Assessing the role of media in crisis management in Afghanistan: A case study of crisis caused by coronavirus outbreak
Abstract
This study evaluated the relationship between media use and citizens' awareness of coronavirus. The method of this research was quantitative-survey, and the data collection tool was a questionnaire. The sample size was 383 people and determined using the Cochran's formula. The questionnaire was distributed online and conducted within 30 days from the 3 rd April to the 3 rd May of 2020. SPSS software was used to analyze the data. The statistical population of the study was Facebook users. In the present study, the independent variable was media use and the dependent variable was the level of public awareness in three dimensions; awareness, speed of information and fading of traditional beliefs have been measured. Findings showed that the media, especially Facebook, due to the characteristics of availability, decentralization, time and frequency, as well as the role of awareness and information in crisis control and management has been impressed in Afghanistan. Based on the results, the first and second hypotheses of the research that there is a relationship between access to media and high level of awareness as well as the relationship between access to media and increasing the speed of information are confirmed, but the third hypothesis due to the low intensity of the relationship between its variables was somewhat ruled out.
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