Author(s):
Sousa, Álvaro Francisco Lopes de ; Schneider, Guilherme ; Carvalho, Herica Emilia Félix de ; Oliveira, Layze Braz de ; Lima, Shirley Verônica Melo Almeida ; Sousa, Anderson Reis de ; Araújo, Telma Maria Evangelista de ; Camargo, Emerson Lucas Silva ; Oriá, Mônica Oliveira Batista ; Ramos, Carmen Viana ; Oliveira, Rodrigo Mota de ; Almeida, Camila Aparecida Pinheiro Landim ; Ferreira, Andrêa Jacqueline Fortes ; Teixeira, Jules Ramon Brito ; Lua, Iracema ; Souza, Fernanda de Oliveira ; Araújo, Tânia Maria de ; Fronteira, Inês ; Mendes, Isabel Amélia Costa
Date: 2022
Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.14/36358
Origin: Veritati - Repositório Institucional da Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Subject(s): Biomedical technology; Coronavirus infections; COVID-19; Health-related behaviors; Misinformation; Pandemics
Description
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, a complex phenomenon called the “infodemic” has emerged, compromising coping with the pandemic. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of agreement with misinformation about COVID-19 and to identify associated factors. A web survey was carried out in Portuguese-speaking countries in two stages: 1. the identification of misinformation circulating in the included countries; 2. a multicentric online survey with residents of the included countries. The outcome of the study was agreement or disagreement with misinformation about COVID-19. Multivariate analyzes were conducted using the Poisson regression model with robust variance, a logarithmic link function, and 95% confidence intervals. The prevalence of agreement with misinformation about COVID-19 was 63.9%. The following factors increased the prevalence of this outcome: having a religious affiliation (aPR: 1454, 95% CI: 1393–1517), having restrictions on leisure (aPR: 1230, 95% CI: 1127–1342), practicing social isolation (aPR: 1073, 95% CI: 1030–1118), not avoiding agglomeration (aPR: 1060, 95% CI: 1005–1117), not seeking/receiving news from scientific sources (aPR: 1153, 95% CI: 1068–1245), seeking/receiving news from three or more non-scientific sources (aPR: 1114, 95% CI: 1049–1182), and giving credibility to news carried by people from social networks (aPR: 1175, 95% CI: 1104–1251). There was a high prevalence of agreement with misinformation about COVID-19. The quality, similarity, uniformity, and acceptance of the contents indicate a concentration of themes that reflect “homemade”, simple, and easy methods to avoid infection by SARS-CoV-2, compromising decision-making and ability to cope with the disease.
