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Association Between Public Knowledge About COVID-19, Trust in Information Sources, and Adherence to Social Distancing: Cross-Sectional Survey.
JMIR Public Health Surveill. 2020 09 15; 6(3):e22060.JP

Abstract

BACKGROUND

The success of behavioral interventions and policies designed to reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic depends on how well individuals are informed about both the consequences of infection and the steps that should be taken to reduce the impact of the disease.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to investigate associations between public knowledge about COVID-19, adherence to social distancing, and public trust in government information sources (eg, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), private sources (eg, FOX and CNN), and social networks (eg, Facebook and Twitter) to inform future policies related to critical information distribution.

METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional survey (N=1243) between April 10 and 14, 2020. Data collection was stratified by US region and other demographics to ensure representativeness of the sample.

RESULTS

Government information sources were the most trusted among the public. However, we observed trends in the data that suggested variations in trust by age and gender. White and older populations generally expressed higher trust in government sources, while non-White and younger populations expressed higher trust in private sources (eg, CNN) and social networks (eg, Twitter). Trust in government sources was positively associated with accurate knowledge about COVID-19 and adherence to social distancing. However, trust in private sources (eg, FOX and CNN) was negatively associated with knowledge about COVID-19. Similarly, trust in social networks (eg, Facebook and Twitter) was negatively associated with both knowledge and adherence to social distancing.

CONCLUSIONS

During pandemics such as the COVID-19 outbreak, policy makers should carefully consider the quality of information disseminated through private sources and social networks. Furthermore, when disseminating urgent health information, a variety of information sources should be used to ensure that diverse populations have timely access to critical knowledge.

Links

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Authors+Show Affiliations

Fridman I
Margolis Center for Health Policy, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States.
Lucas N
Center for Health Measurement, Department of Population Health Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States.
Henke D
Center for Health Measurement, Department of Population Health Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States.
Zigler CK
Center for Health Measurement, Department of Population Health Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, United States.

MeSH

AdultAgedAged, 80 and overAttitude to HealthBetacoronavirusCOVID-19Communicable Disease ControlCoronavirus InfectionsCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleGovernmentHealth Knowledge, Attitudes, PracticeHumansInformation DisseminationMaleMass MediaMiddle AgedPandemicsPhysical DistancingPneumonia, ViralSARS-CoV-2Social MediaUnited StatesYoung Adult

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article

Language

eng

PubMed ID

32930670

Citation

Fridman, Ilona, et al. "Association Between Public Knowledge About COVID-19, Trust in Information Sources, and Adherence to Social Distancing: Cross-Sectional Survey." JMIR Public Health and Surveillance, vol. 6, no. 3, 2020, pp. e22060.
Fridman I, Lucas N, Henke D, et al. Association Between Public Knowledge About COVID-19, Trust in Information Sources, and Adherence to Social Distancing: Cross-Sectional Survey. JMIR Public Health Surveill. 2020;6(3):e22060.
Fridman, I., Lucas, N., Henke, D., & Zigler, C. K. (2020). Association Between Public Knowledge About COVID-19, Trust in Information Sources, and Adherence to Social Distancing: Cross-Sectional Survey. JMIR Public Health and Surveillance, 6(3), e22060. https://doi.org/10.2196/22060
Fridman I, et al. Association Between Public Knowledge About COVID-19, Trust in Information Sources, and Adherence to Social Distancing: Cross-Sectional Survey. JMIR Public Health Surveill. 2020 09 15;6(3):e22060. PubMed PMID: 32930670.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - Association Between Public Knowledge About COVID-19, Trust in Information Sources, and Adherence to Social Distancing: Cross-Sectional Survey. AU - Fridman,Ilona, AU - Lucas,Nicole, AU - Henke,Debra, AU - Zigler,Christina K, Y1 - 2020/09/15/ PY - 2020/07/02/received PY - 2020/08/20/accepted PY - 2020/08/15/revised PY - 2020/9/15/entrez PY - 2020/9/16/pubmed PY - 2020/10/3/medline KW - COVID-19 KW - behavior KW - coronavirus KW - health communication KW - social distancing KW - trust in information sources SP - e22060 EP - e22060 JF - JMIR public health and surveillance JO - JMIR Public Health Surveill VL - 6 IS - 3 N2 - BACKGROUND: The success of behavioral interventions and policies designed to reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic depends on how well individuals are informed about both the consequences of infection and the steps that should be taken to reduce the impact of the disease. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate associations between public knowledge about COVID-19, adherence to social distancing, and public trust in government information sources (eg, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), private sources (eg, FOX and CNN), and social networks (eg, Facebook and Twitter) to inform future policies related to critical information distribution. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey (N=1243) between April 10 and 14, 2020. Data collection was stratified by US region and other demographics to ensure representativeness of the sample. RESULTS: Government information sources were the most trusted among the public. However, we observed trends in the data that suggested variations in trust by age and gender. White and older populations generally expressed higher trust in government sources, while non-White and younger populations expressed higher trust in private sources (eg, CNN) and social networks (eg, Twitter). Trust in government sources was positively associated with accurate knowledge about COVID-19 and adherence to social distancing. However, trust in private sources (eg, FOX and CNN) was negatively associated with knowledge about COVID-19. Similarly, trust in social networks (eg, Facebook and Twitter) was negatively associated with both knowledge and adherence to social distancing. CONCLUSIONS: During pandemics such as the COVID-19 outbreak, policy makers should carefully consider the quality of information disseminated through private sources and social networks. Furthermore, when disseminating urgent health information, a variety of information sources should be used to ensure that diverse populations have timely access to critical knowledge. SN - 2369-2960 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/32930670/Association_Between_Public_Knowledge_About_COVID_19_Trust_in_Information_Sources_and_Adherence_to_Social_Distancing:_Cross_Sectional_Survey_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -