Data Sheet 1_Youth and the pandemic: health information imaginaries and practices while navigating COVID-19 in Nigeria.docx

This study explores young adults’ perceptions, behaviors, and how they navigated pandemic-related information, drawing from social cognitive theory. In the digital age, young people, characterized as “digital informavores,” actively seek, consume, and share information, playing a crucial role in health communication. The research, involving participants aged 18–30 in two urban centers in Nigeria, focused on COVID-19 socio-health concerns, including social distancing, masking, sanitizing, movement restrictions, vaccination, infection, testing, and treatment. The analysis, employing the social cognitive lens, and following a critical thematic approach, indicates that the degree of infodemic exposure experienced during the pandemic impacted participants’ understanding, attitudes, behaviors, and risk perceptions. Participants primarily relied on digital sources and social support systems for pandemic-related health information. Their self-efficacy and risk perceptions, as well as pandemic-induced affectations, were evident throughout the data. Attitudes toward the pandemic evolved from its onset, through the announcement and easing of the national lockdown, to the vaccination rollout. Dominant perceptions included the use of “copy and paste solutions” in Nigeria’s pandemic response, COVID-19 denialism, and politicization of the pandemic, leading to mistrust in government and health authorities. The pandemic’s impacts included mental health issues and economic hardship, particularly in a country lacking social security or welfare plans. Following a low vaccination rate among participants, the data revealed vaccine lethargy, “vaccinformation void,” vaccine misinformation, vaccine distrust, and vaccine inaccessibility, due to various reasons and factors at play. Some young adults adhered to health rules due to fear and anxiety, while others were nonchalant, overwhelmed by the rules or discouraged by others’ non-compliance. The young adults’ imaginaries and behaviors were influenced by sociocultural intermediaries, religious and political actors, and Nigeria’s socio-economic conditions.

本研究基于社会认知理论（"Social Cognitive Theory"），探讨青年群体对疫情相关信息的认知、行为及信息获取路径。在数字时代，被归类为"数字信息觅食者"的青年群体主动搜寻、获取并分享信息，在健康传播中发挥着关键作用。本研究招募尼日利亚两座城市中心18至30岁的参与者，聚焦新冠疫情相关的社会健康议题，包括社交距离、口罩佩戴、手部消毒、出行限制、疫苗接种、感染情况、病毒检测与治疗等。本研究采用社会认知视角与批判性主题分析法开展分析，结果显示，疫情期间参与者所经历的信息疫情（"infodemic"）暴露程度，会影响其对疫情的认知、态度、行为及风险感知。参与者主要通过数字渠道与社会支持系统获取疫情相关健康信息。分析数据中可明显观察到参与者的自我效能感、风险感知，以及疫情引发的情绪反应。民众对疫情的态度随疫情发展不断演变：从疫情初期，到全国封锁令的发布与解除，再到疫苗推广阶段。主流认知包括尼日利亚疫情应对采用"照搬式解决方案"、新冠病毒否认论，以及疫情政治化，这些因素均导致民众对政府与卫生部门的信任缺失。疫情带来的影响包括心理健康问题与经济困境，而尼日利亚作为缺乏社会保障与福利计划的国家，民众受冲击尤为严重。参与者的疫苗接种率较低，分析数据显示，受多重因素影响，当地存在疫苗倦怠、疫苗信息真空（"vaccinformation void"）、疫苗错误信息、疫苗信任缺失以及疫苗可及性不足等问题。部分青年因恐惧与焦虑而遵守防疫规定，另有部分青年则态度淡漠：要么因防疫规则繁多而不堪重负，要么因他人不遵守防疫要求而心生懈怠。青年群体的认知想象与行为，受到社会文化中介主体、宗教与政治行为体，以及尼日利亚社会经济状况的影响。