Table 3.
Regression models of knowledge index scores, by knowledge domain, in a survey of knowledge about COVID-19 (N = 1021), United States, February 28–March 2, 2020a
| Characteristic | Coefficient (SE) [P value]b | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Severity and mortality | Susceptibility | Transmission | Vaccines and treatment | Misinformation | |
| Sex | ||||||
| Male | 2.20 (1.54) [.15] | 6.89 (2.30) [.003] | 3.33 (1.94) [.09] | 2.90 (2.34) [.22] | 2.61 (2.53) [.30] | –0.97 (2.20) [.66] |
| Female | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] |
| Age, y | ||||||
| 18-24 | –9.48 (3.89) [.02] | –11.02 (5.33) [.04] | –6.73 (5.22) [.20] | –0.35 (5.64) [.95] | –12.46 (6.40) [.05] | –11.17 (5.29) [.04] |
| 25-34 | –5.43 (3.17) [.09] | –1.76 (4.75) [.71] | –1.93 (3.98) [.63] | 2.18 (4.62) [.64] | –7.05 (5.31) [.18] | –10.16 (4.54) [.03] |
| 35-49 | –7.14 (2.82) [.01] | –3.90 (4.46) [.38] | –1.92 (3.25) [.56] | 5.55 (3.93) [.16] | –13.30 (4.73) [.01] | –11.64 (4.12) [.01] |
| 50-64 | –3.97 (2.50) [.11] | 0.90 (4.05) [.82] | 1.04 (2.83) [.71] | 4.71 (3.63) [.20] | –6.79 (4.25) [.11] | –9.57 (3.74) [.01] |
| ≥65 | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] |
| Race/ethnicity | ||||||
| Non-Hispanic White | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] |
| Non-Hispanic Black | –13.88 (2.76) [<.001] | –22.76 (4.06) [<.001] | –6.62 (3.93) [.09] | –11.50 (4.61) [.01] | –18.44 (4.39) [<.001] | –10.37 (3.74) [.01] |
| Hispanic | –7.19 (2.46) [.004] | –14.76 (3.65) [<.001] | 5.58 (3.02) [.07] | 0.20 (3.87) [.96] | –11.27 (4.16) [.01] | –8.09 (3.53) [.02] |
| Non-Hispanic other | –4.63 (3.28) [.16] | –10.76 (4.61) [.02] | –5.35 (4.48) [.23] | 1.47 (4.55) [.75] | –5.55 (5.25) [.29] | –2.88 (4.64) [.54] |
| Education | ||||||
| <High school graduate | –16.56 (3.83) [<.001] | –27.98 (5.79) [<.001] | –14.59 (5.85) [.01] | –4.96 (5.87) [.40] | –19.39 (6.27) [.002] | –13.96 (4.68) [.003] |
| High school graduate | –1.30 (2.18) [<.001] | –19.11 (3.41) [<.001] | –3.97 (2.52) [.12] | 0.12 (3.06) [.97] | –17.66 (3.61) [<.001] | –15.04 (3.24) [<.001] |
| Some college | –4.14 (1.89) [.03] | –9.96 (3.02) [.001] | 0.10 (2.29) [.96] | –0.12 (2.77) [.97] | –1.82 (3.21) [.57] | –5.15 (2.65) [.05] |
| ≥Bachelor’s degree | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] |
| Annual household income, $ | ||||||
| <50 000 | –8.95 (2.62) [<.001] | –14.98 (4.22) [<.001] | –5.78 (3.40) [.09] | –8.29 (3.82) [.03] | –11.13 (4.38) [.01] | –6.14 (3.58) [.09] |
| 50 000-99 999 | –6.20 (1.99) [.002] | –4.51 (3.22) [.16] | –1.36 (2.40) [.57] | –6.30 (2.99) [.04] | –7.19 (3.42) [.04] | –8.12 (2.88) [.01] |
| 100 000-149 999 | –3.56 (2.21) [.11] | –8.34 (3.54) [.02] | –1.87 (2.33) [.42] | –0.66 (3.03) [.83] | 0.75 (3.57) [.83] | –4.84 (3.23) [.13] |
| ≥150 000 | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] |
| Employment status | ||||||
| Unemployed | –3.91 (1.99) [.049] | –1.12 (2.93) [.70] | –1.40 (2.56) [.59] | –1.55 (2.94) [.60] | –2.48 (3.10) [.42] | –7.65 (2.72) [.01] |
