Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Apr 30, 2020
Date Accepted: Aug 11, 2020
Date Submitted to PubMed: Oct 27, 2020
The Public’s Perception of the Severity and Global Impact at the Start of the Novel SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic: A Crowdsourcing Based Cross-Sectional Analysis
ABSTRACT
Background:
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a rapidly developing threat to most people in the United States and abroad. The behaviors of the general public are important to understand, as they may have a tremendous impact on the course of this novel coronavirus pandemic.
Objective:
This study intends to assess the US population's perception and knowledge of the virus as a threat and the behaviors of the general population in response.
Methods:
A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted with random volunteers recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk© (Seattle, WA), an internet crowd-sourcing service, on 3/24/2020.A total of 969 participants met inclusion criteria. It was found that the perceived severity of the COVID-19 pandemic significantly differed between age groups (P < 0.001) and men and women (P < 0.001). A majority of study participants were actively adhering to CDC guidelines.
Results:
A total of 969 participants met inclusion criteria. It was found that the perceived severity of the COVID-19 pandemic significantly differed between age groups (P < 0.001) and men and women (P < 0.001). A majority of study participants were actively adhering to CDC guidelines.
Conclusions:
Though many participants identify COVID-19 as a threat, many failed to place themselves appropriately in the correct categories with respect to risk. This may indicate a need for additional public education in appropriately defining the risk of this novel pandemic.
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Copyright
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