JMIR public health and surveillance
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JMIR Public Health Surveill · Jul 2021
The Influence of COVID-19 Information Sources on the Attitudes and Practices Toward COVID-19 Among the General Public of Saudi Arabia: Cross-sectional Online Survey Study.
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in panic among the general public, leading many people to seek out information related to COVID-19 through various sources, including social media and traditional media. Identifying public preferences for obtaining such information may help health authorities to effectively plan successful health preventive and educational intervention strategies. ⋯ This study provides evidence that different sources of information influence attitudes and preventive actions differently within a pandemic crisis context. Health authorities in Saudi Arabia should pay attention to the use of appropriate social media channels and sources to allow for more effective dissemination of critical information to the public.
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JMIR Public Health Surveill · Jul 2021
The Reliability and Quality of YouTube Videos as a Source of Public Health Information Regarding COVID-19 Vaccination: Cross-sectional Study.
Recent emergency authorization and rollout of COVID-19 vaccines by regulatory bodies has generated global attention. As the most popular video-sharing platform globally, YouTube is a potent medium for the dissemination of key public health information. Understanding the nature of available content regarding COVID-19 vaccination on this widely used platform is of substantial public health interest. ⋯ The overall quality and reliability of information on COVID-19 vaccines on YouTube remains poor. Videos produced by educational channels, especially by medical professionals, were higher in quality and reliability than those produced by other sources, including health-related organizations. Collaboration between health-related organizations and established medical and educational YouTube content producers provides an opportunity for the dissemination of high-quality information on COVID-19 vaccination. Such collaboration holds potential as a rapidly implementable public health intervention aiming to engage a wide audience and increase public vaccination awareness and knowledge.