is vital as information on this pandemic continues to filter out. This research aims to determine how mass media has impacted on the health behaviour of individuals globally-both in Nigeria as well as other countries. Findings will shed light on how to employ the mass media in future events of national and international security.

METHODS

According to the 2020 data, the world population is currently 7.8 billion while Nigerian population is 206 million.21 There are 7 continents globally- Asia, Antarctica, Africa, North America, South America, Europe, Australia.22 Nigeria is located in West Africa, having 36 states and 6 geopolitical zones.23

This was a cross sectional study targeting individuals in all inhabited continents of the world. All individuals who were 18 years and above who gave consent to participate in this research were recruited into the research online.

Factoring in a world population of 7.8 billion, 95% confidence level and confidence interval of 5%, a minimum sample size of 384 was arrived at using an online sample size calculator.24 Assuming a non-response of 20%.25,26

Adjusted sample size (f) = n/1−f

Equation reproduced from source PDF page 2

An online anonymous pre-tested self-administered questionnaire created with Google tools was used for data collection.27 Data was consecutively acquired from May to October 2020 until sample size was reached. The online questionnaire was distributed on the internet and uploaded to as many social media outlets as assessable. Research contacts in the various continents assisted in distribution of the questionnaire.

Data collected was analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 2021 (SPSS 21). Categorical variables were described with percentages and pictorial representation. Associations were tested for using Chi-square analysis for association. Numerical variables were described using means and standard deviation. A p value of <0.05 was considered to be significant.

RESULTS

The data of four hundred and eighty-five (n=485) respondents were analysed. The result of the analysis is detailed below.

Majority of the respondents (n=218, 44.9%) were aged 30 to 39 years while male:female ratio = 1:1.6. Respondents that were married constituted 65.6% (n=318) and those from the African continent contributed 89.1% (n=432). Respondents that worked in the health sector and had completed tertiary education were 48.7% (236) respectively (Table 1).

Most respondents (98.4%, 477) had heard of COVID-19 and knew it was a disease caused by a new corona virus (92.4%, 448). 397 (81.9%) believed COVID-19 had no cure. The internet was the source of the respondents’ information 52.8% of the time (256) while 23.5% (114) got their information from the television. The information was thought to be authentic and believable 58.8% (285). In summary, the information on COVID-19 was from the mass media 77.5% (376) and 22.5% (109) from other sources (Table 2).

Respondents that believed COVID-19 was real were 94.6% (459). Most 89.3% (433) had never been infected with COVID-19 nor had people close to them who had been infected with this virus (88.5%, 429). Respondents would always use a face mask when away from home (47.8%, 232), maintain at least an arm length from others in public (32.4%, 157) and wash their hands with soap and water as much as possible (58.6%, 284) (Table 3).

Table 1: Socio-demographic profile of the study participants.
Table reproduced from source PDF page 3

Among those who knew COVID-19 was caused by a new corona virus (n = 448), health workers constituted 52.5% (235), civil servants (21.9%, 98), business (5.8%, 26), self-employed (3.8%, 17), unemployed (10.9%, 49) and others (χ2=97.223, p<0.001). In the same subset of respondents (those who knew COVID-19 was caused by a new corona virus (n=448), details of their source of information is as follows: internet (53.6%, 240), television (23.0%, 103), WhatsApp (8.3%, 37), Facebook (2.5%, 11), workplace sensitization (7.1%, 32), newspaper (1.1%, 5), place of worship (0.9%, 4), family and friends (1.6%, 7), and others (χ2=59.832, p=0.002). Most of the information on COVID-19 was obtained from mass media and considered to be authentic and useful (47.4%, 230/485) (Table 4).

Respondents who use mass media had higher odds of knowing that the COVID-19 pandemic was caused by a new corona virus (OR=1.16, p=0.826). Details of regression analysis between knowledge of COVID-19 and mass media are given in Table 5.

Table 2: Respondents knowledge of COVID-19.
Table reproduced from source PDF page 4, part 1 of 2
Table reproduced from source PDF page 5, part 2 of 2
Table 3: Information on covid-19 infection and behavioral modifications of the respondents in view of the knowledge of COVID-19.
Table reproduced from source PDF page 5, part 1 of 2
Table reproduced from source PDF page 6, part 2 of 2
Table 4: Cross tabulation analysis showing association between source of information and how most of the COVID-19 information was received by the respondents.
Table reproduced from source PDF page 6
Table 5: Binary logistic regression showing association between Knowledge of COVID-19 and mass media.
Table reproduced from source PDF page 6

p>0.05; not statistically significant

DISCUSSION

COVID-19 has become one of the largest pandemics causing significant global health challenges. This therefore, calls for the need to reduce the spread of the virus through the adherence of the prevention and control strategies adopted by the Centres for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). This adherence practice by the populace is affected by their knowledge and also the sources of knowledge regarding COVID-19.

