Examining Australian’s beliefs, misconceptions and sources of information for COVID-19: a national online survey

Thomas, Rae; Greenwood, Hannah; Michaleff, Zoe A; Abukmail, Eman; Hoffmann, Tammy; McCaffery, Kirsten; Hardiman, Leah; Glasziou, Paul

doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2020-043421

Cited by 25 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…While the knowledge score was good overall, there were some gaps with respect to the less frequent symptoms of COVID-19. More concerning is the misconception that antibiotics could be an effective way to prevent COVID-19 among 47.9% of the respondents, a finding similar to that found in a study which reported that as high as 66.4% of Australians believe that taking antibiotics regularly could possibly prevent COVID-19 ( 34 ). The proliferation of information over social media, including misinformation, could be a factor in this observation as well as in promoting risky behavior ( 35 , 36 ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 66%

Knowledge, Perceptions and Behaviors Related to COVID-19 in a University Setting in Malaysia

Lee

Yap

Ong

et al. 2022

Front. Public Health

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BackgroundIn Malaysia the COVID-19 disease (COVID-19) has continued to escalate since its first detection in late January 2020, despite widespread implementation of control measures. This study aims to determine the knowledge, perception and behaviors with respect to COVID-19 in the midst of the third wave of the infection.MethodsA cross-sectional study was carried out among staffs and students of Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR). The survey consists of basic sociodemographic information, 22 items on knowledge on COVID-19, 3 items on perceived self-risk, 2 items on preparedness & perceived self-efficacy, 10 items on preventive (own) measures, 9 items assessing unwanted and desirable behaviors during the pandemic. Simple and multiple linear regression were performed to determine the factors associated with knowledge, preventive measures adopted, self-risk perception, preparedness & perceived self-efficacy, and behaviors.ResultsA total of 434 responded to the survey of whom the majority (85.1%) had high scores for knowledge (mean score of 18.72 out of 22). A significant positive association was found between knowledge and older age (adjusted B coefficient (SE) = 0.046 (0.022), p = 0.039), those from medical faculty (adjusted B coefficient (SE) = 0.870 (0.420), p = 0.039) and residence in high-risk areas (adjusted B coefficient (SE) = 0.831 (0.295), p = 0.005). Predictors for higher perception of COVID-19 risk included presence of COVID-19 cases among social contacts (adjusted B coefficient (SE) = 0.751 (0.308), p = 0.015) and living with elderly (adjusted B coefficient (SE) = 1.137 (0.296), p < 0.001), while that for perception of preparedness and self-efficacy were living with children (adjusted Beta coefficient (SE) = 0.440 (0.173), p = 0.011) and absence of positive cases among social contacts (adjusted B coefficient (SE) = 0.418 (0.183), p = 0.023). Good preventive measures among the respondents were positively associated with knowledge (adjusted B coefficient (SE) = 0.116 (0.025), p < 0.001), as well as with female gender (adjusted B coefficient (SE) = 0.348 (0.142), p = 0.014). Unwanted behavior was significantly associated with male gender (adjusted B coefficient (SE) = 0.664 (0.321), p = 0.039) and COVID-19 positive status (adjusted B coefficient (SE) = 9.736 (3.297), p = 0.003). Knowledge of COVID-19 (adjusted B coefficient (SE) = 0.069 (0.035), p = 0.048) and being married (adjusted B coefficient (SE) = 0.917 (0.462), p = 0.048) were the predictors of desirable behavior.ConclusionOverall, the UTAR community had demonstrated a good level of knowledge and preventive behaviors, albeit with some areas for improvement.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 66%

Knowledge, Perceptions and Behaviors Related to COVID-19 in a University Setting in Malaysia

Lee

Yap

Ong

et al. 2022

Front. Public Health

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“…Concurrently, this study found that the respondents had a poor understanding of the sources of COVID-19 infection, the transmission routes, and the symptoms of infected people. Public information campaigns and educational interventions could improve the overall awareness of infectious-disease-prevention knowledge [ 26 ]. Thus, relevant government departments should strengthen knowledge dissemination regarding the epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 and training regarding symptom recognition, especially for people with low education levels.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Compliance with COVID-19-preventive behaviours among employees returning to work in the post-epidemic period

