The Impact of Social Media Shared Health Content on Protective Behavior against COVID-19

Fathey Mohammed (), Nabil Hasan Al-Kumaim (), Ahmed Ibrahim Alzahrani and Yousef Fazea
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Fathey Mohammed: School of Computing, Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), Sintok 06010, Kedah, Malaysia
Nabil Hasan Al-Kumaim: Faculty of Technology Management and Technopreneurship, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM), Durian Tunggal 76100, Melaka, Malaysia
Ahmed Ibrahim Alzahrani: Computer Science Department, Community College, King Saud University, Riyadh 11437, Saudi Arabia
Yousef Fazea: Department of Computer & Information Technology, Marshall University, 1 John Marshall Drive, Huntington, WV 25755, USA

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 3, 1-16

Abstract: The use of social media has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic because people are isolated and working from home. The use of social media enhances information exchange in society and may influence public protective behavior against the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study is to identify the factors affecting public protective behavior when relying on COVID-19 pandemic-related content shared on social media. A model based on Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) was proposed and validated using a quantitative survey approach. A questionnaire was distributed to random respondents, and 488 responses were received and analyzed using Smart-PLS software. The findings showed that perceived risk, e-health literacy, public awareness, and health experts’ participation influence public protective behavior when using social media to share COVID-19-relevant content. The outcomes of this study can enhance government agencies’ and public health care authorities’ understanding of how to use social media to raise awareness and reduce panic among the public.

Keywords: protection motivation theory; perceived severity; social media fake news; e-health literacy; health experts participation; public awareness (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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