Health literacy and disparities in COVID-19–related knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and behaviours in Australia

McCaffery, Kirsten; Dodd, Rachael H; Cvejic, Erin; Ayre, Julie; Isautier, Jennifer; Copp, Tessa; Bonner, Carissa; Pickles, Kristen; Nickel, Brooke; Dakin, Thomas; Cornell, Samuel; Wolf, Michael Allan

doi:10.17061/phrp30342012

Cited by 230 publications

(255 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…The data used in this study are from a prospective, longitudinal, national survey that launched in April 2020 and explored variations in people’s understanding of, attitude toward, and uptake of COVID-19 health advice during the 2020 pandemic [ 9 ]. Herein, we report on data from a survey wave conducted over a 1-week period (ie, June 5 to June 12, 2020) in Australia.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Participants who were aged ≥18 years, could read and understand English, and resided in Australia were recruited via paid targeted advertisements on social media (ie, Facebook and Instagram). More details on recruitment are provided in the McCaffery et al study [ 9 ]. Participants were given the opportunity to enter a prize draw for the chance to win 1 of 10 Aus $20 (US $14.62) gift cards upon completion of the survey.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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People’s Experiences and Satisfaction With Telehealth During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Australia: Cross-Sectional Survey Study

Isautier¹,

Copp²,

Ayre³

et al. 2020

J Med Internet Res

Self Cite

183

178

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Background In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth has rapidly been adopted to deliver health care services around the world. To date, studies have not compared people’s experiences with telehealth services during the pandemic in Australia to their experiences with traditional in-person visits. Objective This study aimed to compare participants’ perceptions of telehealth consults to their perceptions of traditional in-person visits and investigate whether people believe that telehealth services would be useful after the pandemic. Methods A national, cross-sectional, community survey was conducted between June 5 and June 12, 2020 in Australia. In total, 1369 participants who were aged ≥18 years and lived in Australia were recruited via targeted advertisements on social media (ie, Facebook and Instagram). Participants responded to survey questions about their telehealth experience, which included a free-text response option. A generalized linear model was used to estimate the adjusted relative risks of having a poorer telehealth experience than a traditional in-person visit experience. Content analysis was performed to determine the reasons why telehealth experiences were worse than traditional in-person visit experiences. Results Of the 596 telehealth users, the majority of respondents (n=369, 61.9%) stated that their telehealth experience was “just as good as” or “better than” their traditional in-person medical appointment experience. On average, respondents perceived that telehealth would be moderately useful to very useful for medical appointments after the COVID-19 pandemic ends (mean 3.67, SD 1.1). Being male (P=.007), having a history of both depression and anxiety (P=.016), and lower patient activation scores (ie, individuals’ willingness to take on the role of managing their health/health care) (P=.036) were significantly associated with a poor telehealth experience. In total, 6 overarching themes were identified from free-text responses for why participants’ telehealth experiences were poorer than their traditional in-person medical appointment experiences, as follows: communication is not as effective, limitations with technology, issues with obtaining prescriptions and pathology results, reduced confidence in their doctor, additional burden for complex care, and inability to be physically examined. Conclusions Based on our sample’s responses, telehealth appointment experiences were comparable to traditional in-person medical appointment experiences. Telehealth may be worthwhile as a mode of health care delivery while the pandemic continues, and it may continue to be worthwhile after the pandemic.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

People’s Experiences and Satisfaction With Telehealth During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Australia: Cross-Sectional Survey Study

Isautier¹,

Copp²,

Ayre³

et al. 2020

J Med Internet Res

Self Cite

183

178

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The data used in this study are from a prospective, longitudinal, national survey in Australia that aimed to evaluate variation in the public's understanding, attitudes, and implementation of COVID-19 health advice during the first lockdown period in 2020 [17,18]. A total of 4362 participants were recruited between April 17 and 24, 2020; these participants completed the baseline survey (Round 1).…”

Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 Misinformation Trends in Australia: Prospective Longitudinal National Survey

