COVID-19 misinformation: Mere harmless delusions or much more? A knowledge and attitude cross-sectional study among the general public residing in Jordan

  1. Malik Sallam
  2. Deema Dababseh
  3. Alaa Yaseen
  4. Ayat Al-Haidar
  5. Duaa Taim
  6. Huda Eid
  7. Nidaa A. Ababneh
  8. Faris G. Bakri
  9. Azmi Mahafzah

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Abstract

Since the emergence of the recent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and its spread as a pandemic, media was teeming with misinformation that led to psychologic, social and economic consequences among the global public. Probing knowledge and anxiety regarding this novel infectious disease is necessary to identify gaps in knowledge and sources of misinformation which can help public health efforts to design and implement more focused interventional measures. The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and effects of misinformation about COVID-19 on anxiety level among the general public residing in Jordan. This cross-sectional study was conducted using an online-based questionnaire that took place in April 2020, which targeted people residing in Jordan, aged 18 and above. The questionnaire included items on the following: demographic characteristics of the participants, knowledge about COVID-19, anxiety level and misconceptions regarding the origin of the pandemic. The total number of participants included in final analysis was 3150. The study population was predominantly females (76.0%), with mean age of 31 years. The overall knowledge of COVID-19 was satisfactory. Older age, males, lower monthly income and educational levels, smoking and history of chronic disease were associated with perceiving COVID-19 as a very dangerous disease. Variables that were associated with a higher anxiety level during the pandemic included: lower monthly income and educational level, residence outside the capital (Amman) and history of smoking. Misinformation about the origin of the pandemic (being part of a conspiracy, biologic warfare and the 5G networks role) was also associated with higher anxiety levels. Social media platforms, TV and news releases were the most common sources of information about the pandemic. The study showed the potential harmful effects of misinformation on the general public and emphasized the need to meticulously deliver timely and accurate information about the pandemic to lessen the health, social and psychological impact of the disease.

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  1. Version published to 10.1371/journal.pone.0243264
  2. ScreenIT

    SciScore for 10.1101/2020.07.13.20152694: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    Institutional Review Board StatementConsent: Participation in the study was voluntary and an informed consent was included.
    IRB: Ethical permission: The study was approved by the Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Forensic Medicine and by the Scientific Research Committee at the School of Medicine/UJ, (using WhatsApp conference call) which was later registered under the reference number 2479/2020/67 at the School of Medicine/UJ.
    Randomizationnot detected.
    Blindingnot detected.
    Power Analysisnot detected.
    Sex as a biological variablenot detected.

    Table 2: Resources

    Software and Algorithms
    SentencesResources
    Statistical analysis: All statistical analyses were conducted in IBM SPSS v22.0 for Windows.
    SPSS
    suggested: (SPSS, RRID:SCR_002865)

    Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).

    Results from LimitationRecognizer: We detected the following sentences addressing limitations in the study:
    Study limitations: Despite the relatively large sample size, bias was observed for gender (a majority of females) and for age. However, age seems to reflect the age distribution among the residents of Jordan at least to some extent. In addition, it was justified to have predominance of residents in the Central region as it harbours roughly two-thirds of population in Jordan including the Capital, Amman. Furthermore, we should clearly state that the results of the current study might not be representative of the Jordanian population. This is partly related to survey distribution via contacts and networks of the authors, which make sampling bias inevitable. Thus, further studies are needed to confirm our findings at different national and cultural levels. The study validity can be another limitation despite having a majority of items adopted from previously published work [35]. Finally, we have to state the inherent limitations of surveys including the response of the participants in a way they think would please the researchers, in addition to the problem of incomplete response.

    Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.

    Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.

    Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.

    Results from rtransparent:
    • Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • Thank you for including a protocol registration statement.

    About SciScore

    SciScore is an automated tool that is designed to assist expert reviewers by finding and presenting formulaic information scattered throughout a paper in a standard, easy to digest format. SciScore checks for the presence and correctness of RRIDs (research resource identifiers), and for rigor criteria such as sex and investigator blinding. For details on the theoretical underpinning of rigor criteria and the tools shown here, including references cited, please follow this link.

  3. Version published to 10.1101/2020.07.13.20152694v1 on medRxiv