Behaviors on Obtaining and Verifying Health Information from Digital Media During the Infodemic

Comlekci, M.; Bozkanat, E.

The current study has two significant purposes. The primary aim of the study is to design a valid and reliable scale regarding the behaviors users have for obtaining and verifying health information from digital media during the COVID-19 Pandemic, which became a global health issue in 2020 by affecting the whole world. The secondary aim of the study is to reveal the sources to which new media users frequently refer for obtaining and verifying health information. The research was conducted online using the questionnaire technique with the participation of 551 people. The study demonstrates the "Obtaining and Verifying Health Information from Digital Media Scale to be a valid and reliable measurement tool consisting of 10 items and 3 factors. Another result is that users refer to websites (Web 1.0) more than social media (Web 2.0) when obtaining online health information. In order to verify the health information they have obtained, participants tend to check the online accounts of scientists and doctors. The conclusion section discusses these findings around the concept of infodemic.