Abstract

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, people have been using information sources, especially social media, in an unprecedented way. Dissemination of information greatly affects people's behavior. Aim: To investigate the options for individuals to obtain news and knowledge about COVID-19 pandemic and the adequacy and trust of sources from their point of view in the center of Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in February 2020 in the city of Yazd (before and after the official report of the first cases). Subjects were entered this research by convenience sampling method. Data gathering tool was a checklist and collected data were entered into SPSS Statistics 18 software and analyzed with descriptive statistics (frequency and percentage) and Chi-square test. Results: This study was performed on 399 general population. The results showed that 188 people (49.3) used the mass media, 180 people (47.2) used social networks and the rest used other sources, including print sources, health center training and family or friends to increase their knowledge on COVID-19. Younger age individuals were more likely to choose social media, and middle-aged and older people were more likely to obtain information from the mass media (P <0.001). In the case of social media, Instagram was the most frequently used one to get information without any difference between age groups. 83.5 participants stated that they have high confidence in the information obtained from the above-mentioned news sources. Conclusion: According to the importance of the both mass and social media in amplification of information, health systems and health authorities must pay attention during epidemics to establish a series of accessible information sources as reference specified for subgroups from one side and monitor information derived from other sources from the other side.