Communication about Alzheimer's disease and research among American Indians and Alaska Natives.

Introduction: American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) people infrequently participate in Alzheimer's disease (AD) research, despite the rapidly increasing population of AI/AN people aged 65 and older. Methods: We surveyed 320 adults who identified as AI/AN at two Native-focused events and used ordinary least squares regression and logistic regression models to test associations between demographic factors and perceived risk of AD, knowledge about AD, and willingness to participate in research, along with preferred source of AD information. Results: Willingness to participate in research was highest among those living in a city versus reservation and associated with perceived personal risk for AD. Health professionals and the internet were preferred sources of information about AD. Discussion: These hypothesis-generating results provide insight into perceptions of AD and willingness to participate in research. Conclusions could inform development of AD recruitment strategies for AI/ANs and influence participation in AD research.

Coping, COVID knowledge, communication, and HBCU student's emotional well-being: Mediating role of perceived control and social connectedness.

The pandemic has disproportionately affected African American college students, who have experienced significant work-related, academic, financial, and socio-emotional challenges due to COVID-19. The purpose of the study is to investigate how African American students cope with the severe impact of COVID-19 on their emotional well-being leveraging the benefits of self-care coping measures, COVID-19 knowledge, and communication with others to enhance perceived control and social connectedness. A structural equation modeling and a path analysis of 254 responses from a Historically Black College and University showed that emotional well-being was positively predicted by self-care coping strategies, feelings of being in control in life, and social connectedness. In addition, respondents who adopted mind-body balance coping strategies, those who are knowledgeable about COVID-19, and those in more constant communication with others attained a strong sense of being in control, and in turn the empowerment increased their emotional well-being.

Vaccine Videos and Information Sharing: The Effects of Framing, Evidence Type, and Speaker Expertise.

YouTube videos have been used to inform and misinform the public about the safety of vaccines related to health threats such as measles and COVID-19. Understanding how such videos can promote the sharing of accurate vaccine safety information is of the utmost importance if health researchers are to combat the spread of misinformation and encourage widespread uptake of vaccines. Through the lens of prospect theory, this study conducted a 2 (framing: loss v. gain) x 2 (evidence type: episodic v. thematic) x 2 (speaker expertise: expert v. non-expert) between-subject factorial experiment in which a sample of N = 400 US adults over the age of 18 recruited through MTurk were asked their intention to share vaccine safety information with others after watching a manipulated YouTube video. The results showed that loss framing was associated with perceived MMR severity which was, in turn, associated with the likelihood that participants would share MMR vaccine information with others, via any means. However, this process varied depending on the type of evidence delivered, and the expertise of the speaker. Results and limitations are discussed in the context of vaccine communication and social media.