Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Public Health and Surveillance
Date Submitted: Apr 6, 2020
Date Accepted: May 5, 2020
Date Submitted to PubMed: May 5, 2020
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Knowledge and behaviors toward COVID-19 among U.S. residents during the early days of the pandemic
ABSTRACT
Background:
Some of the most important problems in the world require an understanding and acceptance of science by the general public, including addressing health problems such as the emergence of the novel coronavirus (SARS-Cov-2) and subsequent disease (COVID-19) transmission. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), began making recommendations, based on the scientific knowledge of the situation, to limit social contacts, encourage wise use of medical supplies including masks, and assure the public about the reliability of the food and consumable goods supplies. In the face of the current pandemic, this requires the public to understand and trust those who are making recommendations to limit exposure and spread of illness. If the public does not trust the underlying science about these issues and does not trust in institutions that are tasked with managing this threat, it will be difficult to count on public support for policies to address these issues.
Objective:
To test the hypothesis that knowledge of COVID-19 influences participation in different behaviors including self-reports of purchasing more goods than usual, attending large gatherings, and using medical masks.
Methods:
Cross-sectional online survey of 1,034 U.S. residents age 18+ conducted on March 17, 2020.
Results:
For every point increase in knowledge, the odds of participation in purchasing more goods (OR=0.88, 95% CI:0.81-0.95), attending large gatherings (OR=0.87, 95%CI: 0.81-0.93), and using medical masks (OR=0.56, 95% CI:0.50-0.62) decreased by 12%, 13%, and 44%, respectively. Gen X and Millennial participants had 56% to 76% higher odds, respectively, of increased purchasing behavior, compared to Baby Boomers. Results suggest politicization of response recommendations. Democrats had 30% lower odds of attending large gatherings (OR=0.70, 95% CI:0.50-0.97), and 48% lower odds of using medical masks (OR=0.52, 95% CI:0.34-0.78), compared to Republicans.
Conclusions:
This survey is one of the first attempts to study determinants of knowledge and behaviors in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. A national, coordinated effort at pandemic response may ensure better compliance with behavioral recommendations to address this public health emergency.
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Copyright
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