Politicization of COVID-19 health-protective behaviors in the United States: Longitudinal and cross-national evidence.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Stroebe W
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8528320 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:RationaleTo understand novel diseases, patients may draw comparisons to other diseases.ObjectiveWe examined whether mentally associating specific diseases with COVID-19 was related to self-reported protective behaviors early in the pandemic.MethodsIn March 2020, a national sample of 6534 U.S. adults listed diseases that came to mind when thinking of COVID-19. They self-reported protective behaviors, demographics, and COVID-19 risk perceptions.ResultsParticipants associated COVID-19 with common infectious diseases like seasonal influenza (59%), common cold (11%), and pneumonia (10%), or emergent infectious diseases like pandemic influenza (28%), SARS/MERS (27%), and Ebola (14%). Seasonal influenza was most commonly mentioned, in all demographic groups. Participants mentioning seasonal influenza or common cold reported fewer protective behaviors. Those mentioning pneumonia or emergent infectious diseases reported more protective behaviors. Mentioning pneumonia, SARS/MERS, and Ebola was associated with the most protective behaviors, after accounting for other generated diseases, demographics, and risk perceptions (e.g., for avoiding crowds, OR = 1.52, 95% CI = 1.26, 1.83; OR = 1.28, 95% CI = 1.13, 1.46; OR = 1.30, 95% CI = 1.11, 1.52, respectively).ConclusionsEarly in the pandemic, most participants mentally associated COVID-19 with seasonal flu, which may have undermined willingness to protect themselves. To motivate behavior change, COVID-19 risk communications may need to mention diseases that resonate with people while retaining accuracy.
| S-EPMC7937328 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectivesWe explore marital and depression trajectories over time for men and women, and distinguish between mood and somatic depression across contexts.MethodWe use longitudinal data from 2002 to 2013 from the United States, England, Europe, Korea, and China to explore depression among individuals married at baseline and follow their trajectories into widowhood with married as the reference group. We use random effects models to estimate these trajectories using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) or EURO-D scales for men and women.ResultsDepression peaks within the first year of widowhood for men and women, but women recover to levels comparable to married counterparts in all countries. Men sustain high levels of depression even 6-10 years post-widowhood everywhere except Europe. Widowed women have higher somatic depression compared to men, who have higher mood depression. Family plays differential roles in mediating depression across countries.DiscussionOur research shows the complex global relationship between widowhood and depression. Studies that do not compare depression trajectories over time may make incorrect inferences about the persistence of depression by gender and country. Interventions should target different components of depression: mood-related symptoms for men and somatic-related symptoms for women for most effective recovery.
| S-EPMC6178968 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundVaccine equity has been a major concern during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the principle of vaccine equity, donor countries should apply the criterion of needs to make decisions about vaccine donation instead of considering recipient countries' economic status. We examine whether people follow the same criterion or consider other factors to decide which country to donate vaccines and how many vaccines should be delivered.MethodsWe conducted online surveys with the design of conjoint experiment in the United States and Taiwan in 2021. 1,532 American citizens and 1,587 Taiwanese citizens were interviewed. The respondents were broadly quota-matched to their respective demographic proportions on the dimensions of age, gender, and education. We estimated the average marginal component effects (AMCEs) of the conjoint attributes by using the OLS regression models with standard errors clustered at the respondent level.Results15,320 and 15,870 decisions on vaccine donation generated by conjoint experiment respectively in the United States and Taiwan were included in the analysis. Both American and Taiwanese people tend to donate vaccines to countries that suffer severe consequences of COVID-19 and democracies compared to authoritarian countries. However, they are less willing to donate vaccines to those with higher levels of capability in response to COVID-19. Taiwanese people tend to donate vaccines to countries having formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan (AMCE 13.4%, 95% CI 11.8%-15.1%). Nonetheless, American people would rather donate vaccines to countries without formal diplomatic relations with the United States (AMCE - 4.0%, 95% CI -5.6%--2.4%).ConclusionsThe findings reveal that politics plays a significant role in people's decisions about vaccine donation. Under electoral pressure, political leaders must think about how to respond to the public's preferences over vaccine donation to achieve vaccine equity and address the global health crisis.
