Evidence against risk as a motivating driver of COVID-19 preventive behaviors in the United States

2021 ◽  
pp. 135910532110247
Author(s):  
Mae K. Fullerton ◽  
Nathaniel Rabb ◽  
Sahit Mamidipaka ◽  
Lyle Ungar ◽  
Steven A. Sloman

Does an individual’s risk profile predict their social distancing and mask wearing in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic? Common sense and some health behavior theories suggest that as a perceived threat increases, an individual should be more likely to take preventive measures. We explore this hypothesis using survey responses collected from 1114 U.S. adults during April and October 2020, and find that neither perceived nor actual risk predicted these preventive behaviors. Instead, being an essential worker, partisanship, and believing compliance was important were more reliable predictors. These results provide guidance for better pandemic response policies and challenge models of health behavior.

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Croucher ◽  
Douglas Ashwell ◽  
Niki Murray ◽  
Shawn Michael Condon ◽  
Phoebe Fletcher

The COVID-19 pandemic has seen health preventive behaviors to prevent spread of the virus become highly politicized in the United States. A clear division exists between Democrats favoring health preventive measures and Republicans often defying such measures. Amid increasing fear of the virus, the 2020 United States presidential election became central to how the pandemic should be managed. This longitudinal study examines whether the frequency of handwashing and mask-wearing changed after the United States election. The study further explores whether political partisanship played a part in the change. Results show that handwashing and mask-wearing increased among Democrats after the election. However, Republican’s use of masks and handwashing decreased. These results are explained in terms of loyalty to outgoing President Trump among Republicans and renewed feelings of efficacy among Democrats.


Author(s):  
Saud A. Alsulaiman ◽  
Terry L. Rentner

Background: This study utilized the Health Belief Model to examine college students’ perceptions of the COVID-19 pandemic. It examined the extent to which the Health Belief Model and perceived threat are associated with the adoption of COVID-19 preventive measures among college students.Design and Methods: An online questionnaire was utilized and sent to a simple random sample of college students at a large Midwestern university in the United States between May and July of 2020. The number of undergraduate and graduate students who participated in this study was 1,723.Results: The study found that the Health Belief Model and perceived threat are significantly associated with COVID-19 preventive measures. College students with higher Health Belief Model scores were more likely to adhere to COVID-19 preventive measures than those with lower scores. College students also reported high cues to action and low perceived barriers to most of the COVID-19 preventive measures.Conclusion: Applying the Health Belief Model is crucial for health professionals and university administrators for developing effective communication messages for COVID-19 prevention and future health outbreaks.  


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shabbir Syed-Abdul ◽  
Shwetambara Malwade ◽  
Sim-Mei Choo

UNSTRUCTURED The outbreak of COVID-19 that started in December 2019, was declared a pandemic in March 2020. Currently, there is no specific treatment recommended and healthcare providers are struggling to find appropriate treatment regimes. Medication misinformation spread through social media has caused panic situations and self-prescription leading to harmful drug effects. The situation worsened following false propaganda via social media, leading to shortage of some medications. Our study shows the frequency of search for the medications Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), Azithromycin and Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine in Google Trends, across 6 countries. Public interests from the United States, Italy and Spain leaned towards HCQ, whereas those from Taiwan, Japan and South Korea were keen towards learning about the BCG vaccine. Our article aimed to inform the general public of the adverse drug reactions to avoid self-prescription or yield to the assumptions of leaders and unanimous social media posts. Proactive participation and preventive measures such as social distancing, use of face masks and hand sanitizers are recommended to help curb COVID-19 and other infections.


2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-195
Author(s):  
Jill Theresa Messing ◽  
Meredith E Bagwell-Gray ◽  
Allison Ward-Lasher ◽  
Alesha Durfee

Protection orders (POs) are one legal system resource available to survivors of intimate partner violence. Many survivors choose not to obtain a PO, yet prior research has not examined the perspectives of these survivors. This study examined the open-ended survey responses ( n = 308) regarding the choice not to obtain a PO by survivors residing in emergency shelters in the United States. Content analysis indicated that many survivors made deliberate decisions to not seek safety through this venue. Survivors indicated that a PO may increase their partner’s violence, identified substantial barriers, evaluated a PO as unnecessary, preferred alternative strategies, were dealing with complex partner dynamics, and chose to protect their loved ones by not seeking a PO. Women with marginalized identities, in particular, indicated that there are multiple costs to seeking interventions within the legal system. Structural changes are needed within the legal system to facilitate access to justice for survivors.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Scott L. Greer ◽  
Holly Jarman ◽  
Michelle Falkenbach ◽  
Elize Massard da Fonseca ◽  
Minakshi Raj ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 07 (04) ◽  
pp. 1154-1167
Author(s):  
Jaycelyn Holland ◽  
Stuart Weinberg ◽  
S. Rosenbloom ◽  
Laura Kaufman

