Identifying features of source and message that influence the retweeting of health information on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic
Abstract Background Social media has become an essential tool to implement risk communication, giving health information could gain more exposure by retweeting during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods Content analysis was conducted to scrutinize the official (national and provincial) public health agen...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2022-04-01
|
| Series: | BMC Public Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-13213-w |
| _version_ | 1828496659373359104 |
|---|---|
| author | Jingzhong Xie Liqun Liu |
| author_facet | Jingzhong Xie Liqun Liu |
| author_sort | Jingzhong Xie |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Social media has become an essential tool to implement risk communication, giving health information could gain more exposure by retweeting during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods Content analysis was conducted to scrutinize the official (national and provincial) public health agencies’ Weibo posts (n = 4396) to identify features of information sources and message features (structure, style content). The Zero-Inflated Negative Binomial (ZINB) model was adopted to analyze the association between these features and the frequency of the retweeted messages. Results Results indicated that features of source and health information, such as structure, style, and content, were correlated to retweeting. The results of IRR further suggested that compared to provincial accounts, messages from national health authorities’ accounts gained more retweeting. Regarding the information features, messages with hashtags#, picture, video have been retweeted more often than messages without any of these features respectively, while messages with hyperlinks received fewer retweets than messages without hyperlinks. In terms of the information structure, messages with the sentiment (!) have been retweeted more frequently than messages without sentiment. Concerning content, messages containing severity, reassurance, efficacy, and action frame have been retweeted with higher frequency, while messages with uncertainty frames have been retweeted less often. Conclusions Health organizations and medical professionals should pay close attention to the features of health information sources, structures, style, and content to satisfy the public’s information needs and preferences to promote the public's health engagement. Designing suitable information systems and promoting health communication strategies during different pandemic stages may improve public awareness of the COVID-19, alleviate negative emotions, and promote preventive measures to curb the spread of the virus. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T12:33:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6dc0a2d2070f422b97205f116d7ceeb6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-2458 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T12:33:40Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-6dc0a2d2070f422b97205f116d7ceeb62022-12-22T01:07:10ZengBMCBMC Public Health1471-24582022-04-0122111110.1186/s12889-022-13213-wIdentifying features of source and message that influence the retweeting of health information on social media during the COVID-19 pandemicJingzhong Xie0Liqun Liu1School of Journalism and Communication, Wuhan UniversityNational Institute of Cultural Development, Wuhan, UniversityAbstract Background Social media has become an essential tool to implement risk communication, giving health information could gain more exposure by retweeting during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods Content analysis was conducted to scrutinize the official (national and provincial) public health agencies’ Weibo posts (n = 4396) to identify features of information sources and message features (structure, style content). The Zero-Inflated Negative Binomial (ZINB) model was adopted to analyze the association between these features and the frequency of the retweeted messages. Results Results indicated that features of source and health information, such as structure, style, and content, were correlated to retweeting. The results of IRR further suggested that compared to provincial accounts, messages from national health authorities’ accounts gained more retweeting. Regarding the information features, messages with hashtags#, picture, video have been retweeted more often than messages without any of these features respectively, while messages with hyperlinks received fewer retweets than messages without hyperlinks. In terms of the information structure, messages with the sentiment (!) have been retweeted more frequently than messages without sentiment. Concerning content, messages containing severity, reassurance, efficacy, and action frame have been retweeted with higher frequency, while messages with uncertainty frames have been retweeted less often. Conclusions Health organizations and medical professionals should pay close attention to the features of health information sources, structures, style, and content to satisfy the public’s information needs and preferences to promote the public's health engagement. Designing suitable information systems and promoting health communication strategies during different pandemic stages may improve public awareness of the COVID-19, alleviate negative emotions, and promote preventive measures to curb the spread of the virus.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-13213-wChinaCOVID-19Health InformationInfodemiologyInformation DisseminationInformation Frame |
| spellingShingle | Jingzhong Xie Liqun Liu Identifying features of source and message that influence the retweeting of health information on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic BMC Public Health China COVID-19 Health Information Infodemiology Information Dissemination Information Frame |
| title | Identifying features of source and message that influence the retweeting of health information on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_full | Identifying features of source and message that influence the retweeting of health information on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_fullStr | Identifying features of source and message that influence the retweeting of health information on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_full_unstemmed | Identifying features of source and message that influence the retweeting of health information on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_short | Identifying features of source and message that influence the retweeting of health information on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_sort | identifying features of source and message that influence the retweeting of health information on social media during the covid 19 pandemic |
| topic | China COVID-19 Health Information Infodemiology Information Dissemination Information Frame |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-13213-w |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jingzhongxie identifyingfeaturesofsourceandmessagethatinfluencetheretweetingofhealthinformationonsocialmediaduringthecovid19pandemic AT liqunliu identifyingfeaturesofsourceandmessagethatinfluencetheretweetingofhealthinformationonsocialmediaduringthecovid19pandemic |