scholarly journals Predictors of COVID-19 Preventive Perceptions and Behaviors: Two Cross-Sectional Studies of Millennials (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher E. Beaudoin ◽  
Traci Hong
Keyword(s):  
Political Party ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Party Identification ◽  
Preventive Behaviors ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Response Efficacy ◽  
Health Information Seeking Behavior ◽  
And Behaviors

BACKGROUND COVID-19 preventive perceptions and behaviors, especially among U.S. Millennials, are an important means by which the pandemic can be slowed and negative health outcomes can be averted. OBJECTIVE This manuscript aims to advance knowledge on COVID-19 preventive perceptions and behaviors and their main predictors, including digital health information seeking behavior (HISB), political party identification, and COVID-19 testing status. METHODS Two cross-sectional online surveys of U.S. Millennials were conducted from April 10-14, 2020 (N=274) and April 27-May 7, 2020 (N=1,037). Regression analyses predicted five dependent variables (i.e., preventive behaviors and perceptions of severity, susceptibility, self-efficacy, and response efficacy), with independent variables including digital HISB for self, digital HISB for another person, political party identification, and COVID-19 testing status. RESULTS Millennials reported lower levels of perceived susceptibility than the other three preventive perceptions (i.e., severity, self-efficacy, response efficacy), as well as fairly high levels of preventive behaviors. Unlike HISB for another person, digital HISB for self was positively associated with the preventive perceptions and behaviors. Respondents who reported being more Republican tended to have lower levels of preventive perceptions, but not lower levels of preventive behaviors. COVID-19 testing status had only two significant effects on the preventive perceptions and behaviors. CONCLUSIONS As the largest and most digitally-savvy generation, Millennials saw COVID-19 as a severe threat, but one that they were less susceptible to. For the Millennial generation, which grew up with the Internet, digital HISB is critical to the development of preventive perceptions and behaviors. These findings have implications for theory, policy, and practical intervention.

scholarly journals Application of the protection motivation theory for predicting COVID-19 preventive behaviors in Hormozgan, Iran: a cross-sectional study

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Roghayeh Ezati Rad ◽  
Shokrollah Mohseni ◽  
Hesamaddin Kamalzadeh Takhti ◽  
Mehdi Hassani Azad ◽  
Nahid Shahabi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Maladaptive Behavior ◽  
The Other ◽  
Protection Motivation ◽  
Protective Behaviors ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Preventive Behaviors ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Response Efficacy

Abstract Background The high prevalence and mortality of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have made it the most important health and social challenge around the world. However, this disease can be largely prevented by adherence to hygienic principles and protective behaviors. It seems that identifying the processes involved in protective health behaviors can be effective in planning and implementing suitable interventions to encourage the community toward protective behaviors. Therefore, the present study aimed to predict the preventive behaviors of COVID-19 according to the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT). Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted over 2 months in Hormozgan Province, Iran. The study population consisted of all citizens above the age of 15 years. An online questionnaire was used to collect the data. The questionnaire link was available to the participants through social networks. The questionnaire consisted of two sections, including the demographic information and the PMT constructs. All statistical calculations and hypothesis testing were performed in SPSS Version 21 and AMOS Version 21. The significance level was considered to be 0.05 for hypothesis testing. Results A total of 2032 subjects, with the mean age of 34.84 ± 9.8 years (r = 15–98), participated in this study. Most of the participants were 31–40 years old, female (60.4%), married (72%), urban residents (87.3%), and employed (58.8%). The majority of them also had a bachelor’s degree or higher (58.8%). Significant positive correlations were observed between the preventive behaviors of COVID-19 and the perceived vulnerability (r = 0.192, P < 0.001), perceived severity (r = 0.092, P < 0.001), response efficacy (r = 0.398, P < 0.001), self-efficacy (r = 0.497, P < 0.001), and protection motivation (r = 0.595, P < 0.001). On the other hand, significant negative correlations were found between the preventive behaviors of COVID-19 and maladaptive behavior rewards (r = − 0.243, P < 0.001) and perceived costs (r = − 0.121, P < 0.001). Conclusion The present findings showed that maladaptive behavior reward and fear negatively predicted the protective behaviors. On the other hand, response efficacy and self-efficacy positively predicted the protective behaviors; the impact of self-efficacy was the strongest. Overall, the information provided in this study can contribute to health policymaking in Iran.

