The Pandemic within a Pandemic: Testing a Sequential Mediation Model to Better Understand Racial/Ethnic Disparities in COVID-19 Preventive Behavior
Recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data reveal that COVID-19 hospitalization and mortality rates are higher for certain racial/ethnic groups. Labeled as the “pandemic within a pandemic”, African Americans and Hispanics are bearing more of the brunt of the disease compared to Cau...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-02-01
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| Series: | Healthcare |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/9/2/230 |
| _version_ | 1797395827868565504 |
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| author | James A. Roberts Meredith E. David |
| author_facet | James A. Roberts Meredith E. David |
| author_sort | James A. Roberts |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data reveal that COVID-19 hospitalization and mortality rates are higher for certain racial/ethnic groups. Labeled as the “pandemic within a pandemic”, African Americans and Hispanics are bearing more of the brunt of the disease compared to Caucasians. Testing a new sequential mediation model on a sample of 483 US African American, Caucasian, and Hispanic adults, the present study investigates the role of fear of COVID-19, information receptivity, perceived knowledge, and self-efficacy to explain disparities in preventive behaviors. Study contributions include the specification of a new predictive model that improves upon the long-used Health Belief Model (HBM). The Sequential Mediation Model appears to have greater explanatory capacity than the HBM. Study results also provide important insights into racial/ethnic differences in health-seeking behavior related to the coronavirus. Findings show that African Americans reported higher levels of preventive behaviors and self-efficacy than Caucasians. It is possible that SES, rather than race per se, is more important in explaining differences in COVID-19 preventive behaviors. Certain “cues to action” (precipitating factors) also help explain this somewhat surprising result. Additionally, significant differences were found across the three racial/ethnic groups for all the new model’s variables except perceived knowledge. The new model was supported across all three racial/ethnic groups with notable differences across each group. Given the severity of implications surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic (physical, mental, and economic), it is critical that an improved understanding of what drives individual health-seeking behavior be achieved. Study limitations and future research suggestions are discussed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T00:41:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-214a6fd6e1ce4e52aa4d84e794804429 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9032 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T00:41:21Z |
| publishDate | 2021-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Healthcare |
| spelling | doaj.art-214a6fd6e1ce4e52aa4d84e7948044292023-12-11T17:46:04ZengMDPI AGHealthcare2227-90322021-02-019223010.3390/healthcare9020230The Pandemic within a Pandemic: Testing a Sequential Mediation Model to Better Understand Racial/Ethnic Disparities in COVID-19 Preventive BehaviorJames A. Roberts0Meredith E. David1Hankamer School of Business, Baylor University, Waco, TX 76798, USAHankamer School of Business, Baylor University, Waco, TX 76798, USARecent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data reveal that COVID-19 hospitalization and mortality rates are higher for certain racial/ethnic groups. Labeled as the “pandemic within a pandemic”, African Americans and Hispanics are bearing more of the brunt of the disease compared to Caucasians. Testing a new sequential mediation model on a sample of 483 US African American, Caucasian, and Hispanic adults, the present study investigates the role of fear of COVID-19, information receptivity, perceived knowledge, and self-efficacy to explain disparities in preventive behaviors. Study contributions include the specification of a new predictive model that improves upon the long-used Health Belief Model (HBM). The Sequential Mediation Model appears to have greater explanatory capacity than the HBM. Study results also provide important insights into racial/ethnic differences in health-seeking behavior related to the coronavirus. Findings show that African Americans reported higher levels of preventive behaviors and self-efficacy than Caucasians. It is possible that SES, rather than race per se, is more important in explaining differences in COVID-19 preventive behaviors. Certain “cues to action” (precipitating factors) also help explain this somewhat surprising result. Additionally, significant differences were found across the three racial/ethnic groups for all the new model’s variables except perceived knowledge. The new model was supported across all three racial/ethnic groups with notable differences across each group. Given the severity of implications surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic (physical, mental, and economic), it is critical that an improved understanding of what drives individual health-seeking behavior be achieved. Study limitations and future research suggestions are discussed.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/9/2/230COVID-19raceethnicityhealth disparitiesHealth Belief Model |
| spellingShingle | James A. Roberts Meredith E. David The Pandemic within a Pandemic: Testing a Sequential Mediation Model to Better Understand Racial/Ethnic Disparities in COVID-19 Preventive Behavior Healthcare COVID-19 race ethnicity health disparities Health Belief Model |
| title | The Pandemic within a Pandemic: Testing a Sequential Mediation Model to Better Understand Racial/Ethnic Disparities in COVID-19 Preventive Behavior |
| title_full | The Pandemic within a Pandemic: Testing a Sequential Mediation Model to Better Understand Racial/Ethnic Disparities in COVID-19 Preventive Behavior |
| title_fullStr | The Pandemic within a Pandemic: Testing a Sequential Mediation Model to Better Understand Racial/Ethnic Disparities in COVID-19 Preventive Behavior |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Pandemic within a Pandemic: Testing a Sequential Mediation Model to Better Understand Racial/Ethnic Disparities in COVID-19 Preventive Behavior |
| title_short | The Pandemic within a Pandemic: Testing a Sequential Mediation Model to Better Understand Racial/Ethnic Disparities in COVID-19 Preventive Behavior |
| title_sort | pandemic within a pandemic testing a sequential mediation model to better understand racial ethnic disparities in covid 19 preventive behavior |
| topic | COVID-19 race ethnicity health disparities Health Belief Model |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/9/2/230 |
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