| S-EPMC10283311 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The unprecedented contagion of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, causative of COVID-19, has spawned watershed economic, social, ethical, and political upheaval—catalyzing severe polarization among the global populace. Ostensibly, to demonstrate the most appropriate path towards responding to the virus outbreak, public officials in the United States (“U.S.”), representing both Democratic and Republican parties, stand accused of unduly influencing COVID-19 records in their respective jurisdictions. This study investigates the role political partisanship may have played in decreasing the accuracy of publicly reported COVID-19 data in the U.S. Leveraging social identity theory, we contend that public officials may have manipulated the reporting records in accounting for COVID-19 infection cases and deaths to validate the effectiveness of political party objectives. We employ Benford’s Law to assess misreporting and evaluate the integrity of county-level COVID-19 reporting data through the construction of four distinct political party classifications. Specifically, we cross the county voting majority for the 2016 presidential candidate for each U.S. state (Democratic and Republican) with the 2020 gubernatorial political party (Democratic and Republican) in which each county resides. For the sample period of January 21, 2020 through November 3, 2020 (Election Day), the study’s results suggest that the reported COVID-19 infection cases and deaths in the U.S. violate Benford’s Law in a manner consistent with underreporting. Our analysis reveals that Democratic counties demonstrate the smallest departures from Benford’s Law while Republican counties demonstrate the greatest departures.
| S-EPMC10086107 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Protective behaviors such as mask wearing and physical distancing are critical to slow the spread of COVID-19, even in the context of vaccine scale-up. Understanding the variation in self-reported COVID-19 protective behaviors is critical to developing public health messaging. The purpose of the study is to provide nationally representative estimates of five self-reported COVID-19 protective behaviors and correlates of such behaviors. In this cross-sectional survey study of US adults, surveys were administered via internet and telephone. Adults were surveyed from April 30-May 4, 2020, a time of peaking COVID-19 incidence within the US. Participants were recruited from the probability-based AmeriSpeak® national panel. Brief surveys were completed by 994 adults, with 73.0% of respondents reported mask wearing, 82.7% reported physical distancing, 75.1% reported crowd avoidance, 89.8% reported increased hand-washing, and 7.7% reported having prior COVID-19 testing. Multivariate analysis (p critical value .05) indicates that women were more likely to report protective behaviors than men, as were those over age 60. Respondents who self-identified as having low incomes, histories of criminal justice involvement, and Republican Party affiliation, were less likely to report four protective behaviors, though Republicans and individuals with criminal justice histories were more likely to report having received COVID-19 testing. The majority of Americans engaged in COVID-19 protective behaviors, with low-income Americans, those with histories of criminal justice involvement, and self-identified Republicans less likely to engage in these preventive behaviors. Culturally competent public health messaging and interventions might focus on these latter groups to prevent future infections. These findings will remain highly relevant even with vaccines widely available, given the complementarities between vaccines and protective behaviors, as well as the many challenges in delivering vaccines.
| S-EPMC8570526 | biostudies-literature
Project description:A nationally representative sample of approximately 2000 individuals was surveyed to assess SSTI infections over their lifetime and then prospectively over six-months. Knowledge of MRSA, future likelihood to self-treat a SSTI and self-care behaviors was also queried. Chi square tests, linear and multinomial regression were used for analysis. About 50% of those with a reported history of a SSTI typical of MRSA had sought medical treatment. MRSA knowledge was low: 28% of respondents could describe MRSA. Use of protective self-care behaviors that may reduce transmission, such as covering a lesion, differed with knowledge of MRSA and socio-demographics. Those reporting a history of a MRSA-like SSTI were more likely to respond that they would self-treat than those without such a history (OR 2.05 95% CI 1.40, 3.01; p<0.001). Since half of respondents reported not seeking care for past lesions, incidence determined from clinical encounters would greatly underestimate true incidence. MRSA knowledge was not associated with seeking medical care, but was associated with self-care practices that may decrease transmission.
| S-EPMC4138108 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Fighting the COVID-19 pandemic requires large numbers of citizens to adopt disease-preventive practices. We contend that national identification can mobilize and motivate people to engage in preventive behaviors to protect the collective, which in return would heighten national identification further. To test these reciprocal links, we conducted studies in two countries with diverse national tactics toward curbing the pandemic: (1) a two-wave longitudinal survey in China (Study 1, N = 1200), where a national goal to fight COVID-19 was clearly set, and (2) a five-wave longitudinal survey in the United States (Study 2, N = 1001), where the national leader, President Trump, rejected the severity of COVID-19 in its early stage. Results revealed that national identification was associated with an increase in disease-preventive behaviors in both countries in general. However, higher national identification was associated with greater trust in Trump's administration among politically conservative American participants, which then was associated with slower adoption of preventive behaviors. The reciprocal effect of disease-preventive behaviors on national identification was observed only in China. Overall, our findings suggest that although national identification may serve as a protective factor in curbing the pandemic, this beneficial effect was reduced in some political contexts.
