Abstract: [Purpose/Significance] To help improve the quality of government information disclosure,this study takes the COVID-19 epidemic as a typical case to explore the public information needs from government information disclosure（GID）during public health emergencies.,and reveals the relationship and the factors shaping these needs. [Design/Methodology] Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted and 96 valid interview transcripts were analyzed.Open coding was performed to analyze the data using NVivo11 software. [Findings/Conclusion] The results indicate that the public expects to obtain security guarantee information,social-related dynamic information,emergencies-related knowledge, and positive reports from GID. The public present different levels of information needs. It is observed that some needs are aroused by others. The results also indicate that the public information needs are affected by the characteristics of the event, individual characteristics, and disclosed information. [Originality/Value] This study provides a theoretical foundation for the government to understand the information needs of the public when they are facing emergent event and serve them better. It also has implications in improving the GID quality in practice.

Keywords: Information needs, Public health emergencies, COVID-19 epidemic, Government information disclosure