Section of Behavioral Sciences, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey.
School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.
Health Commun. 2022 Jul;37(8):1004-1012. doi: 10.1080/10410236.2021.1880684. Epub 2021 Feb 8.
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) broke out in China in January 2020 and has been effectively controlled in April 2020 after China's relentless efforts. People's engagement in disease-related preventive behaviors is crucial in containing such infectious disease. Vulnerable populations often have higher chances of developing severe illness from COVID-19 and the mortality rate is also higher. Thus, at-risk populations for COVID-19 request extra attention. The current study conducted a national online survey among vulnerable populations in China in early February 2020 to examine their engagement in coronavirus-related preventive health behaviors (e.g., frequent handwashing) and the potential determinants including factors from the Health Belief Model, trust in different media sources, and health literacy. The results suggested that the vulnerable populations' engagement in coronavirus-related preventive behaviors were significantly associated with barriers, benefits, self-efficacy, trust in doctors' social media, and trust in TV for COVID-19-related information. Besides, barriers, benefits, self-efficacy, trust in doctors' social media, and trust in TV mediated the effects of health literacy on preventive behaviors. Our findings provided directions for future health promotions and interventions targeting vulnerable populations to enhance their preventive behaviors in China.
2020 年 1 月，中国爆发了冠状病毒病（COVID-19），经过不懈努力，于 2020 年 4 月得到有效控制。人们参与与疾病相关的预防行为对于控制这种传染病至关重要。脆弱人群往往更容易患 COVID-19 重症，死亡率也更高。因此，高危人群需要格外关注。本研究于 2020 年 2 月初在中国脆弱人群中进行了一项全国性在线调查，以调查他们参与冠状病毒相关预防保健行为（例如，勤洗手）的情况，以及包括健康信念模型中的因素、对不同媒体来源的信任和健康素养等潜在决定因素。结果表明，脆弱人群参与冠状病毒相关预防行为与障碍、益处、自我效能、对医生社交媒体的信任以及对电视上 COVID-19 相关信息的信任显著相关。此外，障碍、益处、自我效能、对医生社交媒体的信任和对电视的信任中介了健康素养对预防行为的影响。我们的研究结果为未来针对脆弱人群的健康促进和干预措施提供了方向，以增强他们在中国的预防行为。
