Open AccessEffects of Social Media Use for Health Information on COVID-19–Related Risk Perceptions and Mental Health During Pregnancy: Web-Based Survey
Author(s) -
Qian Wang,
Luyao Xie,
Bo Song,
Jiangli Di,
Lınhong Wang,
Phoenix K. H. Mo
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
jmir medical informatics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2291-9694
DOI - 10.2196/28183
Subject(s) - worry , mental health , social media , psychological intervention , medicine , health belief model , public health , cross sectional study , risk perception , anxiety , clinical psychology , psychology , psychiatry , perception , health education , nursing , pathology , neuroscience , political science , law
Background Social media has become an important source of health information during the COVID-19 pandemic. Very little is known about the potential mental impact of social media use on pregnant women. Objective This study aims to examine the association between using social media for health information and risk perception for COVID-19, worry due to COVID-19, and depression among pregnant women in China. Methods A total of 4580 pregnant women were recruited from various provinces of China. The participants completed a cross-sectional, web-based survey in March 2020. Results More than one-third (1794/4580, 39.2%) of the participants reported always using social media for obtaining health information. Results of structural equation modeling showed that the frequency of social media use for health information was positively associated with perceived susceptibility (β=.05; P<.001) and perceived severity (β=.12; P<.001) of COVID-19, which, in turn, were positively associated with worry due to COVID-19 (β=.19 and β=.72, respectively; P<.001). Perceived susceptibility (β=.09; P<.001), perceived severity (β=.08; P<.001), and worry due to COVID-19 (β=.15; P<.001) all had a positive association with depression. Bootstrapping analysis showed that the indirect effects of frequency of social media use for health information on both worry due to COVID-19 (β=.09, 95% CI 0.07-0.12) and depression (β=.05, 95% CI 0.02-0.07) were statistically significant. Conclusions This study provides empirical evidence on how social media use for health information might have a negative impact on the mental health of pregnant women. Interventions are needed to equip this population with the skills to use social media properly and with caution.