Association of a Public Health Campaign About Coronavirus Disease 2019 Promoted by News Media and a Social Influencer With Self-reported Personal Hygiene and Physical Distancing in the Netherlands

Abstract

IMPORTANCE In the absence of a vaccine and therapeutic agent, personal hygiene and physical distancing are essential measures to contain the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. OBJECTIVE To determine whether a social media campaign, targeted at the gaps in behavior on personal hygiene and physical distancing and distributed nationwide via digital news media, may be an effective method to improve behavior and help to inhibit person-to-person transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This survey study was designed to uncover self-reported gaps in behavior regarding personal hygiene and physical distancing in the Netherlands. A diagnostic survey was distributed by a large national newspaper (De Telegraaf) and a popular social influencer (Govert Sweep) on March 17, 2020, and was completed by 16 072 participants. Analysis of these outcomes showed that coughing and sneezing in the elbow was done well, but that handwashing, face touching, and physical distancing showed serious gaps compared with advised behavior. This diagnostic information was used to design infographics and a video targeted at repairing these gaps in behavior. The video and infographics were distributed on a national level on March 21, 2020, followed by a postcampaign survey to measure the results on March 24, 2020. Data analysis was performed from March to April 2020. EXPOSURE Exposed participants were those who viewed the infographics and/or video. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Improvement on the extent of handwashing in all areas, handwashing duration of 20 seconds or longer, awareness on face touching, and physical distancing were measured according to responses on the postcampaign survey. RESULTS A total of 17 189 participants (mean [SD] age, 47.61 [13.57] years; 9100 women [52.9%]) responded to the postcampaign survey. The news article in De Telegraaf was read more than 2 million times, and the influencer video was watched more than 80 000 times. Cross-sectional analysis of the postcampaign survey using logistic regression correcting for age, gender, and educational level showed that exposure to the video plus infographics (827 participants) (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 2.14; 95% CI, 1.83-2.50; P < .001) and to the infographics alone (11 348 participants) (adjusted OR, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.22-1.40; P < .001) were positively associated with washing hands in all areas compared with the unexposed group (4751 participants). In addition, exposure to the video plus infographics (adjusted OR, 1.86; 95% CI, 1.59-2.16; P < .001) and to the infographics alone (adjusted OR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.19-1.36; P < .001) were positively associated with washing hands long enough compared with the unexposed group. Exposure to the video alone was not associated with improved handwashing. (continued) Key Points Question Are evidence-based public health campaigns, aiming to contain the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and using digital news media and social media, associated with improvements in personal hygiene? Findings In th...

Predictors of attitudes and adherence to COVID-19 public health guidelines in Western countries: a rapid review of the emerging literature

“… 23 , 33–38 With the exception of one study that only reported 777 869 Twitter ‘tweets’, 37 the mean number of participants in each study was 5293 (standard deviation = 9105), with median number of 1625 participants (range = 482–37 077). Most studies used cross-sectional survey designs ( k = 22), whereas other design types included longitudinal surveys ( k = 3), 14 , 23 , 38 quasi-experimental ( k = 1), 17 experimental designs ( k = 2) 21 , 32 and media analysis ( k = 1). 37 Convenience sampling methods were used in almost all included studies ( k = 14 convenience samples and k = 13 stratified convenience samples), with the exception of two studies that relied on random sampling 14 and quota sampling 34 methods.…”

“…Only three studies investigating the effects of interventions on attitudes or adherence to COVID-19 public health recommendations were identified in this review. Yousuf et al 17 conducted an uncontrolled experimental study using convenience samples ( n = 16 072 [diagnostic survey] and n = 17 189 [post-campaign survey]) in the Netherlands. They report that exposure to both a targeted video campaign featuring a 22-year-old male social media influencer and a related newspaper article with infographics improved handwashing duration and thoroughness.…”

Role of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in the upgrading of personal hygiene. A cross-sectional study in Saudi Arabia

“…The overall improvement in hygiene practices in KSA during this pandemic reflects the effectiveness of the early and efficient health education campaigns through media and telecommunication tools such as Short Message Service (SMS). Yousuf et al 17 found that exposure to a targeted public health campaign about COVID-19 using social media platforms and digital news was associated with an increase in the odds of washing all required areas in hands as well as longer hand-washing duration in the Netherlands.…”

“…To date, there is no vaccine or definite medication for COVID-19; therefore, physical distance and personal hygiene are essential for containing this pandemic. 17 Thus, the aim of this study is to assess the current personal hygiene practices and to test the effect of COVID-19 pandemic in improving these practices compared to the pre-pandemic era among individuals living in KSA.…”

Comparing News Articles and Tweets About COVID-19 in Brazil: Sentiment Analysis and Topic Modeling Approach

“…According to the abovementioned report [3], there were 465,166 cases and 27,878 deaths in Brazil. In past pandemic outbreaks, information exchange was relatively slow. However, with the popularization of the internet, 3.7 billion people worldwide (approximately 49.7% of the world's population) commonly use web-based information [4], and these people rely on two main sources of web-based data, namely news media web sites and social media. Using these media, people keep themselves informed about treatments, prevention, and cases, and they also participate in debates about the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on their lives.…”