Summary Background Approximately one fifth of school-aged children spend a significant portion of their year at residential summer camp, and a growing number have chronic medical conditions. Camp health records are essential for safe, efficient care and for transitions between camp and home providers, yet little research exists regarding these systems. Objective To survey residential summer camps for children to determine how camps create, store, and use camper health records. To raise awareness in the informatics community of the issues experienced by health providers working in a special pediatric care setting. Methods We designed a web-based electronic survey concerning medical recordkeeping and healthcare practices at summer camps. 953 camps accredited by the American Camp Association received the survey. Responses were consolidated and evaluated for trends and conclusions. Results Of 953 camps contacted, 298 (31%) responded to the survey. Among respondents, 49.3% stated that there was no computer available at the health center, and 14.8% of camps stated that there was not any computer available to health staff at all. 41.1% of camps stated that internet access was not available. The most common complaints concerning recordkeeping practices were time burden, adequate completion, and consistency. Conclusions Summer camps in the United States make efforts to appropriately document healthcare given to campers, but inconsistency and inefficiency may be barriers to staff productivity, staff satisfaction, and quality of care. Survey responses suggest that the current methods used by camps to document healthcare cause limitations in consistency, efficiency, and communications between providers, camp staff, and parents. As of 2012, survey respondents articulated need for a standard software to document summer camp healthcare practices that accounts for camp-specific needs. Improvement may be achieved if documentation software offers the networking capability, simplicity, pediatrics-specific features, and avoidance of technical jargon. Citation: Kaufman L, Holland J, Weinberg S, Rosenbloom ST. Medical record keeping in the summer camp setting.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jyoshma Preema Dsouza ◽  
Stephan Van den Broucke ◽  
Sanjay Pattanshetty ◽  
William Dhoore

Author(s):  
Adi V Gundlapalli ◽  
Reynolds M Salerno ◽  
John T Brooks ◽  
Francisco Averhoff ◽  
Lyle Petersen ◽  
...  

Abstract Background There is a need for validated and standardized SARS-CoV-2 quantitative IgG and neutralization assays that can be used to understand the immunology and pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 infection and support the COVID-19 pandemic response. Methods Literature searches were conducted to identify English language publications from peer-reviewed journals and pre-prints from January 2020 through October 12, 2020. Relevant publications were reviewed for mention of IgG or neutralization assays for SARS-CoV-2, or both, and the methods of reporting assay results. Results Quantitative SARS-CoV-2 IgG results have been reported from a limited number of studies; most studies used in-house laboratory-developed tests in limited settings, and only two semi-quantitative tests have received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). As of October12, 2020, there are no neutralization assays with FDA EUA. Relatively few studies have attempted correlation of quantitative IgG titers with neutralization results to estimate surrogates of protection. The number of individuals tested is small compared to the magnitude of the pandemic and persons tested are not representative of disproportionately affected populations. Methods of reporting quantitative results are not standardized to enable comparisons and meta-analyses. Conclusions Lack of standardized SARS-CoV-2 quantitative IgG and neutralization assays precludes comparison of results from published studies. Inter-assay and inter-laboratory validation and standardization of assays will support efforts to better understand antibody kinetics and longevity of humoral immune responses post-illness, surrogates of immune protection, and vaccine immunogenicity and efficacy. Public-private partnerships could facilitate realization of these advances in the United States and world-wide.


2019 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Iliadis ◽  
Imogen Richards ◽  
Mark A Wood

‘Newsmaking criminology’, as described by Barak, is the process by which criminologists contribute to the generation of ‘newsworthy’ media content about crime and justice, often through their engagement with broadcast and other news media. While newsmaking criminological practices have been the subject of detailed practitioner testimonials and theoretical treatise, there has been scarce empirical research on newsmaking criminology, particularly in relation to countries outside of the United States and United Kingdom. To illuminate the state of play of newsmaking criminology in Australia and New Zealand, in this paper we analyse findings from 116 survey responses and nine interviews with criminologists working in universities in these two countries, which provide insight into the extent and nature of their news media engagement, and their related perceptions. Our findings indicate that most criminologists working in Australia or New Zealand have made at least one news media appearance in the past two years, and the majority of respondents view news media engagement as a professional ‘duty’. Participants also identified key political, ethical, and logistical issues relevant to their news media engagement, with several expressing a view that radio and television interviewers can influence criminologists to say things that they deem ‘newsworthy’.


2014 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 799-809 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jueman (Mandy) Zhang ◽  
Di Zhang ◽  
T. Makana Chock

We examined how perceived threat affected attitude and behavior toward condom use with main and nonmain partners, among at-risk young adults with varying levels of self-efficacy. Participants were 170 heterosexually active, single students at a northeastern university in the United States. Exposure to HIV/AIDS public service announcements was found to increase perceived susceptibility, which facilitated a positive attitude toward condom use with main partners but not with nonmain partners. High self-efficacy promoted a positive attitude toward condom use with main partners, and condom use with main and nonmain partners. The interaction effects revealed that high, compared to low, self-efficacy motivated more condom use with main and nonmain partners when perceived susceptibility was lower.


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