Effects of Social Media Use for Health Information on COVID-19–Related Risk Perceptions and Mental Health During Pregnancy: Web-Based Survey

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Abstract

Background

Social media has become an important source of health information during the COVID-19 pandemic. Very little is known about the potential mental impact of social media use on pregnant women.

Objective

This study aims to examine the association between using social media for health information and risk perception for COVID-19, worry due to COVID-19, and depression among pregnant women in China.

Methods

A total of 4580 pregnant women were recruited from various provinces of China. The participants completed a cross-sectional, web-based survey in March 2020.

Results

More than one-third (1794/4580, 39.2%) of the participants reported always using social media for obtaining health information. Results of structural equation modeling showed that the frequency of social media use for health information was positively associated with perceived susceptibility ( β=.05; P<.001) and perceived severity ( β=.12; P<.001) of COVID-19, which, in turn, were positively associated with worry due to COVID-19 ( β=.19 and β=.72, respectively; P<.001). Perceived susceptibility ( β=.09; P<.001), perceived severity ( β=.08; P<.001), and worry due to COVID-19 ( β=.15; P<.001) all had a positive association with depression. Bootstrapping analysis showed that the indirect effects of frequency of social media use for health information on both worry due to COVID-19 ( β=.09, 95% CI 0.07-0.12) and depression ( β=.05, 95% CI 0.02-0.07) were statistically significant.

Conclusions

This study provides empirical evidence on how social media use for health information might have a negative impact on the mental health of pregnant women. Interventions are needed to equip this population with the skills to use social media properly and with caution.

Related collections

Most cited references 59

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A Novel Coronavirus from Patients with Pneumonia in China, 2019

Na Zhu, Dingyu Zhang, Wenling Wang … (2020)

Summary In December 2019, a cluster of patients with pneumonia of unknown cause was linked to a seafood wholesale market in Wuhan, China. A previously unknown betacoronavirus was discovered through the use of unbiased sequencing in samples from patients with pneumonia. Human airway epithelial cells were used to isolate a novel coronavirus, named 2019-nCoV, which formed a clade within the subgenus sarbecovirus, Orthocoronavirinae subfamily. Different from both MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV, 2019-nCoV is the seventh member of the family of coronaviruses that infect humans. Enhanced surveillance and further investigation are ongoing. (Funded by the National Key Research and Development Program of China and the National Major Project for Control and Prevention of Infectious Disease in China.)

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The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: rapid review of the evidence

Samantha K. Brooks, Rebecca K Webster, Louise E. Smith … (2022)

Summary The December, 2019 coronavirus disease outbreak has seen many countries ask people who have potentially come into contact with the infection to isolate themselves at home or in a dedicated quarantine facility. Decisions on how to apply quarantine should be based on the best available evidence. We did a Review of the psychological impact of quarantine using three electronic databases. Of 3166 papers found, 24 are included in this Review. Most reviewed studies reported negative psychological effects including post-traumatic stress symptoms, confusion, and anger. Stressors included longer quarantine duration, infection fears, frustration, boredom, inadequate supplies, inadequate information, financial loss, and stigma. Some researchers have suggested long-lasting effects. In situations where quarantine is deemed necessary, officials should quarantine individuals for no longer than required, provide clear rationale for quarantine and information about protocols, and ensure sufficient supplies are provided. Appeals to altruism by reminding the public about the benefits of quarantine to wider society can be favourable.

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Mental health problems and social media exposure during COVID-19 outbreak

Junling Gao, Pinpin Zheng, Yingnan Jia … (2020)

Huge citizens expose to social media during a novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbroke in Wuhan, China. We assess the prevalence of mental health problems and examine their association with social media exposure. A cross-sectional study among Chinese citizens aged≥18 years old was conducted during Jan 31 to Feb 2, 2020. Online survey was used to do rapid assessment. Total of 4872 participants from 31 provinces and autonomous regions were involved in the current study. Besides demographics and social media exposure (SME), depression was assessed by The Chinese version of WHO-Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5) and anxiety was assessed by Chinese version of generalized anxiety disorder scale (GAD-7). multivariable logistic regressions were used to identify associations between social media exposure with mental health problems after controlling for covariates. The prevalence of depression, anxiety and combination of depression and anxiety (CDA) was 48.3% (95%CI: 46.9%-49.7%), 22.6% (95%CI: 21.4%-23.8%) and 19.4% (95%CI: 18.3%-20.6%) during COVID-19 outbroke in Wuhan, China. More than 80% (95%CI:80.9%-83.1%) of participants reported frequently exposed to social media. After controlling for covariates, frequently SME was positively associated with high odds of anxiety (OR = 1.72, 95%CI: 1.31–2.26) and CDA (OR = 1.91, 95%CI: 1.52–2.41) compared with less SME. Our findings show there are high prevalence of mental health problems, which positively associated with frequently SME during the COVID-19 outbreak. These findings implicated the government need pay more attention to mental health problems, especially depression and anxiety among general population and combating with “infodemic” while combating during public health emergency.

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Author and article information

Contributors

Phoenix Kit-Han Mo:

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9822-5424

Center for Health Behaviours Research, Faculty of MedicineSchool of Public Health and Primary CareThe Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital202DHong KongHong Kong852 2252 8765phoenix.mo@cuhk.edu.hk

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): JMIR Med Inform

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): JMIR Med Inform

Journal ID (publisher-id): JMI

Title: JMIR Medical Informatics

Publisher: JMIR Publications (Toronto, Canada )

ISSN (Electronic): 2291-9694

Publication date Collection: January 2022

Publication date (Electronic): 13 January 2022

Publication date PMC-release: 13 January 2022

Volume: 10

Issue: 1

Electronic Location Identifier: e28183

Affiliations

[1 ] National Center for Women and Children's Health Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention Beijing City China

[2 ] Center for Health Behaviours Research, Faculty of Medicine School of Public Health and Primary Care The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital Hong Kong Hong Kong

[3 ] National Center for Chronic and Noncommunicable Disease Control and Prevention Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention Beijing City China

Author notes

Corresponding Author: Phoenix Kit-Han Mo phoenix.mo@ 123456cuhk.edu.hk

Author information

Qian Wang https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9674-4914

Luyao Xie https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5509-3732

Bo Song https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0161-1052

Jiangli Di https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5006-1800

Linhong Wang https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9541-3654

Phoenix Kit-Han Mo https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9822-5424

Article

Publisher ID: v10i1e28183

DOI: 10.2196/28183

PMC ID: 8796050

PubMed ID: 34762065

SO-VID: ac7b6935-8277-44b9-8e5d-4f4dc2ab110b

License:

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in JMIR Medical Informatics, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on https://medinform.jmir.org/, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.

History

Date received : 24 February 2021

Date revision requested : 5 April 2021

Date revision received : 22 April 2021

Date accepted : 12 July 2021

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