COVID-19-Related Internet Search Patterns Among People in the United States: Exploratory Analysis

Viral Disease Goes Viral: Characterizing How Cancer Patients Use Internet Resources for COVID-19 Information

This study aims to evaluate the usage of Internet resources for COVID-19 information among cancer patients. Specifically, to understand where patients are seeking information, what topics are most frequently searched, and how physicians and web developers can improve clinical conversations and digital resources, respectively, to support cancer patients' needs. From May to June 2021, cancer patients who were attending follow-up at a tertiary cancer center completed a survey consisting of 28 closed and open-ended questions. Quantitative results were evaluated using descriptive statistics and qualitative responses were evaluated using a grounded-theory approach. Fifty-seven surveys were distributed, and fifty-two surveys were received (91% response rate). The majority of respondents (96%) were Internet users. Seventy percent used the Internet as a source of information about COVID-19 and cancer personally, with another 15% reporting that friends and family accessed online information on their behalf. The vast majority used Google as their choice of search engine, with COVID-19 rates and vaccine information being the most frequently searched topics. Three quarters (74%) considered Internet information easy to understand, and 90% stated that the Internet increased their understanding of COVID-19 and cancer. Only 15% of patients had been recommended online resource(s) by a physician, yet 100% of those patients found the physician-recommended sites useful. Most cancer patients use the Internet to search for COVID-19 information. Healthcare professionals (HCPs) should help guide patients towards credible online sources and address knowledge gaps to improve physician-patient communication and support educational needs.

Digital technologies as sources of information for patients and caregivers during COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional survey

Background

The emergence of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic had a significant impact on the global economy, society, and healthcare systems. Little is known about the role of digital technologies as sources of information for patients and informal caregivers during COVID-19 pandemic. Considering the substantial information needs experienced by informal caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic, further understanding of caregivers' use of digital technologies to access COVID-19 information is needed.

Objective

The aim of this study is to identify associations between informal caregiver's characteristics and the use of digital technologies to seek COVID-19 information in two countries with two different care systems: Italy (family based care system) and Sweden (universal care system) in order to determine whether factors such as demographics, socioeconomic resources, and the caregiving context may influence caregivers' use of these technologies during the pandemic.

Methods

A sample of 500 respondents participated in a cross-sectional survey by completing the online questionnaire. Respondents were recruited by the Italian National Institute of Health and Science on Ageing and the Swedish Family Care Competence Centre. Logistic regression model was used to investigate the association between the use of digital technologies to seek COVID-19 information and the independent variables.

Results

The multivariate analysis for the Italian sample indicated that female caregivers had two times the odds of use of digital technologies compared with males (p = 0.010, 95% CI 1.191 to 3.701). The odds of use were 2.3 times higher when the level of dependency of the care recipient on the caregiver is low compared with a high level of dependency (p = 0.029, 95% CI 1.090 to 4.858). In the Swedish group, respondents who spent less than 10 h per week providing care were almost three times more likely to use digital technologies as opposed to those who dedicate more than 40 h per week to care provision (p = 0.039, 95% CI 0.133 to 0.951). Caregivers in the age group 40-59 years were 2.7 times more likely to use digital technologies in comparison with those of the age group 60 +  years (p = 0.033, 95% CI 1.083 to 6.494). Perceiving a lack of awareness about available online resources that support caregivers in their role during the pandemic was the top challenge mentioned by the participants in both countries in using digital technologies to access information during the pandemic. The study revealed that the most used sources of online COVID-19 information for Italian caregivers were social media platforms and mobile apps, while in the case of the Swedish caregivers, online portals and apps published by state, regional, or municipal authorities were the most used sources. Italian participants in the study perceived less reliability in the online COVID-19 information than their Swedish counterparts.

Conclusions

Digital technologies are used by patients and their caregivers to seek information relevant to the pandemic. Because digital technologies are becoming a popular and accessible information source, medical professionals should consider the differences between caregivers' age groups when delivering information online. Strategies aiming to address the spread of misinformation on social media and online platforms are needed to fight infodemic. Governments should consider innovative policies that promote formal certification of online platforms and apps on the basis of their reliability. As digitalization of healthcare systems continues, efforts are needed to ensure different populations of patients and their caregivers are supported to obtain timely accurate information that meets their needs. An inclusive approach in the digitalization of healthcare systems may reduce inequalities in access to technology. Consequently, technology itself may over time become a tool in reducing such inequalities by empowering underserved or underrepresented populations.

Association of Digital Health Literacy with Future Anxiety as Mediated by Information Satisfaction and Fear of COVID-19: A Pathway Analysis among Taiwanese Students

Digital Health Literacy (DHL) helps online users with navigating the infodemic and co-existing conspiracy beliefs to avoid mental distress and maintain well-being. We aimed to investigate the association between DHL and future anxiety (FA); and examine the potential mediation roles of information satisfaction and fear of COVID-19 (F-CoV). A web-based cross-sectional survey was carried out among 1631 Taiwanese university students aged 18 years and above from June 2021 to March 2022. Data collected were socio-demographic characteristics (sex, age, social status, university location), information satisfaction, F-CoV, DHL and FA (using Future Dark scale). The linear regression model was used to explore factors associated with FA. The pathway analysis was further used to evaluate the direct and indirect relationship between DHL and FA. A higher score of DHL (B = -0.21; 95% CI, -0.37, -0.06; p = 0.006), and information satisfaction (B = -0.16; 95% CI, -0.24, -0.08; p < 0.001) were associated with a lower FA score, whereas a higher F-CoV score was associated with a higher FA score (B = 0.43; 95% CI, 0.36, 0.50; p < 0.001). DHL showed the direct impact (B = -0.1; 95% CI, -0.17, -0.04; p = 0.002) and indirect impact on FA as mediated by information satisfaction (B = -0.04; 95% CI, -0.06, -0.01; p = 0.002) and F-CoV (B = -0.06, 95% CI, -0.08, -0.04; p < 0.001). Strategic approaches to promote DHL, information satisfaction, lower F-CoV are suggested to reduce FA among students.