| S-EPMC8242506 | biostudies-literature
Project description:OBJECTIVES:The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has significantly impacted health care delivery across the United States, including treatment of cancer. We aim to describe the determinants of treatment plan changes from the perspective of oncology physicians across the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS:Participants were recruited to an anonymous cross-sectional online survey of oncology physicians (surgeons, medical oncologists, and radiation oncologists) using social media from March 27 to April 10, 2020. Physician demographics, practice characteristics, and cancer treatment decisions were collected. RESULTS:The analytic cohort included 411 physicians: 241 (58.6%) surgeons, 106 (25.8%) medical oncologists, and 64 (15.6%) radiation oncologists. In all, 38.0% were practicing in states with 1001 to 5000 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of April 3, 2020, and 37.2% were in states with >5000 cases. Most physicians (N=285; 70.0% of surgeons, 64.4% of medical oncologists, and 73.4% of radiation oncologists) had altered cancer treatment plans. Most respondents were concerned about their patients' COVID-19 exposure risks, but this was the primary driver for treatment alterations only for medical oncologists. For surgeons, the primary driver for treatment alterations was conservation of personal protective equipment, institutional mandates, and external society recommendations. Radiation oncologists were primarily driven by operational changes such as visitor restrictions. CONCLUSIONS:The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a majority of oncologists to alter their treatment plans, but the primary motivators for changes differed by oncologic specialty. This has implications for reinstitution of standard cancer treatment, which may occur at differing time points by treatment modality.
| S-EPMC7513953 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectivesThe purpose of this study is to evaluate and describe transitions in cigarette and smokeless tobacco (ST) use, including dual use, prospectively from adolescence into young adulthood.MethodsThe current study utilizes four waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) to examine patterns of cigarette and ST use (within 30 days of survey) over time among a cohort in the United States beginning in 7th-12th grade (1995) into young adulthood (2008-2009). Transition probabilities were estimated using Markov modeling.ResultsAmong the cohort (N=20,774), 48.7% reported using cigarettes, 12.8% reported using ST, and 7.2% reported dual use (cigarettes and ST in the same wave) in at least one wave. In general, the risk for transitioning between cigarettes and ST was higher for males and those who were older. Dual users exhibited a high probability (81%) of continuing dual use over time.ConclusionsFindings suggest that adolescents who use multiple tobacco products are likely to continue such use as they move into young adulthood. When addressing tobacco use among adolescents and young adults, multiple forms of tobacco use should be considered.
| S-EPMC4679648 | biostudies-literature
Project description:OBJECTIVE:This study used matched samples from schools in the states of Victoria, Australia and Washington, United States (US), to compare sexual behaviour in early adolescence. It was hypothesised that the contrasting dominant policy objectives of harm minimisation in Australia and abstinence in the US would result in state differences for markers of sexual risk, mirroring prior cross-national findings in substance use. METHOD:A two-stage cluster sampling approach was used to recruit students from the two states. Self-reported sexual behaviour was examined for 1,596 students in annual surveys from Grade 7 in 2002 to Grade 9 in 2004. Prevalence estimates were derived for each measure of sexual behaviour, and comparisons were made between gender groups in each state. RESULTS:State differences were found for girls' first sex, with significantly more girls in Washington than Victoria having had sex by Grade 7. By Grade 9, significantly more girls in Victoria reported sex in the last year and more sexual partners than girls in Washington. A large proportion of Grade 9 students across both states reported inconsistent contraception use. CONCLUSIONS:Contradicting the abstinence policy objective, first sex by Grade 7 was more prevalent in Washington than Victoria. Whilst sexual behaviour was more prevalent in Grade 9 in Victoria, the sexually active showed no clear cross-national differences in markers of risk such as contraception use and pregnancy outcomes. Findings demonstrate few cross-national differences in adolescent sexual behaviour despite the different policy contexts of Victoria, Australia and Washington, US.
| S-EPMC5507067 | biostudies-other