Research on Media Presentation and Public Reaction to the First Health Digital Assistant in Croatia

Abstract

This research paper investigates the perception, acceptance, and media presentation of the digital assistant Andrija in the healthcare sector during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research used combined methods that include analysis of the media presentation of the Andrija project and the public's reaction on Facebook, collection of public announcements on the Facebook social network, and their quantitative and qualitative analysis. The research sample consisted of 82 posts on Facebook that corresponded to the keywords "Andrija, digital assistant". The research results show that Andrija digital assistant played a key role in providing basic information about the COVID-19 pandemic and supporting the public in making informed decisions. The analysis of the media presentation of the Andrija project on Facebook revealed a diversity in the size of the posts, with an emphasis on image/video material and the presence of links to official websites. Also, Andrija chatbot was generally well received, with a high number of "Like" reactions and emotional connection expressed through "Love" reactions on analyzed Facebook posts. However, there are variations in user perception. Examination of the correlation between the size of the post (number of words) and reactions on Facebook posts did not show a statistically significant correlation between the size of the post and the total number of quick reactions, but a statistically significant positive correlation was found between the size of the post and the number of "Like" reactions.