Everyday information behavior during the “new normal” of the Covid-19 pandemic: approaching the notions of experiential and local knowledge

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to understand everyday information behavior (IB) during the Covid-19 pandemic at the “new normal” stage, focusing on the notions of experiential knowledge (EK), i.e. knowledge acquired by first-hand experience or in personal interactions, and local knowledge (LK) as perception of local environment.

Design/methodology/approach

Seventeen interviews were carried out in February–May 2021, in a district of the city of Madrid (Spain). Interview transcripts were analyzed according to grounded theory, to identify major and complementary themes of EK and LK.

Findings

Participants’ stories show that EK cooperated with information originating from government, scientific authorities and mainstream media, in patterns of convergence and divergence. While convergence produces “thick knowledge” (knowledge perceived as solid, real and multidimensional), divergence leads to uncertainty and collaboration, but it also supports a critical stance on authorities’ information. In addition, participants’ perceptions of LK emphasize its human component. LK and EK are exchanged both explicitly and tacitly.

Originality/value

The paper presents the first approach to understanding EK and LK and their function during the health crisis, characterizing them as alternative information systems and as topics deserving major attention in research on IB and crisis management.

Designing a conceptual framework for misinformation on social media: a qualitative study on COVID-19

OBJECTIVE

This study was aimed to present a conceptual framework about the misinformation surrounding COVID-19 outbreak in Iran. For this purpose, discourse analysis of two of the most common social virtual networks were conducted via a four step approach as follows: defining the research question and selecting the content of analysis, gathering information and theory on the context, content analysis for establishing the themes and patterns and, presenting the results and drawing conclusions.

RESULTS

Cultural factors, demand pressure for information during the crisis, the easiness of information dissemination via social networks, marketing incentives and the poor legal supervision of online content are the main reasons for misinformation dissemination. Disease statistics; treatments and prevention are the main subjective categories of releasing misinformation. The consequences of misinformation dissemination include psychosocial, economic, health status, health system and ethical ones. The most recommended strategies for dealing with the issue could be divided into demand and supply-side strategies.

Human information behavior during the Covid-19 health crisis. A literature review

The research carried out on human information behavior (HIB) during the Covid-19 health crisis was reviewed, with the premise that HIB and information practices allow humans to adapt to the changing circumstances of existence. A literature search was run on the LISTA and Google Scholar databases from middle March 2020 up to the end of March 2021. After filtering retrieved results, 52 studies were selected. Results are summarized into seven main themes, including the use of traditional and social media, infoveillance of search engines and social media activity, misinformation, disinformation and infodemics, and uncertainty and emotions. Results point to the need to carry out additional research in specific contexts and addressing vulnerable and marginalized groups. Further areas of inquiry include the interplay of emotions, knowledge and behaviors during the information seeking process, a better understanding of local knowledge and experiential knowledge, and the need to comprehend the limitations of ICT.

Development of the 12-Item Social Media Disinformation Scale and its Association With Social Media Addiction and Mental Health Related to COVID-19 in Tunisia: Survey-Based Pilot Case Study

BACKGROUND

In recent years, online disinformation has increased. Fake news has been spreading about the COVID-19 pandemic. Since January 2020, the culprits and antidotes to disinformation have been digital media and social media.

OBJECTIVE

Our study aimed to develop and test the psychometric properties of the 12-item Social Media Disinformation Scale (SMDS-12), which assesses the consumption, confidence, and sharing of information related to COVID-19 by social media users.

METHODS

A total of 874 subjects were recruited over two phases: the exploratory phase group had a mean age of 28.39 years (SD 9.32) and the confirmatory phase group had a mean age of 32.84 years (SD 12.72). Participants completed the SMDS-12, the Internet Addiction Test, the COVID-19 Fear Scale, and the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale. The SMDS-12 was initially tested by exploratory factor analysis and was subsequently tested by confirmatory factor analysis.

RESULTS

The test supported the three-factor structure. In addition, no items were removed from the measurement scale, with three factors explaining up to 73.72% of the total variance, and the items had a lambda factor loading ranging from 0.73 to 0.85. Subsequently, confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the robustness of the measure by referring to a wide range of goodness-of-fit indices that met the recommended standards. The construct validity of the scale was supported by its convergent and discriminant validity. The reliability of the instrument examined by means of three internal consistency indices, and the corrected item-total correlation, demonstrated that the three dimensions of the instrument were reliable: Cronbach α values were .89, .88, and .88 for the consumption, confidence, and sharing subscales, respectively. The corrected item-total correlation ranged from 0.70 to 0.78. The correlation of the instrument's dimensions with internet addiction and mental health factors showed positive associations.

CONCLUSIONS

The SMDS-12 can be reliably utilized to measure the credibility of social media disinformation and can be adapted to measure the credibility of disinformation in other contexts.