Risk Management and Healthcare Policy (May 2021)
The Role of Social Media in the Advent of COVID-19 Pandemic: Crisis Management, Mental Health Challenges and Implications
Abstract
Jaffar Abbas,1,2 Dake Wang,2 Zhaohui Su,3 Arash Ziapour4 1Antai College of Economics and Management (ACEM), Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), Shanghai, 200240, People’s Republic of China; 2School of Media and Communication (SMC), Shanghai, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), 200240, People’s Republic of China; 3School of Nursing, University of Texas, Center on Smart and Connected Health Technologies, Mays Cancer Center, UT Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, 78229, USA; 4Research Center for Environmental Determinants of Health (RCEDH), Health Institute, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, 6715847141, IranCorrespondence: Dake Wang;Jaffar AbbasSchool of Media and Communication (SMC), Shanghai, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), 200240, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail [email protected]; [email protected]: This study focuses on how educating people through social media platforms can help reduce the mental health consequences of the COVID-19 to manage the global health crisis. The pandemic has posed a global mental health crisis, and correct information is indispensable to dispel uncertainty, fear, and mental stress to unify global communities in collective combat against COVID-19 disease worldwide. Mounting studies specified that manifestly endless coronavirus-related newsfeeds and death numbers considerably increased the risk of global mental health issues. Social media provided positive and negative data, and the COVID-19 has resulted in a worldwide infodemic. It has eroded public trust and impeded virus restraint, which outlived the coronavirus pandemic itself.Methods: The study incorporated the narrative review analysis based on the existing literature related to mental health problems using the non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) approach to minimize the COVID-19 adverse consequences on global mental health. The study performed a search of the electronic databases available at PsycINFO, PubMed, and LISTA. This research incorporates the statistical data related to the COVID-19 provided by the WHO, John Hopkins University, and Pakistani Ministry of Health.Results: Pakistan reported the second-highest COVID-19 cases within South Asia, the fifth-highest number of cases in Asia after Iran, India, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the 14th highest recorded cases, as of October 14, 2020. Pakistan effectively managed the COVID-19 pandemic in the second wave. It stands at the eighth-highest number of confirmed cases in Asia, the 3rd-highest in South Asia, and the 28th-highest number of established patients globally, as of February20, 2021.Conclusion: The COVID-19 has resulted in over 108.16 million confirmed cases, deaths over 2.374 million, and a recovery of 80.16 million people worldwide, as of February 12, 2021. This study focused on exploring the COVID-19 pandemic’s adverse effects on global public health and the indispensable role of social media to provide the correct information in the COVID-19 health crisis. The findings’ generalizability offers helpful insight for crisis management and contributes to the scientific literature. The results might provide a stepping-stone for conduct future empirical studies by including other factors to conclude exciting developments.Keywords: mental health, COVID-19, health crisis, social media, social support, tele-education
