Knowledge of Social Media Users about COVID-19 and its Challenges: A Mixed Methods Study

Background: In confronting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), informing the public through social media is one of the most important strategies. Objectives: The present study aimed to assess the knowledge level of social media users about COVID-19 and its challenges in Iran. Methods: This mixed-methods study was conducted in 2020. In the quantitative phase, the knowledge level of 299 social media users about COVID-19 was assessed in Khorramabad, Iran, using a questionnaire. Data were analyzed using the SPSS software version 23. The mean score of knowledge was measured utilizing the t-test and analysis of variance. In the qualitative phase, data collection was completed through semi-structured interviews. Purposive sampling was used, and ten faculty members and experts were interviewed. The content analysis method was used to analyze data using the MAXQDA10 software. Results: We observed that the mean knowledge score was 73.73 out of 100. Knowledge score had a significant relationship with educational level, field, and profession. Challenges of raising the knowledge of social media users included five themes: The nature of the disease, challenges related to users, stewardship challenges, the nature of social media, and problems related to domestic messengers. Conclusions: Proper and active management of social media, along with the decisive and effective presence of health system authorities in social media, can make this platform the most important source to the public for knowledge raising during the outbreaks of communicable diseases.