Objectives: During the epidemic of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), the wide spread of rumors caused significant public hazards. This study aims to understand the situation of discrimination for typical COVID-19 rumors by the public and related factors.
Methods: An anonymous online survey was carried out using Questionnaire Star. The contents included participants' gender, age, education level, the COVID-19 information sources, and the judgmental questions about 14 representative COVID-19 rumors. The discrimination rate and 95% confidence interval of 14 rumors were estimated, and the association of discrimination rate with gender, age, and education level was analyzed by binary logistic regression.
Results: A total of 2 087 valid questionnaires were collected. The participants were mainly female (62.7%) and below 35 years old (63.4%); the education level was predominantly college/bachelor's degree (47.3%) and master's degree or above (39.1%); the participants, who accessed to COVID-19 information included internet media, accounted for 91%. The participants with different gender, age, and education level had significant differences in the distribution of COVID-19 information sources (all P<0.01). The participants' discrimination rate for 14 rumors ranged from 67.4% to 98.6%, with 4 rumors less than 80%. Women's discrimination rate of 9 rumors was significantly higher than men's (all P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the discrimination rate of rumors among the different age groups (all P>0.05), but the differences in the discrimination rate of other rumors among the different age groups varied according to the rumor. Compared to those with high school or less education levels, the discrimination rates were also higher in the respondents with high education levels (P<0.05).
Conclusions: A few publics are still unable to identify typical rumors during the COVID-19 epidemic. There are associations among genders, age, and the education levels with the discrimination of some rumors. The government authorities should strengthen the true information regarding COVID-19, and therefore enhance the public's ability to identify rumors.
目的: 新型冠状病毒肺炎(coronavirus disease 2019，COVID-19)(以下简称为新冠)流行期间，谣言的广泛传播带来了较大的社会危害。本研究旨在了解公众对典型新冠谣言的甄别情况及其影响因素。方法: 使用问卷星电子问卷进行匿名调查。调查内容包括参与者的性别、年龄、文化程度、获取新冠信息的途径和对14条典型新冠谣言的判断。估算谣言的甄别正确率及95%置信区间，采用二分类logistic回归分析谣言甄别正确率与性别、年龄和文化程度的关联。结果: 共收集2 087份有效问卷。参与者以女性(62.7%)、35岁以下人群(63.4%)为主，文化程度以大专/本科(47.3%)和硕士及以上(39.1%)为主，获取新冠信息的途径为网络媒体的参与者占91.0%。不同性别、年龄段和文化程度参与者获取新冠信息的途径差异均有统计学意义(均P<0.01)。参与者对14条谣言的正确甄别率介于67.4%~98.6%，其中4条谣言的正确甄别率低于80%。女性对9条谣言的正确甄别率均高于男性(均P<0.05)。不同年龄段参与者对第5、6、10、12、13条谣言的正确甄别率差异均无统计学意义(均P>0.05)，但对其他谣言的甄别存在差异(均P<0.05)。与中学及以下文化程度相比，文化程度较高的参与者谣言正确甄别率更高(P<0.05)。结论: 新冠流行期间仍有少部分公众无法正确甄别典型的谣言。性别、年龄及文化程度与部分谣言的正确甄别存在关联。政府部门应加大对新冠谣言的辟谣力度，以提升公众正确甄别谣言的能力。.
Keywords: China; coronavirus disease 2019; rumor.