COVID-19 Infodemic and Impacts on the Mental Health of Older People: Cross-sectional Multicenter Survey Study
BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic received widespread media coverage due to its novelty, an early lack of data, and the rapid rise in deaths and cases. This excessive coverage created a secondary “infodemic” that was considered to be a serious public and mental health problem b...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
JMIR Publications
2023-05-01
|
| Series: | JMIR Aging |
| Online Access: | https://aging.jmir.org/2023/1/e42707 |
| _version_ | 1797734204077768704 |
|---|---|
| author | Patricia Rodrigues Braz Tiago Ricardo Moreira Andréia Queiroz Ribeiro Luciane Ribeiro de Faria Fabio da Costa Carbogim Vilanice Alves de Araújo Püschel Jack Roberto Silva Fhon Eduarda Rezende Freitas Ione Carvalho Pinto Fabiana Costa Machado Zacharias Gylce Eloisa Cabreira Panitz Cruz Richardson Miranda Machado Rosimere Ferreira Santana Priscilla Alfradique de Souza Graziele Ribeiro Bitencourt Alexandre Favero Bulgarelli Ricardo Bezerra Cavalcante |
| author_facet | Patricia Rodrigues Braz Tiago Ricardo Moreira Andréia Queiroz Ribeiro Luciane Ribeiro de Faria Fabio da Costa Carbogim Vilanice Alves de Araújo Püschel Jack Roberto Silva Fhon Eduarda Rezende Freitas Ione Carvalho Pinto Fabiana Costa Machado Zacharias Gylce Eloisa Cabreira Panitz Cruz Richardson Miranda Machado Rosimere Ferreira Santana Priscilla Alfradique de Souza Graziele Ribeiro Bitencourt Alexandre Favero Bulgarelli Ricardo Bezerra Cavalcante |
| author_sort | Patricia Rodrigues Braz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic received widespread media coverage due to its novelty, an early lack of data, and the rapid rise in deaths and cases. This excessive coverage created a secondary “infodemic” that was considered to be a serious public and mental health problem by the World Health Organization and the international scientific community. The infodemic particularly affected older individuals, specifically those who are vulnerable to misinformation due to political positions, low interpretive and critical analysis capacity, and limited technical-scientific knowledge. Thus, it is important to understand older people’s reaction to COVID-19 information disseminated by the media and the effect on their lives and mental health.
ObjectiveWe aimed to describe the profile of exposure to COVID-19 information among older Brazilian individuals and the impact on their mental health, perceived stress, and the presence of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).
MethodsThis cross-sectional, exploratory study surveyed 3307 older Brazilians via the web, social networks, and email between July 2020 and March 2021. Descriptive analysis and bivariate analysis were performed to estimate associations of interest.
ResultsMajor proportions of the 3307 participants were aged 60 to 64 years (n=1285, 38.9%), female (n=2250, 68.4%), and married (n=1835, 55.5%) and self-identified as White (n=2364, 71.5%). Only 295 (8.9%) had never started or completed a basic education. COVID-19 information was mainly accessed on television (n=2680, 81.1%) and social networks (n=1943, 58.8%). Television exposure was ≥3 hours in 1301 (39.3%) participants, social network use was 2 to 5 hours in 1084 (32.8%) participants, and radio exposure was ≥1 hour in 1223 (37%) participants. Frequency of exposure to social networks was significantly associated with perceived stress (P=.04) and GAD (P=.01). A Bonferroni post hoc test revealed significantly different perceived stress in participants who were exposed to social networks for 1 hour (P=.04) and those who had no exposure (P=.04). A crude linear regression showed that “some” social media use (P=.02) and 1 hour of exposure to social media (P<.001) were associated with perceived stress. Adjusting for sociodemographic variables revealed no associations with this outcome variable. In a crude logistic regression, some social media use (P<.001) and 2 to 5 hours of exposure to social media (P=.03) were associated with GAD. Adjusting for the indicated variables showed that some social network use (P<.001) and 1 hour (P=.04) and 2 to 5 hours (P=.03) of exposure to social media were associated with GAD.
