Inside the 'black box' of COVID-19 vaccination beliefs: Revealing the relative importance of public confidence and news consumption habits.

RATIONALE: President Biden's goal for 70% of U.S. adults to have received at least one vaccine by July 4, 2021 was not achieved. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this research was to assess the 'black box' of positive COVID-19 vaccination beliefs to determine the relative importance of each factor and thus inform well-targeted and tailored health promotion efforts. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in a sample of U.S. adults (N = 1656), assessing the influence of demographic characteristics, cognitive effects, public confidence, and news source variety and evaluation on positive COVID-19 vaccination beliefs. RESULTS: Overall, the strongest predictor of positive beliefs was high confidence in public health officials and political institutions to handle the COVID-19 pandemic effectively, yet negative sentiments toward COVID-19 research and science and COVID-19 vaccine ambivalence reduced the likelihood that beliefs were positive. Cognitive effects and public confidence were identified as key predictors of positive COVID-19 vaccination beliefs over and above party identification. Importantly, high levels of confidence in science and government were mostly driven by positive evaluations of liberal news sources. High levels of COVID-19 science backlash were mostly driven by positive evaluations of conservative news sources. CONCLUSIONS: To motivate COVID-19 vaccination among hesitant or resistant groups in the population, health promotion efforts should seek to reinforce positive COVID-19 vaccination beliefs by increasing public confidence and by reducing COVID-19 science backlash, largely by choosing specific news media and social media platforms (e.g., Breitbart, Fox News, and Facebook) as channels for health promotion and health information dissemination.

Suicidal Ideation During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Investigating Mental Health, COVID-19 Health Beliefs, and News Media Consumption in the United States Population in the Year 2020.

This study examines the role of general news media consumption during COVID-19 in aggravating mental health and suicide risk in the US population. In a sample of U.S. adults (N = 5,010), we investigated how mental health, COVID-19 health beliefs, and general news consumption influenced the odds of suicidal ideation using hierarchical logistic regression models. Both worsening mental health overall and specifically in regard to COVID-19 increased suicidal ideation. Perceived susceptibility to COVID-19 infection did not increase suicidal ideation, yet higher levels of COVID-19 self-efficacy reduced suicidal ideation. Overall news consumption did not affect suicidal ideation, but media-specific post-hoc analyses revealed that TV news watching decreased suicidal ideation as much as high levels of COVID-19 self-efficacy decreased suicidal ideation. Furthermore, online news consumption increased suicidal ideation as much as worsening mental health overall increased suicidal ideation. Further implications are discussed.

Help-seeking intentions in the U.S. population during the COVID-19 pandemic: Examining the role of COVID-19 financial hardship, suicide risk, and stigma.

The primary goal of this study was to increase understanding of help-seeking intentions in the U.S. population during the COVID-19 pandemic and to examine influencing factors such as COVID-19 financial hardship, suicide risk, and stigma in order to contribute to effective theory-based help-seeking and suicide prevention campaigns. In a representative sample of U.S. adults (N = 5,010), this research tested whether COVID-19 financial hardship was associated with higher levels of depression and suicidal ideation (supported), and whether the reasoned action framework could usefully predict help-seeking intentions in this context (supported). The reasoned action framework explained 36% of the variance in help-seeking intentions in the U.S. population and identified injunctive norm (social support) as primary determinant of intention. Neither suicidal ideation, COVID-19 financial hardship, or self-stigma of seeking help influenced determinants of help-seeking. Future research should test injunctive norm as causal predictor of help-seeking in the U.S. population to usefully inform effective help-seeking campaigns, particularly among those who have experienced COVID-19 financial hardship. Additionally, effective dissemination strategies for help-seeking campaigns should be tested and identified, such as broader targeted approaches as well as intentional mis-targeting techniques.

Which Beliefs Predict Intention to Get Vaccinated against COVID-19? A Mixed-Methods Reasoned Action Approach Applied to Health Communication.

This research examined the underlying beliefs and psychological determinants of COVID-19 vaccination intention in order to inform effective health promotion efforts. We utilized the reasoned action framework in a mixed-methods, two-study approach. Study 1, an open-ended belief elicitation survey (N = 197), explored the underlying beliefs associated with intention to get vaccinated against COVID-19 once a vaccine becomes available. In a quantitative survey with a representative sample of U.S. adults, study 2 (N = 1656) tested the psychological determinants of intention to get vaccinated. Results revealed (1) the most common attitudinal, normative, and control beliefs about COVID-19 vaccination; (2) instrumental attitude as the strongest determinant of COVID-19 vaccination intention; and (3) 'achieving peace of mind' as an effective target for health promotion efforts. Further implications and directions are discussed.

Rural and Urban Differences in COVID-19 Prevention Behaviors.

PURPOSE: To examine whether the adoption of COVID-19-related preventive health behaviors vary in rural versus urban communities of the United States while accounting for the influence of political ideology, demographic factors, and COVID-19 experiences. METHODS: We rely on a representative survey of 5009 American adults collected from May 28 to June 8, 2020. We analyze the influence of rural status, political ideology, demographic factors, and COVID-19 experiences on self-reported adoption of 8 COVID-19-related preventive health behaviors. FINDINGS: Rural residents are significantly less likely to have worn a mask in public, sanitized their home or workplace with disinfectant, avoided dining at restaurants or bars, or worked from home. These findings, with the exception of dining out, are robust to the inclusion of measures accounting for political ideology, demographic factors, and COVID-19 experiences. CONCLUSIONS: Rural residents are significantly less likely to participate in several COVID-19-related preventive health behaviors. This reality could exacerbate existing disparities in health access and outcomes for rural Americans. Health messaging targeted at improving COVID-19 preventive behavior adoption in rural America is warranted.