Medical misinformation and unverifiable content about COVID-19 are being propagated at an alarming rate, particularly on social media. Such misinformation may confer increased risk for nonadherence with COVID-19-related guidelines as well as ongoing medical regimens. This is particularly concerning for patients who are immunocompromised, such as pediatric cancer patients.

Study purpose: Determine whether there are differences in endorsement of COVID-19 related misinformation between parents/caregivers of children currently in cancer treatment and those whose children have no cancer history.

Panel survey firm Qualtrics was used to carry out a survey among 735 parents of children between the ages of 2-17 years (n = 315 currently in cancer treatment; n = 420 without a cancer history) from May 1-31, 2020. Participants were asked to endorse a series of COVID-19 related misinformation statements.

Parents of children with cancer were more likely to believe misinformation compared to parents of children without cancer. Believing misinformation was also more likely for fathers, younger parents, and parents with higher perceived stress from COVID-19.

These results suggest that healthcare professionals working in pediatric oncology, in particular, should be aware of the potentially high endorsement of COVID-19 misinformation among parents of pediatric cancer patients. Providers should proactively address COVID-19 misinformation in routine visits with pediatric oncology patients. Additionally, given the evolving pandemic information landscape, researchers must develop innovative preventive interventions to combat misinformation and public health communicators must continue to endeavor to provide clear and consistent communications related to COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic will likely only subside when a vaccine becomes available. Until then, the public is advised to practice non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI), such as social distancing and wearing a face mask. As the world continues to confront this pandemic, research is needed to understand the public's perception of the effectiveness of NPIs and their intentions to vaccinate, when a vaccine is available. In early May 2020, a national online survey was conducted with Americans who could read English (N=3,649) which examined these two areas. In a reduced logistic regression model, age, female sex, COVID-related worry, and perceived threat were positively associated with perceived effectiveness of NPIs, while perceived severity of COVID and perceived likelihood of infection were negatively associated.Odds of being in the high perceived effectiveness group decreased as people held more conservative political views (aOR=0.79 for moderates and aOR=0.62 for conservatives as compared to liberals). Intentions to vaccinate against COVID-19 were high (M=5.36/7-point scale). In a hierarchical linear regression model, variables significantly associated with lower intent included less education and working in healthcare; variables associated with higher intent included liberal political views, high personal altruism, perceived threat, believed COVID was a problem in their community, and COVID-related worry. These findings can inform targeted public health education campaigns and guide public health policies moving forward. By understanding people’s perceptions about NPI, as well as factors associated with intent to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, we can work to develop effective interventions that will ultimately reduce COVID-related morbidity and mortality.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the salient political discourse of blaming China for spreading the virus has fueled over 2,000 reports anti-Asian racial incidents and hate crimes. The purpose of this research is threefold. First, we establish a multilevel framework of traditional news and social media consumption. Second, we investigate the relationships between media consumption, intergroup contact, and prejudicial attitudes toward Asians and Asian Americans residing in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lastly, we examine the interaction effect of media use and trust on prejudice against Asians.

A cross-sectional study was completed in May 2020. A total of 439 U.S. adults (Mean age=36.61, SD=11.44; 60.6% male) participated in an online survey through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk program. Participants who identified as conservatives, had personal infection, and interacted with Asian people frequently in their daily lives reported more negative attitudes toward Asians. Relying more on traditional news media and higher trust in social media were positively associated with prejudice against Asians. In contract, consuming news from digital websites or apps, left-leaning and neutral outlets led to less prejudicial feelings toward Asians. Trust in social media and news websites/app moderated the relationship between participants’ exposure to these two sources and unfavorable attitudes toward Asians.

Experiencing racial discrimination among the Asian population during a challenging pandemic could lead to poor psychological outcomes and deepen health disparities. Our findings highlight the need to reshape news discourse and enhance social media literacy to guard against prevalent racism toward Asians.

COVID-19 has exposed a gap in how organizations use social media. To get your messages seen, it is no longer enough to just to post often. With the increasing amounts of information being shared digitally, it’s important that public health professionals understand that the social media platforms are built to deliver advertising. If we want to deliver timely messages during public health emergencies, we need to start thinking and acting like advertisers. In this session, we'll take a behind the scenes look at the advertising tools of the four major social media platforms. We'll give a live demonstration of how to create effective audiences to reach targeted population groups. Finally, we'll learn the tips and tricks that will make every post reach the maximum number of people and yet still be cost-effective for every organization.