Attitudes about COVID-19 Testing among Black Adults in the United States

Autor: Jennifer Jiggetts, Sarah Schaffer DeRoo, Linda Y. Fu, Sivan Ben-Maimon, Rachel G. Torres
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: Ethn Dis
ISSN: 1945-0826
Popis: Purpose: Black Americans are dispropor­tionately affected by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) hospitalizations and deaths. Decreasing health disparities requires widespread uptake of COVID-19 testing, but attitudes about COVID-19 testing among Black Americans have not been studied. We aimed to characterize knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about COVID-19 testing among Black parents. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analyzed using a phenom­enology approach with 26 self-identified Black parents after telemedicine visits with a children’s health center. Interviews were recorded and transcribed; 65% were double coded with a resultant free-marginal inter­rater kappa score of 86.8%. Results: Most participants were women, spent time inside the homes of friends or family members, and almost half knew someone diagnosed with COVID-19. Three central themes emerged regarding COVID-19 testing decision making, includ­ing: 1) perceived COVID-19 disease suscep­tibility; 2) barriers to testing, with subthemes including trust in test accuracy and safety, perceived stigma of a positive test result, and impact of racism on self-efficacy; and 3) cues to action. Conclusions: When considering these themes as constructs of the Health Belief Model, we are better able to understand Black Americans’ views of COVID-19 test­ing and motivations for accessing testing. Culturally responsive educational campaigns delivered by trusted community members should aim to improve understanding about disease transmission and types of tests avail­able. Importantly, framing testing as a means to ensure safety may improve self-efficacy to obtain testing. Lastly, the health community should learn from these conversations with Black Americans so that disease prevention and mitigation strategies prioritize health equity. Ethn Dis. 2021;31(4):519-526; doi:10.18865/ed.31.4.519
Databáze: OpenAIRE