The Effectiveness of the Media as a Source of Health Information for the Egyptian Public during the Coronavirus Crisis

Saleh El-Sayed Saleh, Hebatallah

doi:10.21608/jsb.2021.157832

The Effectiveness of the Media as a Source of Health Information for the Egyptian Public during the Coronavirus Crisis

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Hebatallah Saleh El-Sayed Saleh

Lecturer of Public Relations Media Department, Faculty of Arts \ Helwan University.

10.21608/jsb.2021.157832

Abstract

The current study aims to identify how the public seeks to obtain information about the Corona pandemic from various media as a source for enhancing collective awareness; identify their preferences for specific information sources, not others; and learn how to use that information in facing this pandemic by applying the theory of information search.
The study sample consists of 200 respondents. Data was collected via an online survey to ensure social distancing during May 2020.
The study concluded to some results as following:
-The current study found that nearly 81.5% were following the news of the virus through various media, which proves that individuals in times of crisis seek to follow the media intensively to fill the lack of knowledge and reduce the state of tension suffer.
- There is a direct, statistically significant correlation between public exposure to the Coronavirus content in different media, the extent of their participation in commenting on media content, and their perception of the media's positive role in raising awareness of Coronavirus.
-There is a statistically significant positive correlation between the media's credibility among the public and their perception of the media's positive role in raising awareness of Coronavirus infection. The more credible the media and news are, the more positive the public will evaluate them.

Keywords

Main Subjects

The new media

References

- Abd Rabbo Al-Mughayer, Muhammad (2020), on media policies to reduce Corona's risks, Media Studies Journal, Arab Democratic Center, 11th Issue, Volume 3, Berlin (Germany).

- Akakandelwa, (2016). A Glimpse of the Information Seeking Behaviour Literature on the Web: A Bibliometric Approach

- Austin, L., Fisher Liu, B., & Jin, Y. (2012). How audiences seek out crisis information: exploring the social-mediated crisis communication model. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 40(2), 188-207. DOI:10.1080/00909882.2012.654498

- Al Sulaiman, Saud Abdulaziz (2018), Health Crisis in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: A Study of Saudis’ Knowledge of Coronavirus, Attitudes toward the Ministry of Health’s Coronavirus Preventive Campaigns, and Trust in Coronavirus Messages in the Media

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, Media and Communication.

- Babies, E. R. (2014). The basics of social research (6th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cen gage Learning.

- Beatty, M. (2009). Thinking quantitatively. In Stacks, D. & Salween, M. (2nd Ed.). An Integrated Approach to communication theory and research (pp. 30-40). New York, NY: Routledge.

- Bu Zhonga, YakunHuangb, Qian (2020), Mental health toll from the Coronavirus: Social media usage reveals Wuhan residents' depression and secondary trauma in the COVID-19 outbreak,Computers in Human Behavior, Volume 114, January 2021, 106524, Available online August 15, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2020.106524

- Coombs, W.T. (2006). Crisis management: a communication approach. In Botan, C. & Hazelton, V. Public Relations Theory II (pp.171-198). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

- Coombs, W.T. (2007). Crisis management and communications. Institute for Public Relations. http://www.instituteforpr.org/topics/crisis-management-and-communications/139

- Coombs, W. T. (2014a). Crisis management and communications. Research Journal of the Institute for Public Relations, 1 (1).

-Coombs, W. T. (2014b). State of crisis communication: evidence and the bleeding edge. Research Journal of the Institute for Public Relations, 1 (1).

- Coombs, W.T. (2011). Crisis communication and social media. Institute for Public Relations. http://www.instituteforpr.org/topics/crisis-communication-and-social-media

- Elah, Aisha, (2020). The role of the new media in developing Literacy Health and combating global health crises in light of the spread of the Coronavirus - Covid.19, Media Studies Journal, Arab Democratic Center, 11th Issue, Volume 3, Berlin (Germany).

- Eeva-Liisa Eskola, (1998). University students' information-seeking behavior in a changing learning environment, Information Research, Volume 4 No. 2.

- Fox, S. (2011). The social life of health information, 2011. Retrieved from

http://www.pewinternet.org/2011/05/12/the-social-life-of-health-information-2011/

- Garfin, D. R., Silver, R. C., & Holman, E. A. (2020), The novel coronavirus (COVID-2019) outbreak: Amplification of public health consequences media exposure. Health Psychology, 39(5), 355-357. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/hea0000875

- Granville, G. (2013). Opportunities and risks of the use of social media in healthcare organizations. Proceedings of the European Conference on Information Management & Evaluation, 41-50.

- Hassan Makkawi, Laila El-Sayed (1998). Communication and Contemporary Theories (First Edition), Cairo: The Egyptian-Lebanese House, page 338.

- Lisa M. Given. (2016). Looking for Information: A Survey of Research on Information Seeking, Needs, and Behavior. 4thed. Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing. 528p.

- Lindsay, B. (2011). Social media and disasters: current uses, future options, and policy considerations. Congressional Research Service. Retrieved from http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/R41987.pdf

-Lima, Carlos (2020). The emotional impact of Coronavirus 2019-nCoV (new Coronavirus disease), Psychiatry Research, Volume 287, May, 112915

- Morton, T. A., & Duck, J. M. (2000). Social identity and media dependency in the gay community. Communication Research, 27, 438– 460 Crossref Web of Science®Google Scholar.

- Mai Al-Abdullah (2006). Communication Theories (First Edition), Beirut: Dar Al-Nahda Al-Arabia, page 278.

- Manal Al-Mazahreh (2012). Communication Theories (First Edition), Amman: Dar Al-Masirah, page 411.

- M. Mark Miller and Stephen D. Reese, 'Media Dependency as Interaction: Effects of Exposure and Reliance on Political Activity and Efficacy,' Communication Research, Vol. 9, No. 2 (1982), pp. 227–48.

- Marzouq Al-Adli (2004). Press Releases: A Study of Uses and Gratings (First Edition), Cairo: Dar Al-Fajr for Publishing and Distribution, page 54.

- Muhammad Fahmy, Ahmad (2016). Youth dependence on traditional and modern media to obtain political information in times of crisis, an unpublished master's thesis (Cairo University: Media Agency, Department of Journalism)

- Peter D. Luann (2020). Using Behavioural Science to Fight the Coronavirus, Journal of Behavioural Public Administration, Vol .3, No.1

- Ruggiero, A., & Vos, M. (2014). Social media monitoring for crisis communication: process, methods, and trends in the scientific literature. Online Journal of Communication & Media Technologies, 4(1), 105-130.

- Stacks, D. (2002). Primer of public relations research. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

- Taha, S. A., Matheson, K., & Anisman, H. (2014). H1N1 was not all that scary: Uncertainty and stressor appraisals predict anxiety related to an imminent viral threat. Stress and Health, 30, 149–157. https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.2505

- T. D. Wilson, (2008). Activity theory and information seeking, Annual Review of Information Science and Technology.

- White, C. (2008). The effects of mass‐media coverage of Muslims on majority acculturation attitudes towards Muslim Immigrants to Australia. Doctoral dissertation, University of Queensland, Australia.

- Von Wright, J. (1994). Oppimiskäsitysten historiaa ja pedagogisia seurauksia. 2. muuttamaton p. Helsinki: Opetushallitus

- Yan Jina, Lucinda Austin, Santosh Vijay, kumara Hyoyeun, Juna Glen Nowak, (2019), communicating about infectious disease threats: Insights from public health information officers, Public Relations Review, Volume 45, Issue 1, Pages 167-177.