Adequacy of public health communications on H7N9 and MERS in Singapore: insights from a community based cross-sectional study

Abstract

BackgroundSingapore remains vulnerable to worldwide epidemics due to high air traffic with other countries This study aims to measure the public’s awareness of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Avian Influenza A (H7N9), identify population groups who are uninformed or misinformed about the diseases, understand their choice of outbreak information source, and assess the effectiveness of communication channels in Singapore.MethodsA cross-sectional study, comprising of face-to-face interviews, was conducted between June and December 2013 to assess the public’s awareness and knowledge of MERS and H7N9, including their choice of information source. Respondents were randomly selected and recruited from 3 existing cohort studies. An opportunistic sampling approach was also used to recruit new participants or members in the same household through referrals from existing participants.ResultsOut of 2969 participants, 53.2% and 79.4% were not aware of H7N9 and MERS respectively. Participants who were older and better educated were most likely to hear about the diseases. The mean total knowledge score was 9.2 (S.D ± 2.3) out of 20, and 5.9 (S.D ± 1.2) out of 10 for H7N9 and MERS respectively. Participants who were Chinese, more educated and older had better knowledge of the diseases. Television and radio were the primary sources of outbreak information regardless of socio-demographic factors.ConclusionHeightening education of infectious outbreaks through appropriate media to the young and less educated could increase awareness.

Assessment on Awareness Towards Preventive Measures of COVID-19 in Sheka, South Nation Nationalities and Peoples of Region, Southwestern Ethiopia: Community Based Cross-Sectional Study

“…It is an improvement over the chance level to aware of the COVID-19 pandemic, and 26% chances did not aware of COVID-19. The current study is consistent with the study done in the awareness of the individual towards COVID-19 disease [17].…”

Achieving a Covid-19 Free Country: Citizens Preventive Measures and Communication Pathways

“…2). Literature suggests that profiling of clusters based on different variables (such as demographics, psychographics, and behavioral) are particularly significant to the maximum effective communication impact since communication varies depending on the targeted segment [ 55 , 71 , 72 ].…”

“…However, studies centered around behavior towards viruses and segmentation analysis mostly refer to sexual diseases (AIDS), or aspects of behavior (i.e., perceptions, knowledge, awareness) developed toward viruses and diseases, which are issues not tackled by this study. However, all studies [ 55 , 72 ] highlighted that, for effective public interventions, communication strategies must target each segment differently with regard to their attitudes and behavior [ 76 ].…”

Health literacy in the general population in the context of epidemic or pandemic coronavirus outbreak situations: Rapid scoping review

“… Hoda 2016 [ 122 ] 25CF; 25CF; 25CF; ○ ○ 25CF; ○ ○ n.r. Hou 2018 [ 107 ] 25CF; 25CF; 25CF; ○ ○ 25CF; ○ ○ n.r. Jang 2018 [ 34 ] 25CF; 25CF; 25CF; 25CF; ○ 25CF; 25CF; 25CF; n.r.…”