Identifying Health Equity Factors That Influence the Public’s Perception of COVID-19 Health Information and Recommendations: A Scoping Review

Shahab Sayfi, Ibrahim Alayche, Olivia Magwood, Margaret Gassanov, Ashley Motilall, Omar Dewidar, Nicole Detambel, Micayla Matthews, Rukhsana Ahmed, Holger J. Schünemann and Kevin Pottie ()
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Shahab Sayfi: Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, London, ON N6A 5C1, Canada
Ibrahim Alayche: Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada
Olivia Magwood: Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, 125 University, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada
Margaret Gassanov: Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, McMaster University, 1280 Main St. W., Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada
Ashley Motilall: Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, McMaster University, 1280 Main St. W., Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada
Omar Dewidar: Bruyere Research Institute, University of Ottawa, 85 Primrose Avenue, Ottawa, ON K1R 6M1, Canada
Nicole Detambel: Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, McMaster University, 1280 Main St. W., Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada
Micayla Matthews: Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, McMaster University, 1280 Main St. W., Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada
Rukhsana Ahmed: Department of Communication, University at Albany—State University of New York, Albany, NY 12222, USA
Holger J. Schünemann: Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, McMaster University, 1280 Main St. W., Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada
Kevin Pottie: Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, London, ON N6A 5C1, Canada

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 19, 1-21

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted global public health and public trust in health recommendations. Trust in health information may waver in the context of health inequities. The objective of this scoping review is to map evidence on public perceptions of COVID-19 prevention information using the PROGRESS-Plus health equity framework. We systematically searched the MEDLINE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PsycInfo, and Embase databases from January 2020 to July 2021. We identified 792 citations and 31 studies published in 15 countries that met all inclusion criteria. The majority (30/31; 96.7%) of the studies used an observational design (74.2% cross-sectional, 16.1% cohort, 6.5% case study, 3.2% experimental trials). Most studies (61.3%) reported on perception, understanding, and uptake, and 35.5% reported on engagement, compliance, and adherence to COVID-19 measures. The most frequently reported sources of COVID-related information were social media, TV, news (newspapers/news websites), and government sources. We identified five important equity factors related to public trust and uptake of recommendations: education and health literacy (19 studies; 61.3%), gender (15 studies; 48.4%), age (15 studies; 48.4%), socioeconomic status (11 studies; 35.5%), and place of residence (10 studies; 32.3%). Our review suggests that equity factors play a role in public perception of COVID-19 information and recommendations. A future systematic review could be conducted to estimate the impact of equity factors on perception and behavior outcomes.

Keywords: public perception; health literacy; health equity; misinformation; COVID-19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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