Association Between Public Knowledge About COVID-19, Trust in Information Sources, and Adherence to Social Distancing: Cross-Sectional Survey (Preprint)

Ilona,; Lucas, Nicole; Henke, Debra; Zigler, Christina K.

doi:10.2196/preprints.22060

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 5 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…These changing policies coupled with a perceived lack of transparency and limited public health information left individuals feeling a sense of distrust and confusion surrounding the pandemic (12). This created a climate for an "infodemic", where public fear and desire for knowledge coupled with widespread misinformation facilitated the spread of stigmatization and discrimination (13)(14)(15)(16)(17).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring Canadian perceptions and experiences of stigma during the COVID-19 pandemic

Fahim¹,

Cooper²,

Theivendrampillai³

et al. 2023

Front. Public Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has led to stigmatization of individuals based on race/ethnicity, age, gender, and occupation, among other factors. We canvassed Canadian residents to explore perceptions of and experiences with stigma during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsWe conducted an online survey between June 10 and December 31 2020. The survey was rooted in the Health Stigma and Discrimination Framework and included multiple choice, Likert and open-ended questions related to perceived and experienced stigma. Residents of Ontario, Canada were eligible to participate and we aimed to recruit a sample that was diverse by race/ethnicity and age.ResultsA total of 1,823 individuals participated in the survey (54% women, 39% men; 54% 18–40 years old, 28% 41–60 years old, 12% 61+ years old; 33% White, 26% East/SouthEast Asian, 14% Black, 12% South Asian). Fifty-one percent of participants agreed/strongly agreed that racist views had increased toward certain racial/ethnic groups in Canada during the pandemic. Participants perceived that people in Canada were stigmatized during the pandemic because of race/ethnicity (37%), political beliefs (26%), older age (24%), being a healthcare worker (23%), younger age (22%), being an essential worker (21%), and gender (11%). Thirty-nine percent of respondents feared experiencing and 37% experienced stigmatization during the pandemic. Men, individuals aged 18–40, and racialized participants were more likely to fear or experience stigma. With respect to health behaviors, 74, 68, and 59% of respondents were comfortable masking in public, seeking medical care if they became ill, and getting tested for COVID-19, respectively. Men were less likely to indicate comfort with mask wearing or seeking medical care. Participants aged 18–40 and Black participants were less likely to indicate comfort with all three behaviors compared to those over age 41 and White participants, respectively. South Asian participants were less likely to be comfortable seeking medical care compared to White Participants.DiscussionParticipants feared or experienced stigmatization towards various demographic characteristics during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is critical that the factors driving stigma during health emergencies in Canada be better understood in order to develop effective public health messaging and interventions.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring Canadian perceptions and experiences of stigma during the COVID-19 pandemic

Fahim¹,

Cooper²,

Theivendrampillai³

et al. 2023

Front. Public Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Perception and awareness of COVID-19 among health science students at Kuwait University: An online cross-sectional study (Preprint)

Alali¹,

Aljimi²,

Altawalah³

et al. 2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BACKGROUND Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is unprecedented. Health science students are the future frontliners to fight pandemics. OBJECTIVE Awareness and perception toward COVID-19 among health science students at Kuwait University was assessed. METHODS Between June and July 2020, an online questionnaire was distributed to all students at HCS. The questionnaire was divided into six sections: socio-demography, risk and awareness, preparedness and prevention, source of information, policies, and social stigma. RESULTS A total of 592 students completed the questionnaire. The self-reported COVID-19 prevalence among students was 2.7%. About 54% of students reported that they knew someone within their immediate social environment who have been/are infected with SARS-CoV-2. The prevalence of self-reported chronic condition among students was 14.0% including 42.2% reported having a form of asthma. Among students, 92.4% wore face mask in indoor places (outside of their home) ‘often/all the time’ compared to wearing it outdoors (69.3%). Students indicated a great deal of trust in official government press releases and consultation with healthcare workers. On COVID-19 vaccination, 50% of students ‘strongly agreed’ to uptake it with an additional 25.8% ‘agreed’ to taking it. Participants strongly agreed or agreed (72.5% and 19.6%, respectively) that wearing face mask in public should be obligatory. More than 18% of students indicated that they would avoid contact with COVID-19 infected people. CONCLUSIONS : Responses of students showed that they follow precautionary measures to control spread of COVID-19, understand the viral transmission risk, and willing to uptake the COVID-19 vaccine.

show abstract

COVID-19 Information Sources and Health Behaviors During Pregnancy: Results From a Prenatal App-Embedded Survey (Preprint)

Bohnhoff¹,

Davis²,

Bruin³

et al. 2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BACKGROUND Pregnancy is a time of heightened COVID-19 risk. Pregnant individuals’ choice of specific protective health behaviors during pregnancy may be affected by information sources. OBJECTIVE This study examined the association between COVID-19 information sources and engagement in protective health behaviors among a pregnant population in a large academic medical system. METHODS Pregnant patients completed an app-based questionnaire about their sources of COVID-19 information and engagement in protective health behaviors. The voluntary questionnaire was made available to patients using a pregnancy app as part of their routine prenatal care between April 21 and November 27, 2020. RESULTS In total, 637 pregnant responders routinely accessed a median of 5 sources for COVID-19 information. The most cited source (79%) was the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Self-reporting evidence-based protective actions was relatively common, although 14% self-reported potentially harmful behaviors to avoid COVID-19 infection. The CDC and other sources were positively associated with engaging in protective behaviors while others (eg, US president Donald Trump) were negatively associated with protective behaviors. Participation in protective behaviors was not associated with refraining from potentially harmful behaviors (P=.93). Moreover, participation in protective behaviors decreased (P=.03) and participation in potentially harmful actions increased (P=.001) over the course of the pandemic. CONCLUSIONS Pregnant patients were highly engaged in COVID-19–related information-seeking and health behaviors. Clear, targeted, and regular communication from commonly accessed health organizations about which actions may be harmful, in addition to which actions offer protection, may offer needed support to the pregnant population.

show abstract

Association Between Public Knowledge About COVID-19, Trust in Information Sources, and Adherence to Social Distancing: Cross-Sectional Survey (Preprint)

Cited by 3 publications

References 5 publications

Exploring Canadian perceptions and experiences of stigma during the COVID-19 pandemic

Exploring Canadian perceptions and experiences of stigma during the COVID-19 pandemic

Perception and awareness of COVID-19 among health science students at Kuwait University: An online cross-sectional study (Preprint)

COVID-19 Information Sources and Health Behaviors During Pregnancy: Results From a Prenatal App-Embedded Survey (Preprint)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About