Exploring the Role of Infodemics in People’s Incompliance with Preventive Measures during the COVID-19 in Conflict Settings (Mixed Method Study)
The evolving availability of health information on social media, regardless of its credibility, raises several questions about its impact on our health decisions and social behaviors, especially during health crises and in conflict settings where compliance with preventive measures and health guidel...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Healthcare |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/11/7/952 |
| _version_ | 1797607966348673024 |
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| author | Ahmed Asa’ad Al-Aghbari Ola El Hajj Hassan Maureen Dar Iang Albrecht Jahn Olaf Horstick Fekri Dureab |
| author_facet | Ahmed Asa’ad Al-Aghbari Ola El Hajj Hassan Maureen Dar Iang Albrecht Jahn Olaf Horstick Fekri Dureab |
| author_sort | Ahmed Asa’ad Al-Aghbari |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The evolving availability of health information on social media, regardless of its credibility, raises several questions about its impact on our health decisions and social behaviors, especially during health crises and in conflict settings where compliance with preventive measures and health guidelines is already a challenge due to socioeconomic factors. For these reasons, we assessed compliance with preventive measures and investigated the role of infodemic in people’s non-compliance with COVID-19 containment measures in Yemen. To this purpose and to triangulate our data collection, we executed a mixed method approach in which raw aggregated data were taken and analyzed from multiple sources (COVID-19 Government Response Tracker and Google COVID-19 Community Mobility Reports), then complemented and verified with In-depth interviews. Our results showed that the population in Yemen had relatively complied with the governmental containment measures at the beginning of the pandemic. However, containment measures were not supported by daily COVID-19 reports due to low transparency, which, together with misinformation and lack of access to reliable sources, has caused the population not to believe in COVID-19 and even practice social pressure on those who showed some compliance with the WHO guidelines. Those results indicate the importance of adopting an infodemic management approach in response to future outbreaks, particularly in conflict settings. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:37:04Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a9ff4f504f8345fd9ef03fa8aade1d62 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9032 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:37:04Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Healthcare |
| spelling | doaj.art-a9ff4f504f8345fd9ef03fa8aade1d622023-11-17T16:43:21ZengMDPI AGHealthcare2227-90322023-03-0111795210.3390/healthcare11070952Exploring the Role of Infodemics in People’s Incompliance with Preventive Measures during the COVID-19 in Conflict Settings (Mixed Method Study)Ahmed Asa’ad Al-Aghbari0Ola El Hajj Hassan1Maureen Dar Iang2Albrecht Jahn3Olaf Horstick4Fekri Dureab5Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, Heidelberg University Hospital, 69120 Heidelberg, GermanyHeidelberg Institute of Global Health, Heidelberg University Hospital, 69120 Heidelberg, GermanyHeidelberg Institute of Global Health, Heidelberg University Hospital, 69120 Heidelberg, GermanyHeidelberg Institute of Global Health, Heidelberg University Hospital, 69120 Heidelberg, GermanyHeidelberg Institute of Global Health, Heidelberg University Hospital, 69120 Heidelberg, GermanyHeidelberg Institute of Global Health, Heidelberg University Hospital, 69120 Heidelberg, GermanyThe evolving availability of health information on social media, regardless of its credibility, raises several questions about its impact on our health decisions and social behaviors, especially during health crises and in conflict settings where compliance with preventive measures and health guidelines is already a challenge due to socioeconomic factors. For these reasons, we assessed compliance with preventive measures and investigated the role of infodemic in people’s non-compliance with COVID-19 containment measures in Yemen. To this purpose and to triangulate our data collection, we executed a mixed method approach in which raw aggregated data were taken and analyzed from multiple sources (COVID-19 Government Response Tracker and Google COVID-19 Community Mobility Reports), then complemented and verified with In-depth interviews. Our results showed that the population in Yemen had relatively complied with the governmental containment measures at the beginning of the pandemic. However, containment measures were not supported by daily COVID-19 reports due to low transparency, which, together with misinformation and lack of access to reliable sources, has caused the population not to believe in COVID-19 and even practice social pressure on those who showed some compliance with the WHO guidelines. Those results indicate the importance of adopting an infodemic management approach in response to future outbreaks, particularly in conflict settings.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/11/7/952Infodemic managementhealth misinformationinformation sourceinformation accesshealth crisesincompliance |
| spellingShingle | Ahmed Asa’ad Al-Aghbari Ola El Hajj Hassan Maureen Dar Iang Albrecht Jahn Olaf Horstick Fekri Dureab Exploring the Role of Infodemics in People’s Incompliance with Preventive Measures during the COVID-19 in Conflict Settings (Mixed Method Study) Healthcare Infodemic management health misinformation information source information access health crises incompliance |
| title | Exploring the Role of Infodemics in People’s Incompliance with Preventive Measures during the COVID-19 in Conflict Settings (Mixed Method Study) |
| title_full | Exploring the Role of Infodemics in People’s Incompliance with Preventive Measures during the COVID-19 in Conflict Settings (Mixed Method Study) |
| title_fullStr | Exploring the Role of Infodemics in People’s Incompliance with Preventive Measures during the COVID-19 in Conflict Settings (Mixed Method Study) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exploring the Role of Infodemics in People’s Incompliance with Preventive Measures during the COVID-19 in Conflict Settings (Mixed Method Study) |
| title_short | Exploring the Role of Infodemics in People’s Incompliance with Preventive Measures during the COVID-19 in Conflict Settings (Mixed Method Study) |
| title_sort | exploring the role of infodemics in people s incompliance with preventive measures during the covid 19 in conflict settings mixed method study |
| topic | Infodemic management health misinformation information source information access health crises incompliance |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/11/7/952 |
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