Does the name of a disease matter? Chinese people's public perception of the renaming of COVID-19.

ABSTRACT:

Background

On 7 December 2022, China discontinued its 3-year zero-COVID strategy, and on 26 December 2022, changed the name of COVID-19 from [novel coronavirus pneumonia (NCP)] to [novel coronavirus infection (NCI)]. This study examined whether the renaming influenced public perception of COVID-19's severity right after the change, despite the Omicron variant itself remaining unchanged.

Methods

A survey was conducted immediately following the renaming in China. Participants were asked to directly compare the two names, and indirectly questioned about their perceptions of the virus. Responses were compared to assess whether linguistic framing with NCP or NCI influenced perceptions.

Results

Direct comparisons showed that 65% of respondents (N = 1256) perceived the new n

SUBMITTER: Han M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12395955 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature