Television exposure is related to fear of avian flu, an Ecological Study across 23 member states of the European Union
Background: A pandemic outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza is believed to coincide with large-scale panic. Even without an outbreak fear of infection may be widespread. Mass media coverage of the risks of a pandemic may lead to higher levels of fear. Methods: An ecological study looked at data from 23...
| Published in: | The European Journal of Public Health |
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| Main Authors: | , |
| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Oxford University Press
2009
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://eurpub.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/ckp061v2 https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckp061 |
| Summary: | Background: A pandemic outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza is believed to coincide with large-scale panic. Even without an outbreak fear of infection may be widespread. Mass media coverage of the risks of a pandemic may lead to higher levels of fear. Methods: An ecological study looked at data from 23 member states of the European Union and controlled for population size, level of education, age distribution and income and wealth. Results: When the findings for Cyprus were excluded each additional hour of average TV viewing was associated with a 15.6% increase in the proportion of people worrying about the virus. TV viewing explained 52% of the variance. Conclusion: Fear of a pandemic precedes any real pandemic and may have to be dealt with separately. Exposure to television is highly associated with worrying about the virus. This relationship merits further study. |
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