Abstract
The U.S. public health response to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been widely criticized as having downplayed the potential implications COVID-19 could have on one's personal health. Despite the unprecedented threat of COVID-19, many individuals still believed that it was not at all likely that they would become infected. We sought to investigate trends in adults' perceived susceptibility to COVID-19 over the first year of the pandemic, whether distinct trajectories emerged, and if these trajectories differed by participant socio-demographic characteristics.This was a longitudinal cohort study with 5 time points of data collection (March 13, 2020-March 3, 2021). Subjects included 627 adults living with ≥1 chronic conditions, who completed a baseline interview and at least one follow-up interview. In addition to collecting relevant socio-demographic characteristics, participants' perceived susceptibility to COVID-19 across time was assessed and classified into distinct trajectories.Nearly two-thirds (62.2%) of participants perceived themselves to be highly susceptible to COVID-19 from the onset of the pandemic ("early responders") and sustained this over a year, a third (29.0%) eventually perceived themselves to be highly susceptible ("late responders"), and 8.8% maintained a low likelihood of susceptibility throughout the pandemic ("non-responders"). In multivariable analyses, compared to White participants, Latinx participants were significantly more likely to be non-responders and report low likelihood of perceived susceptibility (Risk Ratio [RR]: 3.46; 95% confidence interval: 1.19, 10.1), as were Black participants (RR: 5.49; 95% confidence interval: 2.19, 13.8).A year into the COVID-19 pandemic, 1 out of 11 participants persistently did not think they might be susceptible and potentially infected. Future studies are needed to understand reasons why certain individuals, particularly those of racial/ethnic minorities, did not perceive themselves at risk for infection.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | E29376 |
| Journal | Medicine (United States) |
| Volume | 101 |
| Issue number | 24 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 17 2022 |
Funding
MSW reports grants from the NIH during the conduct of the study; grants from Merck, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the NIH, and Eli Lilly outside the submitted work; and personal fees from Sanofi, Pfizer, and Luto outside the submitted work. SCB reports grants from the NIH during the conduct of the study; grants from Merck, the NIH, and Eli Lilly outside the submitted work; grants and personal fees from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation outside the submitted work; and personal fees from Sanofi, Pfizer, and Luto outside the submitted work. LAO, LMC, MJK, RO, GAW, JYB, RML, MRE, and AMZ have no conflicts of interest to disclose. Data is supported from the following National Institute of Health-sponsored studies: “Health Literacy and Cognitive Function Among Older Adults” (R01 AG030611), “Self-Management Behaviors among COPD patients with Multimorbitidy” (R01 HL126508), “A Universal Medication Schedule to Promote Adherence to Complex Drug Regimens” (R01 AG046352), “Transplant Regimen Adherence for Kidney Recipients by Engaging Information Technologies” (R01 DK110172), “EHR-Based Universal Medication Schedule to Improve Adherence to Complex Regimens” (R01 NR015444), and “COVID-19 Supplement to LitCog IV: Health Literacy and Cognitive Function Among Older Adults” (3R01 AG030611-13S1). This work is also supported by The Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center at Northwestern University (P30 AG059988). Data used with permission from the PIs.
Keywords
- Chicago
- comorbidity
- coronavirus disease 2019
- coronavirus disease 2019 perceived susceptibility
- socio-demographic health disparities
- trajectories
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Medicine
