Social Media and Public Health Emergency of International Concern: The COVID-19 Outbreak

The coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic is the cause of several disasters on human health and livelihoods in many countries around the globe. Even though everyone is at risk of infections regardless of ethnicity, income, age, and political affiliation, the consequences of the epidemic will weigh enormously in the global south, at the level of the very fragile sanitary architecture, the economic, social and cultural fabric. This study examines the key determinants of social media adoption and the consequences of their use in managing a public health crisis of International Concern like COVID-19. We propose a theoretical framework resulting from a combination of several approaches, such as the Health Belief Model, the Technology Acceptance Model and the theory of Social Influence. Moreover, we use a mixed research method to carry out various investigations in our study. The findings and recommendations of this research will serve as a research base for government agencies, health organizations and associations in the reflections and strategic actions being implemented to effectively fight against COVID-19 and equip marginalized communities with efficient information through the use of social media.