Liu

Tong²,

et al. 2022

BMC Public Health

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Background The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the importance of behaviours such as social distancing in controlling pandemics. Currently, the epidemic is under control in China and production has resumed in various industries. This study investigates the behavioural compliance and related factors for COVID-19 prevention among employees returning to the workplace and provide strategic recommendations for improving individual-level preventive behaviour to prevent a new outbreak. Methods A cross-sectional study design was used. Data were gathered from returning employees in China using an online questionnaire survey, from March to May, 2020. The questionnaire covered participants’ COVID-19-related knowledge, compliance with recommended preventive behaviours, and levels of depression and anxiety. Univariate and multi-factor methods were used to analyse the data and identify factors influencing behaviour compliance. Results Of the 1300 participants completing the full survey, more than half were male (71.92%) and 61% were aged between 31 and 50 years. Six hundred and ninety-eight (53.7%) participants showed high compliance, while 602 (46.3%) showed low compliance. In models adjusted for demographic and socio-economic factors, high education level (odds ratio [OR] = 0.23, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.07–0.70), office staff (OR = 0.51, 95% CI: 0.33–0.78), higher knowledge of COVID-19 (OR = 0.74, 95% CI: 0.67–0.81), and quarantining (OR = 0.74, 95% CI: 0.57–0.96) predicted better compliance with preventive behaviours (P < 0.05), while high anxiety levels (OR = 1.55, 95% CI: 1.10–2.18) predicted lower compliance with preventive behaviours (P < 0.05). Conclusion For employees returning to work during the post-COVID-19-epidemic period, compliance with recommended preventive behaviours requires improvement. Consequently, comprehensive intervention measures, including the provision of health education and psychological counselling, as well as the continuance of a strict isolation policy, could enhance such compliance.

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“…, 2021; Chen et al. , 2021; Gerosa et al , 2021; Mohammed et al , 2021; Savolainen, 2021; Thomas et al , 2021; Wang et al , 2021) and coronavirus health literacy (Bray et al , 2021; Okan et al , 2020; Sykes et al. , 2021).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Saturation, acceleration and information pathologies: the conditions that influence the emergence of information literacy safeguarding practice in COVID-19-environments

Lloyd

Hicks

2021

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PurposeThe purpose of this second study into information literacy practice during the COVID-19 pandemic is to identify the conditions that influence the emergence of information literacy as a safeguarding practice.Design/methodology/approachThe qualitative research design comprised one to one in-depth interviews conducted virtually during the UK's second and third lockdown phase between November 2020 and February 2021. Data were coded and analysed by the researchers using constant comparative techniques.FindingsContinual exposure to information creates the “noisy” conditions that lead to saturation and the potential for “information pathologies” to act as a form of resistance. Participants alter their information practices by actively avoiding and resisting formal and informal sources of information. These reactive activities have implications for standard information literacy empowerment discourses.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper is limited to the UK context.Practical implicationsFindings will be useful for librarians and researchers who are interested in the theorisation of information literacy as well as public health and information professionals tasked with designing long-term health promotion strategies.Social implicationsThis paper contributes to our understandings of the role that information literacy practices play within ongoing and long-term crises.Originality/valueThis paper develops research into the role of information literacy practice in times of crises and extends understanding related to the concept of empowerment, which forms a central idea within information literacy discourse.

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Examining Australian’s beliefs, misconceptions and sources of information for COVID-19: a national online survey

Cited by 25 publications

References 15 publications

Knowledge, Perceptions and Behaviors Related to COVID-19 in a University Setting in Malaysia

Knowledge, Perceptions and Behaviors Related to COVID-19 in a University Setting in Malaysia

Compliance with COVID-19-preventive behaviours among employees returning to work in the post-epidemic period

Saturation, acceleration and information pathologies: the conditions that influence the emergence of information literacy safeguarding practice in COVID-19-environments

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