TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - A KU study is highlighting how Kansans get their COVID-19 information, and how much they trust their sources.
The University of Kansas says it has conducted a study that found that while Kansas survey participants relied on multiple sources of information, they tended to prefer local authorities and distrust social media.
Mugur Geana, associate professor of journalism and mass communications and director of KU’s Center for Excellence in Health Communications to Underserved Populations, wrote the study being published in the June issue of the Kansas Journal of Medicine. She says the study shows responses consistent with the state’s status, at the time, as an area with relatively few cases.
“When we did this survey in April, information was changing very fast,” says Geana. “We wanted to make sure we captured a window in which data available to people did not vary widely.”
The school says over 130 Kansas submitted answers to the social media survey which was only open for a 96-hour window.
According to the study, none of the respondents had COVID-19 and only 8% had family members diagnosed, while 41% said they knew someone in their community or place of work that had tested positive for the virus. Respondents appraised their knowledge of the pandemic as above average and their responses to questions confirmed that.
“We wanted to understand what their concept of risk was. We were pleasantly surprised, but we also need to take it with a grain of salt, because the sample skewed toward highly educated participants,” says Geana.
Geana says results are consistent with online surveys, which usually are answered more by highly educated people and women.
The study shows among the significant findings that Kansans chose their top source of information was Governor Laura Kelly’s daily news conferences, which were also rated the most trustworthy. Using search engines, such as Google or Bing, to find information was second in terms of usage with 60% of respondents searching them daily. The study found national newspapers such as The New York Times or the Wall Street Journal were third in usage, while discussion with family, friends and co-workers ranked last.
The study says public television and national newspapers were the most trusted sources of mediated information, while local or regional papers, commercial television, cable news, liberal and conservative media sources followed. Social media platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, were the least trusted form of information.
Geana says the high level of knowledge among respondents was not surprising but the lack of trust in social media was.
“We somewhat expected that (high level of knowledge) because it was a salient issue. People had to stay at home because of COVID-19, so they were watching a lot of TV because of it, reading a lot of news because of COVID-19, etc. That was very surprising,” says Geana of the observed lack of trust in social media. “In addition to media, in terms of trust, medical professionals are the most trusted people, but co-workers, family and friends are important, because you talk with them more, often through social media channels. Well, we found that they are not as trusted as we expected. Probably a lot of the recent scandals involving social media influenced the trust that people have in it nowadays.”
The study also found a relationship between the level of knowledge Kansans had and their willingness to take precautions to protect themselves and others. Kansans that reported strong feelings about precautionary measures put in place by the state government were also less likely to take precautionary measures. The study shows that this is also in line with previous findings that people’s risk perceptions were related to the severity of the outbreak in their community.
“If I believe a mask will not help me, I am more likely not to wear one, even though I have access to information that tells me that is dangerous and I could get COVID-19,” says Geana said of the.
KU says the study is the first of two, and the second part will include more information on the perception of risk about contracting the novel coronavirus as states started to reopen, with survey data taken in May.
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