COVID-19 and health information seeking behavior: Digital health literacy survey amongst university students in Pakistan (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rubeena Zakar ◽  
Sarosh Iqbal ◽  
Muhammad Zakria Zakar ◽  
Florian Fischer
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
University Students ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Information Seeking Behavior ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Seeking Behavior

BACKGROUND Amid to the COVID-19 pandemic, digital health literacy (DHL) has become a significant public health concern. OBJECTIVE This research aims to assess information seeking behavior, as well as the ability to find relevant information and deal with DHL among university students in Pakistan. METHODS An online-based cross-sectional survey, using a web-based interviewing technique, was conducted to collect data on DHL. Simple bivariate and multivariate linear regression was performed to assess the association of key characteristics with DHL. RESULTS The results show a high DHL related to COVID-19 in 54.3% of students. Most of the Pakistani students demonstrated ~50% DHL in all dimensions, except of reliability. Multivariate findings showed that gender, sense of coherence and importance of information were found to be significantly associated with DHL. However, a negative association was observed with students’ satisfaction with information. CONCLUSIONS This led to the conclusion that critical operational and navigations skills are essential to achieve COVID-19 DHL and cope with stress, particularly to promote both personal and community health. Focused interventions and strategies should be designed to enhance DHL amongst university students to combat the pandemic.

scholarly journals Developing a measure of information seeking about phishing

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma J Williams ◽  
Adam N Joinson
Keyword(s):  
Information Seeking ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Sensitive Information ◽  
User Intention ◽  
Perceived Vulnerability ◽  
Discrimination Ability ◽  
Response Efficacy ◽  
Awareness Campaigns ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
Survey Measure

Abstract Phishing e-mails are fraudulent e-mails used to gain access to sensitive information or secure computer systems. They persuade users to click on malicious links, download attachments or provide sensitive information, such as usernames or passwords. One approach that aims to reduce people’s susceptibility to phishing is the provision of information to users regarding the phishing threat and the techniques used within phishing e-mails. In line with this, awareness campaigns are often used within organizations and wider society to raise awareness of phishing and encourage people to engage with protective information. However, the potential effectiveness of such approaches in reducing susceptibility remains uncertain. In particular, there is a lack of research investigating (i) whether the propensity to access such information may in itself influence susceptibility to phishing and (ii) the different factors that motivate people to engage with information in the first place. In order to understand how current and future interventions regarding phishing may be consumed by users, as well as their potential impact on phishing susceptibility, it is important to conduct theoretically based research that provides a foundation to investigate these issues. This study provides a first step in addressing this by developing and validating a theoretically based survey measure across two studies centred upon the constructs of protection motivation theory (perceived vulnerability, severity, self-efficacy and response efficacy) to assess the factors that influence whether people choose to keep up to date with protective information about phishing. This survey measure is then used within Study 2 to provide an initial investigation of the role of these constructs in (i) self-reported user intentions to keep up to date with phishing techniques in the future and (ii) phishing discrimination ability, assessed using a phishing quiz. Overall, higher perceived threat severity, self-efficacy and response efficacy were associated with greater intentions, while greater perceived vulnerability was associated with lower intentions. No relationship was found with phishing discrimination ability. By understanding the factors that influence user intention to maintain knowledge and seek information about phishing threats, it will be possible to ensure that, as effective interventions are developed, their potential impact can be maximized.

scholarly journals Digital health literacy and online information queries in Portuguese university students

2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (Supplement_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
R Rosário ◽  
C Augusto ◽  
MJ Silva ◽  
S Martins ◽  
A Duarte ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
University Students ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Online Information ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Logistic Regression Models

