APPLICATION OF BEHAVIORAL ECONOMICS INSIGHTS TO INCREASE EFFECTIVENESS OF PUBLIC AWARENESS OF COVID-19.

OBJECTIVE: The aim: To determine the level of public awareness of COVID-19 and information needs, as well as level of public confidence in both official information on COVID-19 and to develop recommendations for communication policy on longer-term awareness in pandemic settings COVID-19, using principles of behavioral economics. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Materials and methods: 4 focus group interviews were conducted in residents of Ukraine, with a total quantity of 48 people aged 16-70 years questioned and an anonymous questionnaire was conducted in 1,700 respondents, representing the adult population aged 18 years and older from all over Ukraine. The representative error of the study with probability of 0.95 does not exceed 4%. The processing of questionnaires was carried out by SDU Center of Social Researches (SDUCSR) employees, using the OSA program. RESULTS: Results: 28.5% of respondents believe that politicians and media underestimate the danger of the COVID-19 epidemic, while other 28.1% believe that politicians and media adequately assess its danger. 18.9% of respondents are sure that the danger is exaggerated. As much as 24.5% of Ukrainian respondents could not decide on such assessment. The most common sources of information about disease/treatment are Internet and social media. Traditional media and relatives/acquaints who endured the COVID-19 also gain population`s confidence. A family doctor is the least popular source of information. 42.1% of respondents do not trust official information on the number of infected people and severity of the disease, and another 40% are not sure whether they should trust or not. Only 17.9% of respondents trust official information. CONCLUSION: Conclusions: Within informing the society about public health in conditions of a COVID-19 pandemic it is better to provide communication strategy for various target audiences: for youth which is inclined to underestimate threats of epidemic and obtains information on social networks; for people of a retirement age (as risk group) who lack information because they use only traditional media (mainly TV); for women who need psychological support to decrease in level of stress in the family more often and also to overcome the negative post-stressful situations (connected with the death of the family/relatives); for men who are inclined to neglect their own health, etc.; for the people who have endured COVID-19 to prevent possible reinfection in them.

STRENGTHENING SOCIETAL RESILIENCE DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC.

OBJECTIVE: The aim: To investigate factors that can negatively affect societal resilience in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and identify communication aspects of strengthening resilience through information policy formation. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Materials and methods: In the research process, the authors employed the monographic and abstract-logical methods. The communication aspect analysis of strengthening social resilience in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic also grounded upon the results of the authors' sociological study "Motivation of compliance/non-compliance with quarantine restrictions by the population of Ukraine". Focus-group interviews and surveys. A total of 1,700 respondents represent the adult population of Ukraine aged 18 and older (except those living on the territory temporarily not controlled by the Ukrainian authorities - the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, some areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions). The error of the study representativeness with a probability of 0.95: does not exceed 4%. RESULTS: Results:The analysis results indicate that under pandemic conditions informational space of Ukraine is charging with low-quality and diverse information and is getting out of control, which entails adverse effects on societal resilience. Besides, a survey conducted by the SSU Center for Social Studies endorses the availability of communication gaps. The poll claims 38.6% of Ukrainians to be dissatisfied with their awareness level of Covid-19 because the information is contradictory and unreliable. The opinion poll also proves the low level of Ukrainians' trust in state institutions and official details on the Covid-19 pandemic. Furthermore, violations of quarantine restrictions are socially acceptable, and a significant part of the population tends to ignore such violations by others. That is, among Ukrainians, compliance with quarantine restrictions has not become a social norm. CONCLUSION: Conclusions: An essential component for molding social resilience is the development and adoption of communication policies to change human behavior in the long-term in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The government should also develop a Public Health Awareness Concept in the pandemic with appropriate implementation plans at the state, regional and territorial community levels.