RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Predictors of misperceptions, risk perceptions, and personal risk perceptions about COVID-19 by country, education and income
JF Journal of Investigative Medicine
JO J Investig Med
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
SP jim-2021-001835
DO 10.1136/jim-2021-001835
A1 Tanzim Bhuiya
A1 Richard Klares III
A1 Madellena A Conte
A1 Joseph Steven Cervia
YR 2021
UL http://hw-f5-jim.highwire.org/content/early/2021/08/10/jim-2021-001835.abstract
AB Government interventions, such as mandating the use of masks and social distancing, play crucial roles in controlling the spread of pandemic infection. Adherence depends on public perceptions about pandemic risk. The goal was to explore the roles of education, income, and country on misperceptions, risk perceptions and personal risk perceptions about COVID-19. Data were extracted from 3 preregistered surveys. Binary logistic regressions were conducted to investigate the roles country, education, and income had on outcome variables. Across the USA, Canada, and UK, individuals in the highest income quartile were significantly less likely to hold misperceptions (OR=0.61, 95% CI 0.45 to 0.83) and to perceive personal risk (OR=0.38, 95% CI 0.20 to 0.75) regarding COVID-19 compared with individuals in the lowest income quartile. When comparing these income quartiles in the USA, the difference in perceived risk was heightened (OR=0.21, 95% CI 0.07 to 0.57). Citizens of the UK were more likely to have risk perceptions compared with citizens of the USA (OR=1.50, 95% CI 1.20 to 1.88). Citizens of Canada were less likely to perceive personal risk compared with US citizens (OR=0.40, 95% CI 0.23 to 0.69). Proper risk perception and understanding of COVID-19 are necessary for adherence to public health initiatives. The lowest income quartile was shown to have more misperceptions and personal risk perceptions across all 3 countries, highlighting the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 in this group. Our findings support the importance of education and income in affecting health perceptions and outcomes. Further research is needed to explore interventions to minimize misperceptions, accurately shape risk perception, and effectively communicate science.Data are available in a public, open access repository. All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as supplementary information. Data used from this study were found at the following link: https://osf.io/3a497/