| Employed | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] |
| Health insurance | ||||||
| Employer/union | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] |
| Medicaid | –6.03 (3.67) [.10] | –4.83 (6.20) [.44] | –3.18 (5.26) [.55] | –2.14 (6.31) [.73] | 1.90 (6.87) [.78] | –12.83 (4.61) [.01] |
| Medicare/Veterans Affairs | –4.09 (2.61) [.12] | –0.09 (3.91) [.98] | 1.68 (2.81) [.55] | 3.03 (3.48) [.38] | –7.20 (4.48) [.11] | –8.83 (3.95) [.03] |
| Other | –6.23 (2.86) [.03] | –9.03 (4.12) [.03] | –1.10 (3.91) [.78] | 1.19 (4.21) [.78] | –9.75 (4.77) [.04] | –7.26 (4.14) [.08] |
| None | –5.21 (3.92) [.18] | –8.84 (4.89) [.07] | 1.21 (5.12) [.81] | –1.62 (6.01) [.79] | –4.98 (6.24) [.42] | –6.85 (4.96) [.17] |
| Unknown | 5.65 (11.01) [.61] | 15.48 (19.38) [.43] | –2.31 (8.71) [.55] | 1.20 (24.92) [.96] | 8.32 (28.21) [.77] | 5.75 (20.51) [.78] |
| Self-reported health status | ||||||
| Excellent/very good | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] |
| Good | –2.16 (1.74) [.22] | –1.50 (2.61) [.57] | –0.41 (2.20) [.85] | –1.12 (2.58) [.66] | –5.21 (2.92) [.08] | –1.90 (2.37) [.42] |
| Fair/poor | –0.35 (2.66) [.89] | –4.55 (3.80) [.23] | 0.99 (3.25) [.76] | –4.41 (3.94) [.26] | 0.45 (4.09) [.91] | 2.25 (3.65) [.54] |
| Unknown | –7.03 (4.01) [.08] | –7.51 (7.83) [.34] | –2.31 (8.71) [.79] | 6.84 (8.01) [.39] | –22.92 (8.14) [.01] | –5.03 (7.50) [.50] |
| Geographic region | ||||||
| Midwest | –0.62 (2.38) [.80] | 0.44 (3.56) [.90] | 5.34 (3.03) [.08] | –3.26 (3.43) [.34] | –2.75 (3.85) [.48] | –1.18 (3.21) [.71] |
| Northeast | –1.95 (2.39) [.42] | –8.96 (3.58) [.01] | 5.01 (2.64) [.06] | 3.96 (3.26) [.23] | 0.74 (4.00) [.85] | –4.07 (3.39) [.23] |
| South | –2.38 (2.10) [.26] | –2.21 (3.18) [.49] | 3.69 (2.80) [.19] | –2.49 (3.19) [.43] | –0.84 (3.42) [.81] | –5.23 (2.84) [.07] |
| West | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] |
| How much have you seen, read, or heard about the coronavirus first detected in Wuhan, China? | ||||||
| A great deal | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] | 1 [Reference] |
| A fair amount | –4.33 (1.57) [.01] | –5.98 (2.48) [.02] | –0.40 (1.69) [.81] | –3.81 (2.33) [.10] | –7.26 (2.64) [.01] | –3.51 (2.32) [.13] |
| Not very much/nothing at all | –17.78 (2.89) [<.001] | –21.13 (4.12) [<.001] | –9.26 (4.07) [.02] | –10.96 (4.44) [.01] | –22.33 (4.61) [<.001] | –18.95 (3.67) [<.001] |
| Number of sources of health information | 1.84 (0.54) [<.001] | 2.26 (0.90) [.01] | 1.39 (0.64) [.03] | 2.15 (0.83) [.01] | 1.38 (0.90) [.13] | 1.90 (0.80) [.02] |
Abbreviation: SE, standard error.
aData source: RTI International–funded survey on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Total N = 868 for overall model. R 2 = 0.36. Means are adjusted for sex, age, education, annual household income, employment status, race/ethnicity, self-reported health status, health insurance, and geographic region; amount of information seen, read, or heard about the coronavirus; and number of sources of information.
bBased on linear regression analysis, with P < .05 considered significant.