Abstract Background Worldwide there is an overwhelming amount of information about COVID-19 circulating online, also named infodemic. Misinformation (the unintentional) and disinformation (the intentional) spreading of false information have proven to be very dangerous to public health. Hence, more than ever, people need skills for searching, evaluating and integrating information related to health in daily life, i.e., health literacy. Until now, little is known about the digital health literacy of university students and their information-seeking behaviour. Hence, this study aimed to analyse the associations between university students' digital health literacy and online information queries during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic (and infodemic) in Portugal. Methods A cross-sectional study of 3.084 Portuguese university students (75.7% females), with an average age of 24.2 (SD = 7.5), was conducted using an online survey. We used sociodemographic data (sex, age, subjective social status) and the digital health literacy questionnaire adapted to the specific COVID-19 context. Online information queries included the topics related to SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 searched by students. Logistic regression models were performed. Results Online information queries (e.g., individual measures to protect against infection, current spread of the virus, current situation assessments and recommendations) were associated with an increased odds of achieving sufficient digital health literacy. Conclusions Online information queries related to epidemiological and public health topics are significantly associated with digital health literacy in times of COVID-19. Further studies are needed, including programs that improve digital health literacy among university students and increase the availability of high-quality content information.

scholarly journals Predicting COVID-19 Preventive Behaviors based on Protection Motivation Theory in Hormozgan, Iran.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roghayeh Ezati Rad ◽  
Hesamaddin Kamalzadeh Takhti ◽  
Mehdi Hassani Azad ◽  
Shokrollah Mohseni ◽  
Teamur Aghamolaei ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hypothesis Testing ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Protection Motivation Theory ◽  
Maladaptive Behavior ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Protection Motivation ◽  
Motivation Theory ◽  
Protective Behaviors ◽  
Preventive Behaviors ◽  
Response Efficacy

Abstract Background: The present research aimed to predict the preventive behaviors of COVID-19 in the light of the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT).Methods: The present cross-sectional research was conducted in 2 months (March 2020-April 2020) in Hormozgan Province of Iran. The research population comprised all residents above 15 years of age. They received an online questionnaire survey in two parts, demographic information along with PMT constructs. To analyze the data, independent t-test and one-way anova test, Multiple linear regression and the statistical technique of path analysis and structural equation modeling was used. All statistical calculations and hypothesis testing were performed using spss21 and Amos21 software and a significant level of hypothesis testing was considered to be 0.05Results: A total number of 2,032 subjects participated in this research, the mean age of whom was 34.84±9.8 (R=15-98). The majority of participants were between 31 - 40 years old, female (60.4%), married (72%), urban residents (87.3%), holding a Bachelor’s degree or higher (58.8%) and employed (58.8%). Statistically significant positive correlation coefficients were estimated between preventive behaviors of COVID-19 and perceived vulnerability (r=0.192, p<0.001), perceived severity (r=0.092, p<0.001), response efficacy (r=0.398, p<0.001) ,self efficacy (r=0.497, p<0.001) and protection motivation (r=0.595, p<0.001). Statistically significant negative correlations were found between behavior and maladaptive behavior rewards (r=-0.243, p<0.001) and perceived costs (r=-0.121, p<0.001).Conclusions: The present findings showed that maladaptive behavior reward and fear predicted protective behaviors negatively; response efficacy and self-efficacy predicted protective behaviors positively. The effect of self-efficacy was the strongest among all. The information provided in this research can contribute to policy-making in the country.

scholarly journals Digital health literacy and online information seeking in times of COVID-19. A cross-sectional survey among university students in Germany (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Dadaczynski ◽  
Orkan Okan ◽  
Melanie Messer ◽  
Angela Y. M. Leung ◽  
Rafaela Rosário ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
University Students ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Online Information ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Online Information Seeking

