Information seeking behaviors and media credibility among college students during the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted educational institutions around the world. Public health authorities have been at the forefront of the crisis launching public health campaigns to convey health messages and educate the public about the virus. This study used simple random sampling (N = 1,773) to examine information-seeking behaviors and the credibility of COVID-19 information among college students. The study further examined the association between the Health Belief Model (HBM), perceived threat, and the credibility of COVID-19 information. Results revealed the most and least likely communication channels students used to access COVID-19 information and the credibility of each channel. Students first went to public health authorities’ communication channels and sources for information. Traditional media channels ranked low in usage. Public health authorities ranked high in credibility, and the credibility of sources predicted a slight increase in the HBM and the perceived threat mean scores. Findings should help college administrators better communicate critical health information to students during a health crisis.