The relationship between health mindsets and health protective behaviors: An exploratory investigation in a convenience sample of American Indian adults during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The Novel-coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-2019) outbreak was declared a national emergency on March 13, 2020. To reduce the spread of the virus, Americans were asked to physically distance and to increase disinfecting behaviors such as hand washing. Previous research indicates that one’s mindset about health, or the degree to which they view health as fixed or modifiable, influences health behaviors. Current data indicates that American Indians (AIs) are at greater risk for COVID-19. As such, it is important to understand whether mindsets about health may affect behaviors which could prevent spread of the virus in AIs. In this exploratory investigation, a convenience sample of two hundred AI adults completed a questionnaire one month prior to the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic as a national emergency. They provided demographic information and completed a measure of health mindsets. The second wave of data was collected approximately one month later, where we collected a measure of physical distancing behavior and a measure of disinfecting behaviors. In AI adults, health mindset predicted frequency of physical distancing behaviors and disinfecting behaviors, with individuals who viewed health as less fixed engaging in more physical distancing and disinfecting behaviors, while individuals who viewed health as more fixed reported less physical distancing and less disinfecting behaviors. In AIs, growth health mindsets predicted physical distancing and disinfecting behaviors, both of which are important in reducing the spread of COVID-19. Interventions which are designed to promote growth mindsets of health may promote health-protective behaviors in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Validação transcultural da Escala de Mindset Direcionado à Saúde no Brasil

“…17 Apesar de conceito relativamente novo, a teoria do mindset direcionado à saúde é bastante promissora, em outro estudo com 210 índios americanos sugeriu que pacientes portadores de mindset de crescimento estavam mais associados a adotar comportamentos que poderiam ajudar a reduzir a transmissão da COVID19 em comunidades comunitárias, adotando medidas como maior frequência de higienização das mãos, uso de álcool em gel e higienização de itens pessoais como celulares. 18 Além de tratar-se de instrumento objetivo e de rápida aplicação, pode ser facilmente analisado em conjunto com outras escalas. Foi correlacionada com o Scoliosis Research Society Health-Related Quality of Life (SRS-30) em uma população de 110 adolescentes, nos quais os indivíduos com mindset de crescimento relatavam índices maiores de qualidade de vida em comparação aos pacientes com mindset fixo.…”

“…Another study with 210 Native Americans suggested that patients with a growth mindset were more likely to adopt behaviors that could help reduce the transmission of COVID19 in community settings, adopting measures such as greater frequency of hand hygiene, use of alcohol gel and hygiene of personal items such as cell phones. 18 In addition to being an objective and quick-to-apply instrument, it can be easily analyzed in conjunction with other scales. It was correlated with the Scoliosis Research Society Health-Related Quality of Life (SRS-30) in a population of 110 adolescents, in which individuals with a growth mindset reported higher quality of life rates compared to patients with a fixed mindset.…”

“…Another study with 210 Native Americans suggested that patients with a growth mindset were more likely to adopt behaviors that could help reduce the transmission of COVID19 in community settings, adopting measures such as greater frequency of hand hygiene, use of alcohol gel and hygiene of personal items such as cell phones. 18 …”

Building a Culture of Health Through the Built Environment: Impact of a Cluster Randomized Trial Remediating Vacant and Abandoned Property on Health Mindsets

“…Health mindset refers to the collection of beliefs that an individual holds about what factors contribute to their personal health and well-being, and their expectations about the efficacy of individual action on influencing health. 1,2 Holding positive health mindsets and expectations has been linked to many beneficial health outcomes ranging from implementation of COVID-19 prevention practices, 3 to successful post-operative recovery in children, 4 to healthy aging in women. 5 While mindsets may shape individual health behaviors, their role in driving community narratives about health and in the policies and practices outside of individual behavior and approaches that shape health may be key to adoption of population level solutions to health and health inequities.…”

What drives health mindset and expectations in the United States?

“…Health mindset is a group of beliefs or assumptions that individuals hold about the causes of health and well-being [5,6]. Several important factors contribute to health mindset, including an understanding of factors that generate health, such as social determinants of health; perceptions of the relative roles of personal and environmental health influences; and thoughts about equity [4].…”