Factors contributing to COVID-19 skepticism and information gaps among older adults in the United States and Canada: An analysis  of nationality, gender, education, family, and politics

Lund, Brady; Long, Bobbi Sartin

doi:10.5206/cjilsrcsib.v45i1.14091

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 27 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Compared with younger adults, older adults have been found to be worse at telling the truth from the lies, especially on social media (Ruffman et al, 2012 ), increasing the possibilities of exposing to and deceiving by fake news (Brashier and Schacter, 2020). However, several studies indicate that it is not only biological (aging) factors at play, as exposure to technology over time and sociability also play a considerable role (Hicks and Lloyd, 2016; Lund and Long, 2022; Wang et al, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Information literacy, well-being, and rural older adults in a pandemic

Lund

Wang

2022

Journal of Librarianship and Information Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Many older adults residing in rural communities faced particularly damaging consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. Given the impact of the pandemic on the ability to rely on traditional forms of information (i.e. interpersonal communication), reliance on digital technology and other non-traditional sources of information grew. Those who lacked the information literacy, defined in this study as the ability to find and evaluate the reliability of information to address an information need, may have faced psychologically damaging consequences caused by the proliferation of misinformation and information poverty. Informed by an ecological understanding of human information behavior, this paper reports on the findings of a study of rural older adults’ information literacy skills and sense of well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. A mail survey, based on concepts from psychology and information science and question wordings adapted from the 2021 Health and Retirement Survey and Jones-Jang et al.’s study of literacies and fake news, was distributed in the summer of 2021 to older adults living in rural Kansas. About 206 valid responses to the survey were received. These were analyzed using correlation and regression testing. The findings indicate a significant relationship between information literacy skills and one’s overall sense of well-being. Personal (age, gender, health, life control), economic (employment, finances), and social-relational resources (social engagement, relationship quality) all were shown to relate positively to information literacy skills. These findings provide definition to our understanding of the importance of information literacy in modern understandings of psychological well-being.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Information literacy, well-being, and rural older adults in a pandemic

Lund

Wang

2022

Journal of Librarianship and Information Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Bookending a Pandemic and Its Impact on Public Libraries: Policy and Announcement Information Provided by Libraries Throughout the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Response

Lund

Wang

Alenezi

2022

Public Library Quarterly

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Covid-19 skepticism and public health norms during refugee assistance: does skepticism always lead to poor safety protocol adherence?

Nawyn,

Karaoğlu,

Qaji

et al. 2024

BMC Public Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Skepticism about COVID-19’s existence or severity has spread as fast as the disease itself, and in some populations has been shown to undermine protective public health behaviors that can mitigate infection. For populations that are especially vulnerable to COVID spread and severity, such as refugees, COVID skepticism is particularly problematic. Methods We examine data collected from observations of humanitarian services provided to refugees in Lebanon, Türkiye, and Jordan to determine if skepticism is related to adherence to specific health-protective protocols (masking, social distancing, and hand sanitizing), and whether the effects of COVID skepticism are mediated by particular populations of refugees or the country in which those refugees receive assistance. Results We found that community skepticism (the frequency of COVID skepticism expressed by others within a service location) is associated with lower adherence to certain protocols and not others. We also found that with certain protocols, the country in which refugees receive services mediates the relationship between community skepticism and protocol adherence, but for other protocols the relationship between skepticism and adherence is independent of either country in which refugees reside or the refugee population being served. Conclusions The existence of skepticism about COVID-19 does not always lead to an unwillingness to take protective measures to avoid infection. The mechanisms underlying the relationship between skepticism and adherence to health-protective protocols vary based on the type of protocol in question. In order to increase protocol adherence, the specific variables predicting adherence to different protocols need to be assessed in order to increase adherence and improve public health during humanitarian services.

show abstract

Factors contributing to COVID-19 skepticism and information gaps among older adults in the United States and Canada: An analysis of nationality, gender, education, family, and politics

Cited by 3 publications

References 27 publications

Information literacy, well-being, and rural older adults in a pandemic

Information literacy, well-being, and rural older adults in a pandemic

Bookending a Pandemic and Its Impact on Public Libraries: Policy and Announcement Information Provided by Libraries Throughout the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Response

Covid-19 skepticism and public health norms during refugee assistance: does skepticism always lead to poor safety protocol adherence?

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About