Psychological Aspects of Media Communication during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Insights from Healthcare and Pharmacy Specialists in Lithuania
In the setting of disasters, people seek information as they hope that knowledge will provide security. This makes the media a critical source of crisis exposure. The aim of the study described in this article was to analyze COVID-19 pandemic-related psychological aspects of media use by healthcare...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-09-01
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| Series: | Healthcare |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/9/10/1297 |
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| author | Nida Žemaitienė Milda Kukulskienė Vilma Miglinė Loreta Kubilienė Gabrielė Urbonaitė Laura Digrytė-Šertvytienė Aušra Norė Kastytis Šmigelskas |
| author_facet | Nida Žemaitienė Milda Kukulskienė Vilma Miglinė Loreta Kubilienė Gabrielė Urbonaitė Laura Digrytė-Šertvytienė Aušra Norė Kastytis Šmigelskas |
| author_sort | Nida Žemaitienė |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In the setting of disasters, people seek information as they hope that knowledge will provide security. This makes the media a critical source of crisis exposure. The aim of the study described in this article was to analyze COVID-19 pandemic-related psychological aspects of media use by healthcare and pharmacy workers in Lithuania and to reveal the subjective effects of media consumption on their psychological well-being. 967 healthcare workers and pharmacists in Lithuania completed an electronic survey, which consisted of questions about the changes in well-being experienced since the beginning of the lockdown and media use in the search for information on COVID-19. It was found that communication might have ambiguous effects on psychological well-being. Excessive, unreliable, misleading, contradictory information and “catastrophizing” were subjectively related to impaired psychological well-being. Objective and reliable, relevant, clear, timely, hopeful and supportive information had a subjective positive effect. Seeking COVID-19-related information many times a day was associated with increased fear of becoming infected with COVID-19, feeling unable to control the risk of contracting COVID-19, fear of infecting relatives with COVID-19 and feeling that other people would avoid interaction with healthcare workers and pharmacists because of their job. General browsing was not consistently associated with COVID-19-related fears. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:32:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-df0ce1ce7a6a4d31bd9d49d5bfb504f5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9032 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:32:12Z |
| publishDate | 2021-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Healthcare |
| spelling | doaj.art-df0ce1ce7a6a4d31bd9d49d5bfb504f52023-11-22T18:24:47ZengMDPI AGHealthcare2227-90322021-09-01910129710.3390/healthcare9101297Psychological Aspects of Media Communication during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Insights from Healthcare and Pharmacy Specialists in LithuaniaNida Žemaitienė0Milda Kukulskienė1Vilma Miglinė2Loreta Kubilienė3Gabrielė Urbonaitė4Laura Digrytė-Šertvytienė5Aušra Norė6Kastytis Šmigelskas7Faculty of Public Health, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, 44307 Kaunas, LithuaniaFaculty of Public Health, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, 44307 Kaunas, LithuaniaCommunity Well-Being Center, Mykolas Romeris University, 08303 Vilnius, LithuaniaDepartment of Drug Technology and Social Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, 44307 Kaunas, LithuaniaFaculty of Public Health, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, 44307 Kaunas, LithuaniaFaculty of Public Health, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, 44307 Kaunas, LithuaniaFaculty of Public Health, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, 44307 Kaunas, LithuaniaFaculty of Public Health, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, 44307 Kaunas, LithuaniaIn the setting of disasters, people seek information as they hope that knowledge will provide security. This makes the media a critical source of crisis exposure. The aim of the study described in this article was to analyze COVID-19 pandemic-related psychological aspects of media use by healthcare and pharmacy workers in Lithuania and to reveal the subjective effects of media consumption on their psychological well-being. 967 healthcare workers and pharmacists in Lithuania completed an electronic survey, which consisted of questions about the changes in well-being experienced since the beginning of the lockdown and media use in the search for information on COVID-19. It was found that communication might have ambiguous effects on psychological well-being. Excessive, unreliable, misleading, contradictory information and “catastrophizing” were subjectively related to impaired psychological well-being. Objective and reliable, relevant, clear, timely, hopeful and supportive information had a subjective positive effect. Seeking COVID-19-related information many times a day was associated with increased fear of becoming infected with COVID-19, feeling unable to control the risk of contracting COVID-19, fear of infecting relatives with COVID-19 and feeling that other people would avoid interaction with healthcare workers and pharmacists because of their job. General browsing was not consistently associated with COVID-19-related fears.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/9/10/1297COVID-19pandemicsmedia communicationrisk communicationhealthcare workerspharmacy specialists |
| spellingShingle | Nida Žemaitienė Milda Kukulskienė Vilma Miglinė Loreta Kubilienė Gabrielė Urbonaitė Laura Digrytė-Šertvytienė Aušra Norė Kastytis Šmigelskas Psychological Aspects of Media Communication during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Insights from Healthcare and Pharmacy Specialists in Lithuania Healthcare COVID-19 pandemics media communication risk communication healthcare workers pharmacy specialists |
| title | Psychological Aspects of Media Communication during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Insights from Healthcare and Pharmacy Specialists in Lithuania |
| title_full | Psychological Aspects of Media Communication during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Insights from Healthcare and Pharmacy Specialists in Lithuania |
| title_fullStr | Psychological Aspects of Media Communication during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Insights from Healthcare and Pharmacy Specialists in Lithuania |
| title_full_unstemmed | Psychological Aspects of Media Communication during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Insights from Healthcare and Pharmacy Specialists in Lithuania |
| title_short | Psychological Aspects of Media Communication during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Insights from Healthcare and Pharmacy Specialists in Lithuania |
| title_sort | psychological aspects of media communication during the covid 19 pandemic insights from healthcare and pharmacy specialists in lithuania |
| topic | COVID-19 pandemics media communication risk communication healthcare workers pharmacy specialists |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/9/10/1297 |
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