ORCID Profile
0000-0001-5462-7800
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Publisher: JMIR Publications Inc.
Date: 04-06-2020
Abstract: uring the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a heightened need to understand health information seeking behaviors to address disparities in knowledge and beliefs about the crisis. his study assessed sociodemographic predictors of the use and trust of different COVID-19 information sources, as well as the association between information sources and knowledge and beliefs about the pandemic. n online survey was conducted among US adults in two rounds during March and April 2020 using advertisement-based recruitment on social media. Participants were asked about their use of 11 different COVID-19 information sources as well as their most trusted source of information. The selection of COVID-related knowledge and belief questions was based on past empirical literature and salient concerns at the time of survey implementation. he s le consisted of 11,242 participants. When combined, traditional media sources (television, radio, podcasts, or newspapers) were the largest sources of COVID-19 information (91.2%). Among those using mainstream media sources for COVID-19 information (n=7811, 69.5%), popular outlets included CNN (24.0%), Fox News (19.3%), and other local or national networks (35.2%). The largest in idual information source was government websites (87.6%). They were also the most trusted source of information (43.3%), although the odds of trusting government websites were lower among males (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 0.58, 95% CI 0.53-0.63) and those aged 40-59 years and ≥60 years compared to those aged 18-39 years (AOR 0.83, 95% CI 0.74-0.92 AOR 0.62, 95% CI 0.54-0.71). Participants used an average of 6.1 sources (SD 2.3). Participants who were male, aged 40-59 years or ≥60 years not working, unemployed, or retired or Republican were likely to use fewer sources while those with children and higher educational attainment were likely to use more sources. Participants surveyed in April were markedly less likely to use (AOR 0.41, 95% CI 0.35-0.46) and trust (AOR 0.51, 95% CI 0.47-0.56) government sources. The association between information source and COVID-19 knowledge was mixed, while many COVID-19 beliefs were significantly predicted by information source similar trends were observed with reliance on different types of mainstream media outlets. OVID-19 information source was significantly determined by participant sociodemographic characteristics and was also associated with both knowledge and beliefs about the pandemic. Study findings can help inform COVID-19 health communication c aigns and highlight the impact of using a variety of different and trusted information sources.
Publisher: JMIR Publications Inc.
Date: 08-04-2020
Abstract: he COVID-19 pandemic has evolved into one of the most impactful health crises in modern history. The rapid onset and evolution of the pandemic has compelled researchers to explore innovative ways to efficiently collect public health data in a timely manner. Social media platforms, such as Facebook, have been explored as a recruitment tool for research in other settings however, their feasibility for collecting data on population beliefs and practices during infectious disease epidemics, such as COVID-19, and their capacity to yield nationally representative s les in these contexts remain unexplored. his study has two aims 1) describe the methodology used to recruit a nationwide s le of adults residing in the United States to participate in a survey on COVID-19 knowledge, beliefs, and practices, and 2) outline the preliminary findings related to recruitment, challenges using social media as a recruitment platform, and strategies used to address these challenges. Facebook advertisement c aign was used to disseminate the link to an online Qualtrics survey between March 20-30, 2020. Two supplementary male-only and racial minority- targeted advertisements with otherwise identical characteristics to the original advertisement were created on the sixth and tenth day of recruitment, respectively, to address issues of disproportionate female- and White-oriented gender- and ethnic-skewing observed in the advertisement’s reach and response trends. he advertisements cumulatively reached 236,017 in iduals and resulted in 9,609 clicks (4.07% reach). In total, 6,602 participant responses were recorded (68.7% of those who clicked on the advertisement). Total cost of the advertisement was $906, resulting in costs of $0.09 per click, $0.14 per response (all surveys), and $0.18 per full response (completed surveys). Implementation of the supplementary male-only advertisement successfully improved the cumulative percentage of male respondents from approximately 20% to 40%. he social media advertisement c aign was an effective and efficient strategy to collect large scale, nationwide data on COVID-19 within a short time period. However, significant limitations included gender and racial skewing, which may have resulted from Facebook’s cost optimization algorithms, and advertisement review challenges. Future research should attempt to address such challenges. These findings can inform future research on the use of social media recruitment for the rapid collection of survey data on knowledge, beliefs and practices related to significant public health problems, including rapidly evolving pandemics such as COVID-19.
Publisher: JMIR Publications Inc.
