Office of Health Information and Data Science, Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, St Louis, MO, United States.
Center for Public Health Systems Science, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, MO, United States.
J Med Internet Res. 2022 Sep 30;24(9):e37846. doi: 10.2196/37846.
Preventative health measures such as shelter in place and mask wearing have been widely encouraged to curb the spread of the COVID-19 disease. People's attitudes toward preventative behaviors may be dependent on their sources of information and trust in the information.
The aim of this study was to understand the relationship between trusting in COVID-19 information and preventative behaviors in a racially and politically diverse metropolitan area in the United States.
We conducted a web-based cross-sectional survey of residents in St. Louis City and County in Missouri. Individuals aged ≥18 years were eligible to participate. Participants were recruited using a convenience sampling approach through social media and email. The Health Belief Model and the Socioecological Model informed instrument development, as well as COVID-19-related questions from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We performed an ordinary least squares linear regression model to estimate social distancing practices, perceptions, and trust in COVID-19 information sources.
Of the 1650 eligible participants, the majority (n=1381, 83.7%) had sought or received COVID-19-related information from a public health agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or both. Regression analysis showed a 1% increase in preventative behaviors for every 12% increase in trust in governmental health agencies. At their lowest levels of trust, women were 68% more likely to engage in preventative behaviors than men. Overall, those aged 18-45 years without vulnerable medical conditions were the least likely to engage in preventative behaviors.
Trust in COVID-19 information increases an individual's likelihood of practicing preventative behaviors. Effective health communication strategies should be used to effectively disseminate health information during disease outbreaks.
为了遏制 COVID-19 疾病的传播，人们广泛鼓励采取预防健康措施，如就地避难和佩戴口罩。人们对预防行为的态度可能取决于他们获取信息的来源和对信息的信任。
本研究旨在了解在美国一个种族和政治多元化的大都市区，信任 COVID-19 信息与预防行为之间的关系。
我们对密苏里州圣路易斯市和郡的居民进行了一项基于网络的横断面调查。年龄≥18 岁的个人有资格参加。参与者通过社交媒体和电子邮件采用便利抽样方法招募。健康信念模型和社会生态学模型为工具的开发提供了信息，以及来自疾病控制与预防中心的与 COVID-19 相关的问题。我们进行了普通最小二乘法线性回归模型，以估计社会疏远实践、看法和对 COVID-19 信息来源的信任。
在 1650 名符合条件的参与者中，大多数（n=1381，83.7%）从公共卫生机构、疾病控制与预防中心或两者都获取或收到了与 COVID-19 相关的信息。回归分析显示，对政府卫生机构的信任每增加 1%，预防行为就会增加 1%。在信任度最低的情况下，女性比男性更有可能采取预防措施，可能性增加了 68%。总体而言，没有脆弱医疗条件的 18-45 岁人群最不可能采取预防措施。
对 COVID-19 信息的信任度提高了个人采取预防行为的可能性。在疾病爆发期间，应使用有效的健康传播策略来有效传播健康信息。
