How Informed are the Swiss about Covid-19 and Prevention Measures?
Since the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic began, large amounts of (mis)information have been disseminated worldwide. We conducted an online survey in Switzerland (N = 1,129) in April 2021 to ask respondents which information has received too little attention in public discourse, which measures he...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Zurich, IKMZ – Department of Communication and Media Research
2022-10-01
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| Series: | European Journal of Health Communication (EJHC) |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://ejhc.org/article/view/3349 |
| _version_ | 1811245387905761280 |
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| author | Sabrina Heike Kessler Miriam S. Cano Pardo Anna Jobin Fanny Georgi |
| author_facet | Sabrina Heike Kessler Miriam S. Cano Pardo Anna Jobin Fanny Georgi |
| author_sort | Sabrina Heike Kessler |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Since the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic began, large amounts of (mis)information have been disseminated worldwide. We conducted an online survey in Switzerland (N = 1,129) in April 2021 to ask respondents which information has received too little attention in public discourse, which measures help containing coronavirus infection and Covid-19, and about subjectively perceived Covid-19 misinformation. Content analysis of the open answers revealed that vaccination and its potential side effects, aspects related to political measures, psychological and social aspects, as well as science and research topics deserved more attention in the eyes of the respondents, mostly from politics or media. The most frequently mentioned effective measures were social distancing, wearing masks, general hygiene, and vaccination. Notably, the number of measures mentioned was related to the degree to which the pandemic affected individuals subjectively, trust in public institutions, and their individual level of science-related populism. Swiss residents with less trust in public institutions and who consume less news media on Covid-19 are more likely to believe misinformation on (in)effective measures against the virus. Most respondents encountered Covid-19 misinformation and could name examples, including sources. Education and information use affect the frequency of subjectively encountered misinformation. More highly educated people can name more misinformation instances encountered than less educated people.
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| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T14:39:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c2dfce9adb0c4b9d811740a155250e90 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2673-5903 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T14:39:12Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | University of Zurich, IKMZ – Department of Communication and Media Research |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of Health Communication (EJHC) |
| spelling | doaj.art-c2dfce9adb0c4b9d811740a155250e902022-12-22T03:28:58ZengUniversity of Zurich, IKMZ – Department of Communication and Media ResearchEuropean Journal of Health Communication (EJHC)2673-59032022-10-013310.47368/ejhc.2022.306How Informed are the Swiss about Covid-19 and Prevention Measures?Sabrina Heike Kessler0Miriam S. Cano Pardo1Anna Jobin2Fanny Georgi3Department of Communication and Media Research, University of Zurich, SwitzerlandDepartment of Communication and Media Research, University of Zurich, SwitzerlandAlexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society, GermanyOffice of the Dean, Faculty of Science, University of Zurich, Switzerland Since the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic began, large amounts of (mis)information have been disseminated worldwide. We conducted an online survey in Switzerland (N = 1,129) in April 2021 to ask respondents which information has received too little attention in public discourse, which measures help containing coronavirus infection and Covid-19, and about subjectively perceived Covid-19 misinformation. Content analysis of the open answers revealed that vaccination and its potential side effects, aspects related to political measures, psychological and social aspects, as well as science and research topics deserved more attention in the eyes of the respondents, mostly from politics or media. The most frequently mentioned effective measures were social distancing, wearing masks, general hygiene, and vaccination. Notably, the number of measures mentioned was related to the degree to which the pandemic affected individuals subjectively, trust in public institutions, and their individual level of science-related populism. Swiss residents with less trust in public institutions and who consume less news media on Covid-19 are more likely to believe misinformation on (in)effective measures against the virus. Most respondents encountered Covid-19 misinformation and could name examples, including sources. Education and information use affect the frequency of subjectively encountered misinformation. More highly educated people can name more misinformation instances encountered than less educated people. https://ejhc.org/article/view/3349information awarenessinformation behaviourinformation deficitsinformednessmisinformationCovid-19 |
| spellingShingle | Sabrina Heike Kessler Miriam S. Cano Pardo Anna Jobin Fanny Georgi How Informed are the Swiss about Covid-19 and Prevention Measures? European Journal of Health Communication (EJHC) information awareness information behaviour information deficits informedness misinformation Covid-19 |
| title | How Informed are the Swiss about Covid-19 and Prevention Measures? |
| title_full | How Informed are the Swiss about Covid-19 and Prevention Measures? |
| title_fullStr | How Informed are the Swiss about Covid-19 and Prevention Measures? |
| title_full_unstemmed | How Informed are the Swiss about Covid-19 and Prevention Measures? |
| title_short | How Informed are the Swiss about Covid-19 and Prevention Measures? |
| title_sort | how informed are the swiss about covid 19 and prevention measures |
| topic | information awareness information behaviour information deficits informedness misinformation Covid-19 |
| url | https://ejhc.org/article/view/3349 |
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