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Analysis of the influencing factors of the knowledge gap related to SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19: a cross-sectional study in China (Preprint)


 BACKGROUND
 Since December 2019, COVID-19 has gradually begun to spread in China, and various media formats in China have also reported SARS-CoV-2 / COVID-19 a lot. However, in terms of information reception and mastery of relevant knowledge points, whether there are differences between different social status groups, further research is needed.
 
 
 OBJECTIVE
 This article uses the COVID-19 epidemic in China at the end of 2019 as an example to study public health emergencies. It examines whether (1) social structural factors, mass media, interpersonal communication, public communication, and the perceived salience of information can predict people's acquisition of SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19-related knowledge and (2) the above factors can significantly predict the difference in the knowledge level of groups with different educational levels, or the knowledge gap.
 
 
 METHODS
 The data come from an online survey of SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19-related knowledge and its influencing factors conducted by the School of Journalism and Communication of Nanjing Normal University in February 2020. The dependent variable is the total score of SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19-related knowledge, and the primary explanatory variable is an interactive variable obtained by multiplying the frequency of use of different media (print media, radio, television, and the Internet), the frequency of interpersonal communication, the frequency of publicity, the perceived salience of information, and the education level multiplied by the above variables. This paper uses a multilevel regression analysis method to analyze the data.
 
 
 RESULTS
 We collected a total of 1023 valid samples through snowball sampling using a network questionnaire. The samples covered all provinces in China except Tibet and Macau.The study found that education level, print media usage frequency, Internet usage frequency, and the significance of perceived information are significantly correlated with SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19-related knowledge scores. Print media usage frequency and Internet usage frequency can significantly predict the differences in SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19-related knowledge between groups with different education levels.
 
 
 CONCLUSIONS
 The research results show that during this public health emergency, the use of print media and Internet media widened the knowledge gap between groups with different educational levels. Moreover, although the perceived salience of information significantly affects people's SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19-related knowledge level, its impact on groups with different education levels does not show significant differences. Therefore, the perceived salience of information will not expand or reduce the knowledge gap between groups with different education levels.