ConclusionsOlder people, especially women, were often exposed to COVID-19–related information through television and social networks; this affected their mental health, specifically GAD and stress. Thus, the impact of the infodemic should be considered during anamnesis for older people, so that they can share their feelings about it and receive appropriate psychosocial care. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T12:39:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f2c68d433b424a14a855056612595a68 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2561-7605 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T12:39:55Z |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | JMIR Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | JMIR Aging |
| spelling | doaj.art-f2c68d433b424a14a855056612595a682023-08-28T23:55:44ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR Aging2561-76052023-05-016e4270710.2196/42707COVID-19 Infodemic and Impacts on the Mental Health of Older People: Cross-sectional Multicenter Survey StudyPatricia Rodrigues Brazhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-2102-635XTiago Ricardo Moreirahttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-6606-4942Andréia Queiroz Ribeirohttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-6546-1252Luciane Ribeiro de Fariahttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-7856-5659Fabio da Costa Carbogimhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-2065-5998Vilanice Alves de Araújo Püschelhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-6375-3876Jack Roberto Silva Fhonhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-1880-4379Eduarda Rezende Freitashttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-0315-9549Ione Carvalho Pintohttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-7541-5591Fabiana Costa Machado Zachariashttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-1150-6114Gylce Eloisa Cabreira Panitz Cruzhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-6490-3319Richardson Miranda Machadohttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-9895-6905Rosimere Ferreira Santanahttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-4593-3715Priscilla Alfradique de Souzahttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-4625-7552Graziele Ribeiro Bitencourthttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-9130-9307Alexandre Favero Bulgarellihttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-7110-251XRicardo Bezerra Cavalcantehttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-5381-4815 BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic received widespread media coverage due to its novelty, an early lack of data, and the rapid rise in deaths and cases. This excessive coverage created a secondary “infodemic” that was considered to be a serious public and mental health problem by the World Health Organization and the international scientific community. The infodemic particularly affected older individuals, specifically those who are vulnerable to misinformation due to political positions, low interpretive and critical analysis capacity, and limited technical-scientific knowledge. Thus, it is important to understand older people’s reaction to COVID-19 information disseminated by the media and the effect on their lives and mental health. ObjectiveWe aimed to describe the profile of exposure to COVID-19 information among older Brazilian individuals and the impact on their mental health, perceived stress, and the presence of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). MethodsThis cross-sectional, exploratory study surveyed 3307 older Brazilians via the web, social networks, and email between July 2020 and March 2021. Descriptive analysis and bivariate analysis were performed to estimate associations of interest. ResultsMajor proportions of the 3307 participants were aged 60 to 64 years (n=1285, 38.9%), female (n=2250, 68.4%), and married (n=1835, 55.5%) and self-identified as White (n=2364, 71.5%). Only 295 (8.9%) had never started or completed a basic education. COVID-19 information was mainly accessed on television (n=2680, 81.1%) and social networks (n=1943, 58.8%). Television exposure was ≥3 hours in 1301 (39.3%) participants, social network use was 2 to 5 hours in 1084 (32.8%) participants, and radio exposure was ≥1 hour in 1223 (37%) participants. Frequency of exposure to social networks was significantly associated with perceived stress (P=.04) and GAD (P=.01). A Bonferroni post hoc test revealed significantly different perceived stress in