Pickles¹,

Cvejic²,

Nickel³

et al. 2021

J Med Internet Res

Self Cite

144

105

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Background Misinformation about COVID-19 is common and has been spreading rapidly across the globe through social media platforms and other information systems. Understanding what the public knows about COVID-19 and identifying beliefs based on misinformation can help shape effective public health communications to ensure efforts to reduce viral transmission are not undermined. Objective This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and factors associated with COVID-19 misinformation in Australia and their changes over time. Methods This prospective, longitudinal national survey was completed by adults (18 years and above) across April (n=4362), May (n=1882), and June (n=1369) 2020. Results Stronger agreement with misinformation was associated with younger age, male gender, lower education level, and language other than English spoken at home (P<.01 for all). After controlling for these variables, misinformation beliefs were significantly associated (P<.001) with lower levels of digital health literacy, perceived threat of COVID-19, confidence in government, and trust in scientific institutions. Analyses of specific government-identified misinformation revealed 3 clusters: prevention (associated with male gender and younger age), causation (associated with lower education level and greater social disadvantage), and cure (associated with younger age). Lower institutional trust and greater rejection of official government accounts were associated with stronger agreement with COVID-19 misinformation. Conclusions The findings of this study highlight important gaps in communication effectiveness, which must be addressed to ensure effective COVID-19 prevention.

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“…The European Health Literacy Survey conducted in eight countries demonstrated that 50% of adults have problematic or inadequate levels of access, understanding, appraisal and application of health or risk information [34,35]. A study in Australia showed that people with low health literacy and people whose native language is not English demonstrated poorer understanding of COVID-19 symptoms and prevention measures, more difficulty accessing government information, difficulty accessing prescription medication, and experienced greater anxiousness and financial difficulties [36]. Studies conducted in Australia and the United States showed that factors increasing vulnerability to COVID-19, such as age, underlying chronic diseases, and income are also factors associated with the ability to access and understand health information and decision-making [36,37].…”

Section: Risk Communicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A study in Australia showed that people with low health literacy and people whose native language is not English demonstrated poorer understanding of COVID-19 symptoms and prevention measures, more difficulty accessing government information, difficulty accessing prescription medication, and experienced greater anxiousness and financial difficulties [36]. Studies conducted in Australia and the United States showed that factors increasing vulnerability to COVID-19, such as age, underlying chronic diseases, and income are also factors associated with the ability to access and understand health information and decision-making [36,37]. During the COVID-19 pandemic and widespread lockdown, digital media has become a convenient and rapid tool for people to gain information.…”

Section: Risk Communicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reflection of Challenges and Opportunities within the COVID-19 Pandemic to Include Biological Hazards into DRR Planning

Chan

Dubois

Fong³

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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COVID-19 has reinforced the need to revisit the integration of health within disaster risk reduction (DRR) strategies for biological hazards in a system-wide approach. In November 2020, DRR experts attended the Asia-Pacific Partnership for Disaster Risk Reduction (APP-DRR) Forum to share progress and learnings in the areas of health system resilience, data management, residual risk management, risk communication, digital literacy, and knowledge product marketing. Advancements for health in DRR included the importance of multi-sectoral, multi-hazard action plans; adaptation to technological advancements in data collection, dissemination and protection; promoting the health and wellbeing of essential and nonprofessional workers; and improving inclusivity in digital literacy. COVID-19 has affected progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and created a unique opportunity within DRR to re-evaluate the adequacy of response mechanisms against concurrent, cascading or interacting risks of future biological hazards. Health emergency disaster risk management (Health-EDRM) is a new World Health Organization paradigm that includes DRR at intra-, inter- and multidisciplinary levels. Scientific advancement under Health-EDRM is necessary for health and non-health actors in DRR education and research. Continuous education on the multifaceted risk governance is a key to building awareness, capacity and accelerating towards achieving the international DRR and the SDG targets.

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Health literacy and disparities in COVID-19–related knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and behaviours in Australia

Abstract: Objectives: To explore the variation in understanding of, attitudes towards, and uptake of, health advice on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during the 2020 pandemic stage 3 restrictions ('lockdown') by health literacy in the Australian population.

Cited by 230 publications

References 16 publications

People’s Experiences and Satisfaction With Telehealth During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Australia: Cross-Sectional Survey Study

People’s Experiences and Satisfaction With Telehealth During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Australia: Cross-Sectional Survey Study

COVID-19 Misinformation Trends in Australia: Prospective Longitudinal National Survey

Reflection of Challenges and Opportunities within the COVID-19 Pandemic to Include Biological Hazards into DRR Planning

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