Misperceptions of COVID-19 illness risk and preferences for business and school closures in the United States
Misperceptions about COVID-19 health risks may be associated with preferences for school and business closures and fear of becoming seriously ill. We analyzed data from the Franklin Templeton-Gallup Economic of Recovery Study (July-December 2020, N = 35,068). Primary outcomes were whether a responde...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2022-06-01
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| Series: | Preventive Medicine Reports |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335522000870 |
| _version_ | 1811256127978995712 |
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| author | Joseph A. Ladapo Jonathan T. Rothwell Christina M. Ramirez |
| author_facet | Joseph A. Ladapo Jonathan T. Rothwell Christina M. Ramirez |
| author_sort | Joseph A. Ladapo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Misperceptions about COVID-19 health risks may be associated with preferences for school and business closures and fear of becoming seriously ill. We analyzed data from the Franklin Templeton-Gallup Economic of Recovery Study (July-December 2020, N = 35,068). Primary outcomes were whether a respondent favored closure of businesses or in-person schooling for elementary/secondary students. We also assessed respondents’ fear of COVID-19 illness. We assessed risk misperceptions using respondents’ estimates of the proportion of deaths from COVID-19 that occurred in persons under 55 years-old, the proportion of hospitalizations for COVID-19 that occurred in persons under 55 years-old, the mortality rate among patients hospitalized with COVID-19, and the rate of hospitalization for patients infected with COVID-19. The proportion of respondents who favored business closures ranged from 37% to 53%, and the proportion of respondents who favored school closures ranged from 38% to 44%. Most participants reported beliefs about COVID-19 health risks that were inaccurate, and overestimation of health risk was most common. For example, while deaths in persons younger than 55 years-old accounted for 7% of total U.S. deaths, respondents estimated that this population represented 43% of deaths. Overestimating COVID-19 health harms was associated with increased likelihood of fear of serious illness if infected, preferences for business closures, and preferences for school closures. U.S. survey respondents overestimated several COVID-19 risks, and overestimation was associated with increased fear of serious illness and stronger preferences for business/school lockdowns. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T17:35:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-06040416686b44e5b27d2ac712f54d0e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2211-3355 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T17:35:25Z |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Preventive Medicine Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-06040416686b44e5b27d2ac712f54d0e2022-12-22T03:22:59ZengElsevierPreventive Medicine Reports2211-33552022-06-0127101780Misperceptions of COVID-19 illness risk and preferences for business and school closures in the United StatesJoseph A. Ladapo0Jonathan T. Rothwell1Christina M. Ramirez2Department of Medicine, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL, United States; Corresponding author at: University of Florida College of Medicine, 1600 SW Archer Road, Gainesville, FL 32610, United States.Gallup, Washington, DC, United States; Brookings Institution, Washington, DC, United States; George Washington University, Washington, DC, United StatesDepartment of Biostatistics, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, United StatesMisperceptions about COVID-19 health risks may be associated with preferences for school and business closures and fear of becoming seriously ill. We analyzed data from the Franklin Templeton-Gallup Economic of Recovery Study (July-December 2020, N = 35,068). Primary outcomes were whether a respondent favored closure of businesses or in-person schooling for elementary/secondary students. We also assessed respondents’ fear of COVID-19 illness. We assessed risk misperceptions using respondents’ estimates of the proportion of deaths from COVID-19 that occurred in persons under 55 years-old, the proportion of hospitalizations for COVID-19 that occurred in persons under 55 years-old, the mortality rate among patients hospitalized with COVID-19, and the rate of hospitalization for patients infected with COVID-19. The proportion of respondents who favored business closures ranged from 37% to 53%, and the proportion of respondents who favored school closures ranged from 38% to 44%. Most participants reported beliefs about COVID-19 health risks that were inaccurate, and overestimation of health risk was most common. For example, while deaths in persons younger than 55 years-old accounted for 7% of total U.S. deaths, respondents estimated that this population represented 43% of deaths. Overestimating COVID-19 health harms was associated with increased likelihood of fear of serious illness if infected, preferences for business closures, and preferences for school closures. U.S. survey respondents overestimated several COVID-19 risks, and overestimation was associated with increased fear of serious illness and stronger preferences for business/school lockdowns.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335522000870Health policyCOVID-19Public healthPublic policy |
| spellingShingle | Joseph A. Ladapo Jonathan T. Rothwell Christina M. Ramirez Misperceptions of COVID-19 illness risk and preferences for business and school closures in the United States Preventive Medicine Reports Health policy COVID-19 Public health Public policy |
| title | Misperceptions of COVID-19 illness risk and preferences for business and school closures in the United States |
| title_full | Misperceptions of COVID-19 illness risk and preferences for business and school closures in the United States |
| title_fullStr | Misperceptions of COVID-19 illness risk and preferences for business and school closures in the United States |
| title_full_unstemmed | Misperceptions of COVID-19 illness risk and preferences for business and school closures in the United States |
| title_short | Misperceptions of COVID-19 illness risk and preferences for business and school closures in the United States |
| title_sort | misperceptions of covid 19 illness risk and preferences for business and school closures in the united states |
| topic | Health policy COVID-19 Public health Public policy |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335522000870 |
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