RT Journal Article
T1 COVID-19 information received by the Peruvian population, during the first phase of the pandemic, and its association with developing psychological distress Information about COVID-19 and distress in Peru
A1 Gómez Salgado, Juan
A1 Palomino Baldeón, Juan Carlos
A1 Ortega Moreno, Mónica
A1 Fagundo Rivera, Javier
A1 Allande Cussó, Regina
A1 Ruiz Frutos, Carlos
AB It is suspected that the information the population has about coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) determines both its preventivemeasures and its effects on mental health. The internet and social media are the sources that have largely replaced the official andtraditional channels of information. The objective of this study is to analyse the influence of the sources used by the population in Peruto obtain information on COVID-19 and its association with developing psychological distress (PD) and preventive measures againstcontagion.1699 questionnaires were analysed. A previously validated instrument adapted to Peru was used. Participants were questionedabout the information received regarding COVID-19, its sources, time of exposition, assessment, or beliefs about it. Mental healthwas measured with the Goldberg General Health Questionnaire. Descriptive and bivariate analysis were performed, developing aclassification and regression tree for PD based on beliefs and information about the pandemic.The most used source of information on COVID-19 in Peru was social media and this is associated with developing PD, both in thegeneral population and among health professionals. The quality of the information about treatments for COVID-19 is associated with PD inthe general population, whereas prognosis generates more distress among healthcare professionals. The biggest concern is transmittingthe virus to family members, close persons, or patients, with more confidence in health professionals than in the health system.The health authorities should use the social media to transmit quality information about COVID-19 and, at the same time, to gatherin real time the opinions on the implemented preventive measures. For all, this it is necessary to have higher credibility in thepopulation to increase the confidence in the health system, looking at basic aspects for compliance with prevention measures andimprovement of mental health
PB Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins
SN 0025-7974
SN 1536-5964 (electrónico)
YR 2022
FD 2022-02
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10272/21175
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10272/21175
LA eng
NO Gómez-Salgado, J., Palomino-Baldeón, J. C., Ortega-Moreno, M., Fagundo-Rivera, J., Allande-Cussó, R., & Ruiz-Frutos, C. (2022). COVID-19 information received by the Peruvian population, during the first phase of the pandemic, and its association with developing psychological distress. In Medicine (Vol. 101, Issue 5, p. e28625). Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health). https://doi.org/10.1097/md.0000000000028625
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Huelva
RD 1 jun 2026