Media Coverage of the Gaza War: Effects on the Psychological and Functional Well-Being of Chronically Ill Patients in Jordan

Abstract Aim: This study aimed to examine the relationship between media exposure to the Gaza War and psychological and functional health outcomes among chronically ill patients in Jordan. Methods: This study employed a descriptive correlational design on 129 chronically ill patientsfrom two key hospitals within Amman. Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale and Inventory of Psychosocial Functioning were used for data collection. Descriptive and inferential statistics employed for data analysis. Findings: The findings indicated that greater media coverage had strong correlations to lower psychological well-being (r = -0.55, p < 0.001), and lower functional health outcomes (r = -0.39, p < 0.001). The key predictors of psychological health are media coverage, educational levels (β = 0.29, p = 0.01), and gender (β = -0.18, p = 0.03). For functional health, psychological well-being (β = -0.46, p < 0.001), aging process (β = 0.24, p = 0.01), followed by media coverage (β = -0.21, p = 0.03), were key determinants. The variance of psychological well-being was 38.5% accounted by the models (R² = 0.385, F (3,125) = 26.05, p < 0.001), while that of functional health accounted for 42.7% of variance (R² = 0.427, F (3,125) = 31.42, p < 0.001). Conclusion: The study confirms negative health outcomes of media use on people with chronic illnesses, emphasizing the need for appropriate interventions, possibly including media literacy programs and psychological therapy programs to alleviate media-stimulated fear among these individuals.