participants who were exposed to social networks for 1 hour (P=.04) and those who had no exposure (P=.04). A crude linear regression showed that “some” social media use (P=.02) and 1 hour of exposure to social media (P<.001) were associated with perceived stress. Adjusting for sociodemographic variables revealed no associations with this outcome variable. In a crude logistic regression, some social media use (P<.001) and 2 to 5 hours of exposure to social media (P=.03) were associated with GAD. Adjusting for the indicated variables showed that some social network use (P<.001) and 1 hour (P=.04) and 2 to 5 hours (P=.03) of exposure to social media were associated with GAD. ConclusionsOlder people, especially women, were often exposed to COVID-19–related information through television and social networks; this affected their mental health, specifically GAD and stress. Thus, the impact of the infodemic should be considered during anamnesis for older people, so that they can share their feelings about it and receive appropriate psychosocial care.https://aging.jmir.org/2023/1/e42707 |
| spellingShingle | Patricia Rodrigues Braz Tiago Ricardo Moreira Andréia Queiroz Ribeiro Luciane Ribeiro de Faria Fabio da Costa Carbogim Vilanice Alves de Araújo Püschel Jack Roberto Silva Fhon Eduarda Rezende Freitas Ione Carvalho Pinto Fabiana Costa Machado Zacharias Gylce Eloisa Cabreira Panitz Cruz Richardson Miranda Machado Rosimere Ferreira Santana Priscilla Alfradique de Souza Graziele Ribeiro Bitencourt Alexandre Favero Bulgarelli Ricardo Bezerra Cavalcante COVID-19 Infodemic and Impacts on the Mental Health of Older People: Cross-sectional Multicenter Survey Study JMIR Aging |
| title | COVID-19 Infodemic and Impacts on the Mental Health of Older People: Cross-sectional Multicenter Survey Study |
| title_full | COVID-19 Infodemic and Impacts on the Mental Health of Older People: Cross-sectional Multicenter Survey Study |
| title_fullStr | COVID-19 Infodemic and Impacts on the Mental Health of Older People: Cross-sectional Multicenter Survey Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | COVID-19 Infodemic and Impacts on the Mental Health of Older People: Cross-sectional Multicenter Survey Study |
| title_short | COVID-19 Infodemic and Impacts on the Mental Health of Older People: Cross-sectional Multicenter Survey Study |
| title_sort | covid 19 infodemic and impacts on the mental health of older people cross sectional multicenter survey study |
| url | https://aging.jmir.org/2023/1/e42707 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT patriciarodriguesbraz covid19infodemicandimpactsonthementalhealthofolderpeoplecrosssectionalmulticentersurveystudy AT tiagoricardomoreira covid19infodemicandimpactsonthementalhealthofolderpeoplecrosssectionalmulticentersurveystudy AT andreiaqueirozribeiro covid19infodemicandimpactsonthementalhealthofolderpeoplecrosssectionalmulticentersurveystudy AT lucianeribeirodefaria covid19infodemicandimpactsonthementalhealthofolderpeoplecrosssectionalmulticentersurveystudy AT fabiodacostacarbogim covid19infodemicandimpactsonthementalhealthofolderpeoplecrosssectionalmulticentersurveystudy AT vilanicealvesdearaujopuschel covid19infodemicandimpactsonthementalhealthofolderpeoplecrosssectionalmulticentersurveystudy AT jackrobertosilvafhon covid19infodemicandimpactsonthementalhealthofolderpeoplecrosssectionalmulticentersurveystudy AT eduardarezendefreitas covid19infodemicandimpactsonthementalhealthofolderpeoplecrosssectionalmulticentersurveystudy AT ionecarvalhopinto covid19infodemicandimpactsonthementalhealthofolderpeoplecrosssectionalmulticentersurveystudy AT fabianacostamachadozacharias covid19infodemicandimpactsonthementalhealthofolderpeoplecrosssectionalmulticentersurveystudy AT gylceeloisacabreirapanitzcruz covid19infodemicandimpactsonthementalhealthofolderpeoplecrosssectionalmulticentersurveystudy AT richardsonmirandamachado covid19infodemicandimpactsonthementalhealthofolderpeoplecrosssectionalmulticentersurveystudy AT rosimereferreirasantana covid19infodemicandimpactsonthementalhealthofolderpeoplecrosssectionalmulticentersurveystudy AT priscillaalfradiquedesouza covid19infodemicandimpactsonthementalhealthofolderpeoplecrosssectionalmulticentersurveystudy AT grazieleribeirobitencourt covid19infodemicandimpactsonthementalhealthofolderpeoplecrosssectionalmulticentersurveystudy AT alexandrefaverobulgarelli covid19infodemicandimpactsonthementalhealthofolderpeoplecrosssectionalmulticentersurveystudy AT ricardobezerracavalcante covid19infodemicandimpactsonthementalhealthofolderpeoplecrosssectionalmulticentersurveystudy |