Social Media as Sources of Information about COVID-19 among Food Handlers Working in Restaurants | ||
| International Journal of Heritage, Tourism and Hospitality | ||
| Article 6, Volume 17, Issue 1, June 2023, Pages 83-92 PDF (417.41 K) | ||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||
| DOI: 10.21608/ijhth.2023.328379 | ||
| Authors | ||
| Youssef Ibarhim Agwa* ; Eslam Ibarhim Elnadory* | ||
| Higher Institute of Tourism and Hotels (EGOTH) in Alexandria, Egypt | ||
| Abstract | ||
| COVID-19 has swiftly disseminated across the globe, leading to its official declaration as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020. COVID-19 cases have been reported in numerous countries worldwide. This study aimed to assess using social media (SM) as sources of information about COVID-19 among food handlers working in restaurants. Based on a cross-sectional data, 227 valid questionnaire forms were descriptively analyzed using SPSS 25. In general, information sources on COVID-19 were predominantly social media, television, and websites, with respective preferences of 76.6%, 53.19%, and 53.2%. The inclination toward social media stemmed largely from its accessibility, as indicated by 76.6% of respondents. Notably, Facebook emerged as the leading social media platform, with a usage rate of 64.7%. Among the various types of content, videos stood out as the most appealing posts, with a notable 84.8%. The videos that garnered the highest frequency of engagement on social media were those showcasing perspectives from pandemic-specialized doctors and narratives shared by survivors of COVID-19, constituting 84.8% and 39.2%, respectively. The global health challenge posed by the COVID-19 pandemic underscores the significance of these findings. Consequently, these results can assist public health authorities in involving communities in the adoption of protective health measures. Encouraging positive hygiene practices, such as regular hand washing, can contribute to mitigating the risk of COVID-19. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| COVID-19; social media, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, restaurants, Egypt | ||
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