Perception of exaggeration or fear propagated by the media among the Peruvian population during the COVID-19 pandemic

Authors

Keywords:

Coronavirus, pandemic, social media, fear, Peru

Abstract

Introduction: In global health crises the media is important for reporting on important issues to the population. Objective: To characterize and find associations of perceived fear or exaggeration conveyed by the media in the COVID-19 pandemic. Methodology: Analytical and multicenter cross-sectional study. A virtual survey was conducted among 4009 people, in 17 cities of Peru, from March 15-20, 2020. The instrument, previously validated, evaluated three factors: the exaggeration of the media; the fear generated and the communication coming from health personnel, family members and friends. Relationship coefficients and p-values were calculated through the use of generalized linear models, with Gaussian family and identity linkage function. Values of p <0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: Social networks (64%) and television (57%) were perceived by all participants as exaggerating information; also, television (43%) and social networks (41%) increased the perception of fear. As for their family/friends, they perceived that they exaggerated the situation (39%) and generated fear (25%). In the multivariate analysis, women (p<0.001), those who had completed high school (p=0.023), were university students (p=0.037) and those with a postgraduate degree (p=0.002) had a lower total score of fear and perception of exaggeration. Conclusions: The perception of exaggeration and fear generation in the population were mostly caused by television and social networks.

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Author Biography

Christian R. Mejia, Universidad Continental

Coordinador en Investigación.

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Published

2020-04-14

How to Cite

1.
Mejia CR, Rodriguez-Alarcon JF, Garay-Rios L, Enriquez-Anco M de G, Moreno A, Huaytan-Rojas K, et al. Perception of exaggeration or fear propagated by the media among the Peruvian population during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rev Cubana Inv Bioméd [Internet]. 2020 Apr. 14 [cited 2025 Jul. 11];39(2). Available from: https://revibiomedica.sld.cu/index.php/ibi/article/view/e698

Issue

Section

ARTÍCULOS ORIGINALES