Shafiq Mehr, Elharake Jad A, Malik Amyn A, McFadden SarahAnn M, Aguolu Obianuju Genevieve, Omer Saad B
Yale Institute for Global Health, New Haven, Connecticut (Ms Shafiq, Mr Elharake, and Drs Malik, McFadden, Aguolu, and Omer); Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York City, New York (Ms Shafiq); Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut (Mr Elharake and Dr Omer); Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut (Drs Malik, McFadden, Aguolu, and Omer); and Yale School of Nursing, Orange, Connecticut (Dr Omer).
J Public Health Manag Pract. 2021;27(3):278-284. doi: 10.1097/PHH.0000000000001348.
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in more than 20 million cases and 350 000 deaths in the United States. With the ongoing media coverage and spread of misinformation, public health authorities need to identify effective strategies and create culturally appropriate and evidence-based messaging that best encourage preventive health behaviors to control the spread of COVID-19.
The purpose of this study was to understand the relationship between COVID-19 sources of information and knowledge, and how US adults' knowledge may be associated with preventive health behaviors to help mitigate COVID-19 cases and deaths.
For this cross-sectional study, survey data pertaining to COVID-19 were collected via online platform, Qualtrics, in February and May 2020.
Data responses included 718 US adults from the February survey and 672 US adults from the May survey-both representative of the US adult population.
Sociodemographic characteristics, COVID-19 knowledge score, COVID-19 reliable sources of information, and adherence to COVID-19 preventive health behaviors.
The main findings showed that disseminating COVID-19 information across various sources, particularly television, health care providers, and health officials, to increase people's COVID-19 knowledge contributes to greater adherence to infection prevention behaviors. Across February and May 2020 survey data, participants 55 years and older and those with higher educational background reported a higher average COVID-19 knowledge score. In addition, among the racial and ethnic categories, Black/African American and Native American/Alaska Native participants reported a lower average COVID-19 knowledge score than white participants-signaling the need to establish COVID-19 communication that is culturally-tailored and community-based. Overall, health care authorities must deliver clear and concise messaging about the importance of adhering to preventive health behaviors, even as COVID-19 vaccines become widely available to the general public. Health officials must also focus on increasing COVID-19 knowledge and dispelling misinformation.
新冠疫情在美国已导致超过2000万例感染和35万人死亡。随着媒体的持续报道以及错误信息的传播，公共卫生当局需要确定有效的策略，并创建符合文化背景且基于证据的信息，以最大程度地鼓励预防性健康行为，从而控制新冠病毒的传播。
本研究的目的是了解新冠病毒信息来源与知识之间的关系，以及美国成年人的知识水平如何与预防性健康行为相关联，以帮助减少新冠病例和死亡人数。
在这项横断面研究中，2020年2月和5月通过在线平台Qualtrics收集了与新冠病毒相关的调查数据。
数据回复包括2月调查中的718名美国成年人和5月调查中的672名美国成年人，二者均代表美国成年人口。
社会人口学特征、新冠病毒知识得分、新冠病毒可靠信息来源以及对新冠病毒预防性健康行为的依从性。
主要研究结果表明，通过各种渠道传播新冠病毒信息，特别是电视、医疗保健提供者和卫生官员，以增加人们对新冠病毒的了解，有助于提高对感染预防行为的依从性。在2020年2月和5月的调查数据中，55岁及以上的参与者和受过高等教育的参与者报告的新冠病毒知识平均得分较高。此外，在种族和族裔类别中，黑人/非裔美国人和美洲原住民/阿拉斯加原住民参与者报告的新冠病毒知识平均得分低于白人参与者，这表明需要建立符合文化背景且基于社区的新冠病毒传播方式。总体而言，即使新冠疫苗已广泛向公众提供，卫生保健当局也必须就坚持预防性健康行为的重要性提供清晰简洁的信息。卫生官员还必须专注于增加对新冠病毒的了解并消除错误信息。
