Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Background
The paucity of public health messages that directly address communities of color might contribute to racial and ethnic disparities in knowledge and behavior related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).Objective
To determine whether physician-delivered prevention messages affect knowledge and information-seeking behavior of Black and Latinx individuals and whether this differs according to the race/ethnicity of the physician and tailored content.Design
Randomized controlled trial. (Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04371419; American Economic Association RCT Registry, AEARCTR-0005789).Setting
United States, 13 May 2020 to 26 May 2020.Participants
14 267 self-identified Black or Latinx adults recruited via Lucid survey platform.Intervention
Participants viewed 3 video messages regarding COVID-19 that varied by physician race/ethnicity, acknowledgement of racism/inequality, and community perceptions of mask-wearing.Measurements
Knowledge gaps (number of errors on 7 facts on COVID-19 symptoms and prevention) and information-seeking behavior (number of Web links demanded out of 10 proposed).Results
7174 Black (61.3%) and 4520 Latinx (38.7%) participants were included in the analysis. The intervention reduced the knowledge gap incidence from 0.085 to 0.065 (incidence rate ratio, [IRR], 0.737 [95% CI, 0.600 to 0.874]) but did not significantly change information-seeking incidence. For Black participants, messages from race/ethnic-concordant physicians increased information-seeking incidence from 0.329 (for discordant physicians) to 0.357 (IRR, 1.085 [CI, 1.026 to 1.145]).Limitations
Participants' behavior was not directly observed, outcomes were measured immediately postintervention in May 2020, and online recruitment may not be representative.Conclusion
Physician-delivered messages increased knowledge of COVID-19 symptoms and prevention methods for Black and Latinx respondents. The desire for additional information increased with race-concordant messages for Black but not Latinx respondents. Other tailoring of the content did not make a significant difference.Primary funding source
National Science Foundation; Massachusetts General Hospital; and National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
SUBMITTER: Alsan M
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7774591 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Alsan Marcella M Stanford Fatima Cody FC Banerjee Abhijit A Breza Emily E Chandrasekhar Arun G AG Eichmeyer Sarah S Goldsmith-Pinkham Paul P Ogbu-Nwobodo Lucy L Olken Benjamin A BA Torres Carlos C Sankar Anirudh A Vautrey Pierre-Luc PL Duflo Esther E
Annals of internal medicine 20201221 4
<h4>Background</h4>The paucity of public health messages that directly address communities of color might contribute to racial and ethnic disparities in knowledge and behavior related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).<h4>Objective</h4>To determine whether physician-delivered prevention messages affect knowledge and information-seeking behavior of Black and Latinx individuals and whether this differs according to the race/ethnicity of the physician and tailored content.<h4>Design</h4>Random ...[more]