BACKGROUND Digital communication technologies play an important role in governments’ and public health authorities’ health communication strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic. The internet and social media have become important sources of health-related information on the coronavirus and on protective behaviours. In addition, the COVID-19 infodemic spreads faster than the coronavirus itself, which interferes with governmental health-related communication efforts. This puts national public health containment strategies in jeopardy. Therefore, digital health literacy is a key competence to navigate coronavirus-related information and service environments. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to investigate university students’ digital health literacy and online information seeking behaviours during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic in Germany. METHODS A cross-sectional study among N=14,916 university students aged ≥18 from 130 universities across all sixteen federal states of Germany was conducted using an online survey. Along with sociodemographic characteristics (sex, age, subjective social status) measures included five subscales from the Digital Health Literacy Instrument (DHLI), which was adapted to the specific coronavirus context. Online information seeking behaviour was investigated by examining the online sources used by university students and the topics that students search for in connection with the coronavirus. Data were analysed using univariate and bivariate analyses. RESULTS Across digital health literacy dimensions, the greatest difficulties could be found for assessing the reliability of health-related information (42.3%) and the ability to determine whether the information was written with commercial interest (38.9%). Moreover, respondents also indicated that they most frequently have problems finding the information they are looking for (30.4%). When stratified according to sociodemographic characteristics, significant differences were found with female university students reporting a lower DHLI for the dimensions of ‘information searching’ and of ‘evaluating reliability’. Search engines, news portals and public bodies’ websites were most often used by the respondents as sources to search for information on COVID-19 and related issues. Female students were found to use social media and health portals more frequently, while male students used Wikipedia and other online encyclopaedias as well as YouTube more often. The use of social media was associated with a low ability to critically evaluate information, while opposite differences were observed for the use of public websites. CONCLUSIONS Although digital health literacy is, in summary, well developed in university students, a significant proportion of students still face difficulties with certain abilities to deal with information. There is need to strengthen the digital health literacy capacities of university students using tailored interventions. Improving the quality of health-related information on the internet is also key. CLINICALTRIAL

scholarly journals Use of Digital Health Information for Health Information Seeking Among Men Living With Chronic Disease: Data From the Health Information National Trends Survey

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 155798832090137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ledric D. Sherman ◽  
Megan S. Patterson ◽  
Aditi Tomar ◽  
Lisa T. Wigfall
Keyword(s):  
Health Information ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Diabetes Education ◽  
Risk Groups ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Health Information Seeking ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
National Trends

Although diabetes education plays an important role in self-management for people living with diabetes, male health “help-seeking” lags far behind women. These gender-related “help-seeking” disparities often result in males being less engaged in their health care, which subsequently leads to poorer health outcomes among males. In this cross-sectional study, we used data from the 2017 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) to identify factors that may contribute to communication inequalities between males and females. A hierarchical {linear/logistic} regression model was used to examine factors associated with online health information seeking among males living with diabetes. The results suggest that education, income, age, identifying as Hispanic, being a smoker, using a device to track progress toward a health-related goal, and using device to seek health information were all related to eHealth sum scores. Future research should consider testing applications among various at-risk groups to determine if the technology itself is becoming a barrier to eHealth.

scholarly journals COVID-19 and Health Information Seeking Behavior: Digital Health Literacy Survey amongst University Students in Pakistan

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (8) ◽  
pp. 4009
Author(s):  
Rubeena Zakar ◽  
Sarosh Iqbal ◽  
Muhammad Zakria Zakar ◽  
Florian Fischer
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
University Students ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Information Seeking Behavior ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Seeking Behavior

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, digital health literacy (DHL) has become a significant public health concern. This research aims to assess information seeking behavior, as well as the ability to find relevant information and deal with DHL among university students in Pakistan. An online-based cross-sectional survey, using a web-based interviewing technique, was conducted to collect data on DHL. Simple bivariate and multivariate linear regression was performed to assess the association of key characteristics with DHL. The results show a high DHL related to COVID-19 in 54.3% of students. Most of the Pakistani students demonstrated ~50% DHL in all dimensions, except for reliability. Multivariate findings showed that gender, sense of coherence and importance of information were found to be significantly associated with DHL. However, a negative association was observed with students′ satisfaction with information. This led to the conclusion that critical operational and navigations skills are essential to achieve COVID-19 DHL and cope with stress, particularly to promote both personal and community health. Focused interventions and strategies should be designed to enhance DHL amongst university students to combat the pandemic.

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