Date: 08-10-2020
DOI: 10.2196/21071
Abstract: During the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a heightened need to understand health information seeking behaviors to address disparities in knowledge and beliefs about the crisis. This study assessed sociodemographic predictors of the use and trust of different COVID-19 information sources, as well as the association between information sources and knowledge and beliefs about the pandemic. An online survey was conducted among US adults in two rounds during March and April 2020 using advertisement-based recruitment on social media. Participants were asked about their use of 11 different COVID-19 information sources as well as their most trusted source of information. The selection of COVID-related knowledge and belief questions was based on past empirical literature and salient concerns at the time of survey implementation. The s le consisted of 11,242 participants. When combined, traditional media sources (television, radio, podcasts, or newspapers) were the largest sources of COVID-19 information (91.2%). Among those using mainstream media sources for COVID-19 information (n=7811, 69.5%), popular outlets included CNN (24.0%), Fox News (19.3%), and other local or national networks (35.2%). The largest in idual information source was government websites (87.6%). They were also the most trusted source of information (43.3%), although the odds of trusting government websites were lower among males (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 0.58, 95% CI 0.53-0.63) and those aged 40-59 years and ≥60 years compared to those aged 18-39 years (AOR 0.83, 95% CI 0.74-0.92 AOR 0.62, 95% CI 0.54-0.71). Participants used an average of 6.1 sources (SD 2.3). Participants who were male, aged 40-59 years or ≥60 years not working, unemployed, or retired or Republican were likely to use fewer sources while those with children and higher educational attainment were likely to use more sources. Participants surveyed in April were markedly less likely to use (AOR 0.41, 95% CI 0.35-0.46) and trust (AOR 0.51, 95% CI 0.47-0.56) government sources. The association between information source and COVID-19 knowledge was mixed, while many COVID-19 beliefs were significantly predicted by information source similar trends were observed with reliance on different types of mainstream media outlets. COVID-19 information source was significantly determined by participant sociodemographic characteristics and was also associated with both knowledge and beliefs about the pandemic. Study findings can help inform COVID-19 health communication c aigns and highlight the impact of using a variety of different and trusted information sources.
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 09-02-2022
DOI: 10.1371/JOURNAL.PGPH.0000117
Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted the physical and mental health, and the economic stability, of specific population subgroups in different ways, deepening existing disparities. Essential workers have faced the greatest risk of exposure to COVID-19 women have been burdened by caretaking responsibilities and rural residents have experienced healthcare access barriers. Each of these factors did not occur on their own. While most research has so far focused on in idual factors related to COVID-19 disparities, few have explored the complex relationships between the multiple components of COVID-19 vulnerabilities. Using structural equation modeling on a s le of United States (U.S.) workers (N = 2800), we aimed to 1) identify factor clusters that make up specific COVID-19 vulnerabilities, and 2) explore how these vulnerabilities affected specific subgroups, specifically essential workers, women and rural residents. We identified 3 COVID-19 vulnerabilities: financial, mental health, and healthcare access 9 out of 10 respondents experienced one 15% reported all three. Essential workers [standardized coefficient (β) = 0.23 unstandardized coefficient (B) = 0.21, 95% CI = 0.17, 0.24] and rural residents (β = 0.13 B = 0.12, 95% CI = 0.09, 0.16) experienced more financial vulnerability than non-essential workers and non-rural residents, respectively. Women (β = 0.22 B = 0.65, 95% CI = 0.65, 0.74) experienced worse mental health than men whereas essential workers reported better mental health (β = -0.08 B = -0.25, 95% CI = -0.38, -0.13) than other workers. Rural residents (β = 0.09 B = 0.15, 95% CI = 0.07, 0.24) experienced more healthcare access barriers than non-rural residents. Findings highlight how interrelated financial, mental health, and healthcare access vulnerabilities contribute to the disproportionate COVID-19-related burden among U.S. workers. Policies to secure employment conditions, including fixed income and paid sick leave, are urgently needed to mitigate pandemic-associated disparities.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2021
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 29-11-2021
DOI: 10.1371/JOURNAL.PONE.0260643
Abstract: This study assessed the modifying role of primary source of COVID-19 information in the association between knowledge and protective behaviors related to COVID-19 among adults living in the United States (US). Data was collected from 6,518 US adults through an online cross-sectional self-administered survey via social media platforms in April 2020. Linear regression was performed on COVID-19 knowledge and behavior scores, adjusted for sociodemographic factors. An interaction term between knowledge score and primary information source was included to observe effect modification by primary information source. Higher levels of knowledge were associated with increased self-reported engagement with protective behaviors against COVID-19. The primary information source significantly moderated the association between knowledge and behavior, and analyses of simple slopes revealed significant differences by primary information source. This study shows the important role of COVID-19 information sources in affecting people’s engagement in recommended protective behaviors. Governments and health agencies should monitor the use of various information sources to effectively engage the public and translate knowledge into behavior change during an evolving public health crisis like COVID-19.
Location: United States of America
No related grants have been discovered for Ariadna Capasso.