Application of behavioral economics insights to increase effectiveness of public awareness of COVID-19

Abstract

The aim: To determine the level of public awareness of COVID-19 and information needs, as well as level of public confidence in both official information on COVID-19 and to develop recommendations for communication policy on longer-term awareness in pandemic settings COVID-19, using principles of behavioral economics. Materials and methods: 4 focus group interviews were conducted in residents of Ukraine, with a total quantity of 48 people aged 16-70 years questioned and an anonymous questionnaire was conducted in 1,700 respondents, representing the adult population aged 18 years and older from all over Ukraine. The representative error of the study with probability of 0.95 does not exceed 4%. The processing of questionnaires was carried out by SDU Center of Social Researches (SDUCSR) employees, using the OSA program. Results: 28.5% of respondents believe that politicians and media underestimate the danger of the COVID-19 epidemic, while other 28.1% believe that politicians and media adequately assess its danger. 18.9% of respondents are sure that the danger is exaggerated. As much as 24.5% of Ukrainian respondents could not decide on such assessment. The most common sources of information about disease/treatment are Internet and social media. Traditional media and relatives/acquaints who endured the COVID-19 also gain population`s confidence. A family doctor is the least popular source of information. 42.1% of respondents do not trust official information on the number of infected people and severity of the disease, and another 40% are not sure whether they should trust or not. Only 17.9% of respondents trust official information. Conclusions: Within informing the society about public health in conditions of a COVID-19 pandemic it is better to provide communication strategy for various target audiences: for youth which is inclined to underestimate threats of epidemic and obtains information on social networks; for people of a retirement age (as risk group) who lack information because they use only traditional media (mainly TV); for women who need psychological support to decrease in level of stress in the family more often and also to overcome the negative post-stressful situations (connected with the death of the family/relatives); for men who are inclined to neglect their own health, etc.; for the people who have endured COVID-19 to prevent possible reinfection in them.