With the singular focus on COVID-19 in both the media environment and in the everyday lives of most people, it is not clear how perceptions of other health conditions may shift, especially among older adults who are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19. Research demonstrates a tendency for individuals to allow their attitudes towards one salient issue to impact their attitudes and behaviors towards unrelated, but similar other issues (i.e., spillover effects). Given the emphasis on science and research in COVID-19 discourse, it is important to assess whether older adults? pandemic experiences may ?spillover? to their perceptions of scientific research in ways that may affect their willingness to participate in Alzheimer?s disease (AD)-related research efforts. In this project, we propose to examine how information sources on COVID-19 and the larger context of the pandemic influence older adults? perceptions of scientific research and AD, adherence to recommended COVID-19 prevention behaviors, and whether these perceptions vary by racial/ethnic group. This research is critical to determine whether COVID-19 spillover is changing how individuals perceive both AD as a health risk and calls to participate in AD research such as enrolling in recruitment registries. Grounded in Spreading Activation Theory and the Reasoned Action Approach (RAA), we propose two aims. First, to determine the extent to which COVID-19 news coverage and lived experiences change perceptions of scientific research and willingness to participate in AD-related research, we employ a mixed methods approach using surveys and content analysis. We conduct a series of repeated cross-sectional surveys over a period of 12 months to monitor how changes in the pandemic and in news coverage may be related to attitude shifts about research generally and specific to AD and AD risk. Survey data will be collected across 12 waves from a national sample stratified by the race groups that correspond to the groups of interest in the parent award (white, Hispanic, Black). Data are collected monthly, which allows for capturing perceptual shifts as the COVID-19 situation changes rapidly. A theory-driven content analysis of news coverage from main news sources, coinciding with the surveys, will also be conducted with the goal of understanding the extent and nature of COVID-19 information and misinformation, including topics such as racial disparities in COVID-19 morbidity and mortality and emphasis on older adults and racial minorities as vulnerable populations.
The second aim i dentifies relevant psychosocial determinants (attitudes, norms, efficacy/control) of subsequent COVID-19- related health behaviors (i.e., preparation, prevention) for older adults using the RAA. We collect a follow-up wave of data (Wave 2) from the Wave 1/Baseline from the repeated cross-sectional surveys and predict how effects of exposure to media and interpersonal messages are mediated through attitudes, norms, and efficacy to predict subsequent COVID-19 recommended behaviors. Together these two aims allow for a test of COVID- 19 spillover into AD-related attitudes and willingness to participate in AD research.
The implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on older adults? perceptions of other health issues like Alzheimer?s disease (AD) are unknown. Yet, AD-related research is dependent on older adults? willingness to participate, especially underrepresented populations like African-Americans and Hispanics. This research is critical to determine whether attitudinal spillover from COVID-19 is changing how individuals perceive both AD as a health risk and calls to participate in AD research such as brain health recruitment registries.
