Effects of Social Media Use for Health Information on COVID-19–Related Risk Perceptions and Mental Health During Pregnancy: Web-Based Survey
BackgroundSocial 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. ObjectiveThis study aims to examine the association between usin...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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JMIR Publications
2022-01-01
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| Series: | JMIR Medical Informatics |
| Online Access: | https://medinform.jmir.org/2022/1/e28183 |
| _version_ | 1797735419172880384 |
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| author | Qian Wang Luyao Xie Bo Song Jiangli Di Linhong Wang Phoenix Kit-Han Mo |
| author_facet | Qian Wang Luyao Xie Bo Song Jiangli Di Linhong Wang Phoenix Kit-Han Mo |
| author_sort | Qian Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
BackgroundSocial 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.
ObjectiveThis 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.
MethodsA total of 4580 pregnant women were recruited from various provinces of China. The participants completed a cross-sectional, web-based survey in March 2020.
ResultsMore 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.
ConclusionsThis 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T12:58:49Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bc1866637e8d49d6b454da62791647e6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2291-9694 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T12:58:49Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | JMIR Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | JMIR Medical Informatics |
| spelling | doaj.art-bc1866637e8d49d6b454da62791647e62023-08-28T20:21:30ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR Medical Informatics2291-96942022-01-01101e2818310.2196/28183Effects of Social Media Use for Health Information on COVID-19–Related Risk Perceptions and Mental Health During Pregnancy: Web-Based SurveyQian Wanghttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-9674-4914Luyao Xiehttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-5509-3732Bo Songhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-0161-1052Jiangli Dihttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-5006-1800Linhong Wanghttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-9541-3654Phoenix Kit-Han Mohttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-9822-5424 BackgroundSocial 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. ObjectiveThis 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. MethodsA total of 4580 pregnant women were recruited from various provinces of China. The participants completed a cross-sectional, web-based survey in March 2020. ResultsMore 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. ConclusionsThis 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.https://medinform.jmir.org/2022/1/e28183 |
| spellingShingle | Qian Wang Luyao Xie Bo Song Jiangli Di Linhong Wang Phoenix Kit-Han Mo Effects of Social Media Use for Health Information on COVID-19–Related Risk Perceptions and Mental Health During Pregnancy: Web-Based Survey JMIR Medical Informatics |
| title | Effects of Social Media Use for Health Information on COVID-19–Related Risk Perceptions and Mental Health During Pregnancy: Web-Based Survey |
| title_full | Effects of Social Media Use for Health Information on COVID-19–Related Risk Perceptions and Mental Health During Pregnancy: Web-Based Survey |
| title_fullStr | Effects of Social Media Use for Health Information on COVID-19–Related Risk Perceptions and Mental Health During Pregnancy: Web-Based Survey |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of Social Media Use for Health Information on COVID-19–Related Risk Perceptions and Mental Health During Pregnancy: Web-Based Survey |
| title_short | Effects of Social Media Use for Health Information on COVID-19–Related Risk Perceptions and Mental Health During Pregnancy: Web-Based Survey |
| title_sort | effects of social media use for health information on covid 19 related risk perceptions and mental health during pregnancy web based survey |
| url | https://medinform.jmir.org/2022/1/e28183 |
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