Evaluation of the Social Perception about Coronavirus Pandemic in Türkiye by using Data Mining

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the social perception of the Covid-19 outbreak, and to evaluate the public’s knowledge level about the Covid-19, opinion, and emotional condition. Materials and methods: An online questionnaire created by the researchers was applied to all communities living in Turkey, between 1-15 May 2020 date. Association rules analyses were performed using the descriptive analyses for the research data and the "Apriori Data Mining Analysis" method for the questions, which were anticipated to be associated with each other. Results: 3751 people participated in the study. It has been determined that there are differences in terms of the level of knowledge and perception of Covid-19 in terms of factors such as living in rural areas, low education level, and socioeconomic level. Although almost all of the society (96.1%) know that Covid-19 is a very contagious disease, they have different perspectives in terms of their risk of getting the disease. Social distance application is evaluated as very effective in preventing the spread of the disease by 90.2% of the society. Although it is known by a significant portion of the society (70.8%) which behaviors are appropriate or not in implementing social distance, the rate of those who do not know (29%) is relatively important. Conclusion: Informing the society about the precaution against Covid-19 and compliance with these measures and making attempts to ensure the necessary compliance are seen as key points in preventing the spread of the disease. Making decisions covering all components of the society, increasing compliance with the proposed precautions, and developing practices to ensure sustainability are gaining importance.

Keywords

• Covid-19
• Social Perception
• Data Mining

References

1. 1. Ji Y, Ma Z,, Peppelenbosch MP, Pan O. Potential association between COVID-19 mortality and healthcare resource availability Lancet Glob Health, 2020; 8(4): e480. doi: 10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30068-1.
2. 2. World Health Organisation. Laboratory biosafety guidance related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), 2020a. Accessed at: https://www.who.int/publications-detail/laboratory-biosafety-guidance-related-to-coronavirus-disease-2019-(Covid-19)
3. 3. Scientific American. WHO declares coronavirus outbreak a global health emergency, 2020. Accessed at: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/who-declares-coronavirus-outbreak-a-global-health-emergency/
4. 4. World Health Organisation. Web Page, 2020b. Accessed at: https://covid19.who.int/
5. 5. Republic of Turkey Ministry of Health Web Page, 2020. Accessed at: https://covid19.saglik.gov.tr/
6. 6. Demirbilek Y, Pehlivantürk G, Özgüler ZÖ, Alpmeşe E. Covid-19 outbreak control, example of ministry of health of Turkey. Turk J Med Sci.2020; 50: 489-494, doi: 10.3906/sag-2004-187.
7. 7. Li JB, Yang A, Dou K, Wang LX, Zang MC, Lin XQ. Chinese public’s knowledge, perceived severity, and perceived controllability of the Covid-19 and their associations with emotional and behavioural reactions, social participation, and precautionary behaviour: A national survey. BMC Public Health.2020;20: 1-14, doi: 10.1186/s12889-020-09695-1.
8. 8. Geldsetzer P. Knowledge and perceptions of coronavirus disease 2019 among the general public in the United States and the United Kingdom: A cross-sectional online survey. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 2020;1-4, doi: 10.7326/M20-0912

9. 9. Rus M, Sandu ML, Tasente T. Covid-19 crisis in Romania - between perception and attitude. Technium Social Sciences Journal, 2020; 6: 69-87.
10. 10. McFadden AM, Malik AA, Aguolu OG, Willebrand KS, Omer SB (2020). Perceptions of the adult US population regarding the novel coronavirus outbreak. Plos One.2020;1-6. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0231808
11. 11. Sümbüloğlu K, Sümbüloğlu V (2002). Biyoistatistik. Ankara: Hatiboğlu Publications, 10th Edition.
12. 12. Brug, J, Aro, AR, Oenema, A, De Zwart, O, Richardus, JH, Bishop, GD. SARS risk perception, knowledge, precautions, and information sources, the Netherlands. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 2004;10:1486–1489. doi: 10.3201/eid1008.040283
13. 13. Dorfan, NM, Woody, SR. Danger appraisals as prospective predictors of disgust and avoidance of contaminants. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology,2011; 30:105-132. doi:10.1521/jscp.2011.30.2.105
14. 14. Vartti, AM, Oenema, A, Schreck, M, et al. SARS knowledge, perceptions, and behaviors: A comparison between Finns and the Dutch during the SARS outbreak in 2003. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 2009;16:41-48. doi: 10.1007/s12529-008-9004-6
15. 15. WHO-China Joint Mission on Coronavirus Disease. Report of the WHO-China Joint Mission on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2020. Accessed at: https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/who-china-joint-mission-on-covid-19-final-report.pdf
16. 16. Wu Z, McGoogan JM. Characteristics of and Important Lessons From the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Outbreak in China: Summary of a Report of 72314 Cases From the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Jama. 2020;323(13):1239-1242. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.2648
17. 17. Guan WJ, Hu Y, Liang W, Quan Ou C et al. Clinical Characteristics of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in China. New England Journal of Medicine.2020;1-13. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2002032
18. 18. Lohiniva AL, Sane J, Sibenberg K, Puumalainen T, Salminen M. Understanding coronavirus disease (COVID-19) risk perceptions among the public to enhance risk communication efforts: a practical approach for outbreaks, Finland, Euro Surveill 2020;25(13):pii=2000317. doi: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.13.2000317
19. 19. Bhagavathula AS, Aldhaleei WA, Rahmani J, Mahabadi MA, Bandari DK. Knowledge and Perceptions of Covid-19 Among Health Care Workers: Cross-Sectional Study, JMIR Public Health Surveill. 2020; 6(2):e19160. doi: 10.2196/19160
20. 20. Farhana, KM, Mannan, KA. Knowledge and perception towards Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) in Bangladesh, International Research Journal of Business and Social Science, 2020;6(2):76-79.
21. 21. Abdelhafz, AS,Mohammed Z, Ibrahim ME et al. Knowledge, Perceptions, and Attitude of Egyptians Towards the Novel Coronavirus Disease (Covid-19), Journal of Community Health, 2020;1-10. doi: 10.1007/s10900-020-00827-7