In the current study, majority of the respondents had heard of COVID-19 and knew its cause; 98.4% and 92.4% respectively. Majority (94.6%) also believed COVID-19 was real while 85.8% had good knowledge of COVID-19 prevention. These findings are comparable with studies conducted in China, Italy, Jordan, Ethiopia and Nigeria where the various reported knowledge of COVID-19 was >90%.12-17 This indicates that COVID-19 is not a rare disease and its awareness globally is high.

A large proportion (87.4%) of the respondents knew the spread of COVID-19 and that it could cause death, 81.9% reported that COVID-19 had no cure and 92.6% believed that African mixture would cure COVID-19. Similar findings have been reported in some studies in Nigeria with respondents admitting intake of herbal concoctions and homemade remedies for infections with COVID-19.18,28 In contrast, it has also been reported from research carried out in Nigeria that more than half of the respondents believed COVID-19 had a cure with more than half citing chloroquine as this cure.17 These various beliefs about the cure of the disease reflect on the myriad of contrasting information currently being dispersed about the COVID-19 pandemic.

The practice of COVID-19 prevention strategies in the current study was low: 44.1% avoided leaving their homes if it was not absolutely necessary; only 17.9% always maintained adequate physical distance of 2 meters when in public while 32.4% maintained at least 1 meter; 45.2% always used an alcohol-based sanitizer; 47.8% always covered their nose and mouth with face masks if in public and only a fair 58.6% would always wash their hands with soap and water as needed. Other studies also reported similar findings.15,19,20 The gap between the knowledge and practice of the preventive strategies of covid-19 may be attributed to several factors. Inadequate acceptance of the information on this pandemic received so far, lack of personal motivation and willpower as most people are not used to nor ready to accept the ‘new normal’, insufficient enforcement strategies of the preventive practices by the government on the populace as well as financial constraints in acquiring some of the preventive materials like facemasks and alcohol bases hand sanitizers, whose cost skyrocketed with the onset of the pandemic. Contrary to the findings in this study, a study conducted in China observed that 89.7% of the respondents followed correct practices regarding COVID-19 prevention; this study was however conducted among health care workers.29

Concerning the source of information on COVID-19, the mass media was the commonest source of information (77.5%) with the use of internet being the highest in proportion (53.6%). Similar findings have been reported by some studies within and outside the Nigeria.12,14,16,17,28,30 In Nigeria, about 85.49 million individuals used the internet as at the first quarter of 2020.31 Several guidelines and information on COVID-19 have been uploaded online by WHO and NCDC right from the declaration of COVID-19 as a pandemic so as to make these information easily accessible to internet users.16 The internet ought to be intensively used for the propagation of reliable information concerning COVID-19.

The association between the source of information and knowledge on COVID-19 in this research was statistically significant (p=0.002). Respondents who use mass media were more likely to know that the COVID-19 pandemic was caused by a new Corona virus (OR=1.16, p=0.826) unlike other wrong assumptions (Table 4). A study conducted by Shahmir et al found that the use of different mainstream media as sources of information was not associated significantly with the awareness of COVID-19 pandemic.32 Different media channels can be used for timely dissemination of ever evolving information on the COVID-19. The risks of misinformation from untrusted platforms abound and could affect and confuse the knowledge on COVID-19 disease.

The association between how the information was received by the respondents and the knowledge of COVID-19 was also statistically significant (p=0.026). This observation depicts that respondents received their information from trusted/reliable sources and this enhanced their acceptance of information gotten from these sources. A study conducted in United States of America found that trust on the sources of information had an association with accurate knowledge about COVID-19.33

Finally, the association between occupation and knowledge of COVID-19 disease was statistically significant with a p-value of <0.001. This implies that an individual’s work and possibly work place trainings the individual receives have an influence on the knowledge of the pandemic. From this research, health workers constituted the highest proportion to give the correct answers to the cause of COVID-19 disease. Similar findings have been reported by some studies. A study conducted in Nigeria reported that medically related occupation had significantly higher knowledge compared to other occupations while in China, unemployment and students were associated with lower knowledge about COVID-19.12,18

CONCLUSION

While most respondents had a good knowledge of the corona virus disease of 2019 (COVID-19), preventive practices such as use of facemasks in public, hand washing with soap and water, use of alcohol based hand sanitizers and maintaining adequate physical distance in public were suboptimal. This is disappointing and distressing in view of the severity of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The mass media, particularly internet and the television served as the main sources of information on this pandemic. These channels can be better mobilized in disseminating valuable, correct and timely information on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Funding: No funding sources

Conflict of interest: None declared

Ethical approval: The study was approved by the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital (NAUTH) Ethical Review Committee with reference number NAUTH/CS/66/VOL.13/VERIII/34/2020/026

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