"Help Us!": a content analysis of COVID-19 help-seeking posts on Weibo during the first lockdown.
COVID-19
Lockdown
Online help-seeking
Public engagement
Social media
Journal
BMC public health
ISSN: 1471-2458
Titre abrégé: BMC Public Health
Pays: England
ID NLM: 100968562
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
19 04 2023
19 04 2023
Historique:
received:
15
12
2022
accepted:
31
03
2023
medline:
21
4
2023
pubmed:
20
4
2023
entrez:
19
04
2023
Statut:
epublish
Résumé
Social media is playing an increasingly important role in public emergencies for help-seekers, especially during the global COVID-19 pandemic. Wuhan, China, firstly official reported COVID-19 cases and implemented lockdown measures to prevent the spread of the virus. People during the first lockdown were restricted from seeking help face-to-face. Social media is more prominent as an online tool for people seeking help, especially for patients, than in other stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to explore the urgent needs presented in help-seeking posts in Wuhan during the first COVID-19 lockdown, the content features of these posts, and how they influenced online user engagement. This study collected posts from Weibo posted with specific help tags during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Wuhan: from 23 January 2020 to 24 March 2020, and eventually received 2055 data, including textual content, comments, retweets, and publishing location. Content analysis was conducted, and manual coding was performed on help-seeking typology, narrative mode, narrative subject, and emotional valence. The result showed that help-seeking posts primarily were seeking medical (97.7%). Features of these posts were mainly adopting a mixed narrative mode (46.4%), released by relatives of patients (61.7%), and expressing negative emotions (93.2%). Chi-square tests suggested that help-seeking posts with mixed narrative modes released by relatives express more frequent negative emotions. Results of negative binomial regression indicated posts of seeking information (B = 0.52, p < .001, e This study provides evidence of what actual public demands are to be considered and addressed by governments and public administrators before implementing closure and lockdown policies to limit the spread of the virus. Meanwhile, our findings offer strategies for people help-seeking on social media in similar public health emergencies.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
Social media is playing an increasingly important role in public emergencies for help-seekers, especially during the global COVID-19 pandemic. Wuhan, China, firstly official reported COVID-19 cases and implemented lockdown measures to prevent the spread of the virus. People during the first lockdown were restricted from seeking help face-to-face. Social media is more prominent as an online tool for people seeking help, especially for patients, than in other stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.
OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to explore the urgent needs presented in help-seeking posts in Wuhan during the first COVID-19 lockdown, the content features of these posts, and how they influenced online user engagement.
METHODS
This study collected posts from Weibo posted with specific help tags during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Wuhan: from 23 January 2020 to 24 March 2020, and eventually received 2055 data, including textual content, comments, retweets, and publishing location. Content analysis was conducted, and manual coding was performed on help-seeking typology, narrative mode, narrative subject, and emotional valence.
RESULTS
The result showed that help-seeking posts primarily were seeking medical (97.7%). Features of these posts were mainly adopting a mixed narrative mode (46.4%), released by relatives of patients (61.7%), and expressing negative emotions (93.2%). Chi-square tests suggested that help-seeking posts with mixed narrative modes released by relatives express more frequent negative emotions. Results of negative binomial regression indicated posts of seeking information (B = 0.52, p < .001, e
CONCLUSIONS
This study provides evidence of what actual public demands are to be considered and addressed by governments and public administrators before implementing closure and lockdown policies to limit the spread of the virus. Meanwhile, our findings offer strategies for people help-seeking on social media in similar public health emergencies.
Identifiants
pubmed: 37076879
doi: 10.1186/s12889-023-15578-y
pii: 10.1186/s12889-023-15578-y
pmc: PMC10113719
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
710Informations de copyright
© 2023. The Author(s).
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