April 4-6, 2024 • Hyatt Regency • Lexington, KY
Innovations in Health Communication
Innovations in Health Communication
Abstract: Exploring the Impact of Political Affiliation on Credibility Perceptions, Health Beliefs, and Compliance With COVID-19 Guidance
The COVID-19 pandemic has presented enormous challenges to public health communication, exacerbated by an evolving understanding of the virus and political polarization over the appropriate response to the crisis. This study delves into the complex relationship between political partisanship and traditional health belief factors in predicting individuals’ intent to comply with preventive health measures following a positive COVID diagnosis. Specifically, this research investigates two possible sources of influence on willingness to comply with COVID-19 messaging about actions to take after receiving a positive diagnosis. The first approach explores how the political affiliation of the message receiver and congruence with the message source’s political affiliation, along with perceptions of source credibility influence intent to comply. The second approach explores how the traditional factors of the Health Belief Model – perceived susceptibility, severity, barriers, and benefits – influence intent to comply with message recommendations.
To examine these varying influences, we conducted an online experiment (N = 424) that manipulated the message sender’s political affiliation (Republican or Democratic) in a fabricated email containing COVID-19 guidance. Participants recruited through Amazon M Turk viewed the messages and then responded to self-report items including the Health Belief Model variables, perceived credibility of the message, and intent to comply with the message guidance. Results indicate that personal party identification and message source party identification did not significantly impact intent to comply with COVID guidance. Across both conditions, Democrats expressed higher perceived credibility towards the messages than Republicans; however, political congruence between the sender and receiver did not affect perceived credibility. Contrary to expectations, Republicans reported greater perceived susceptibility to the virus than Democrats. In line with our predictions regarding the Health Belief Model, lower perceptions of barriers and greater perceptions of severity and benefits significantly predicted intent to comply, although perceived susceptibility was not a significant predictor. In contrast to previous studies, no significant differences were observed in perceived severity, barriers to compliance, or benefits of compliance based on political party. This study suggests that, in the context of relaxed COVID guidelines, political factors may have less influence on public health perceptions and intent to comply with preventive measures, emphasizing the importance of message content and context. These findings prompt further exploration into the evolving dynamics of COVID-19 perceptions, political congruence, and health behavior over time. Furthermore, the results have implications for future public health communication campaigns, suggesting potential areas for innovation in communicating preventive guidelines.
To examine these varying influences, we conducted an online experiment (N = 424) that manipulated the message sender’s political affiliation (Republican or Democratic) in a fabricated email containing COVID-19 guidance. Participants recruited through Amazon M Turk viewed the messages and then responded to self-report items including the Health Belief Model variables, perceived credibility of the message, and intent to comply with the message guidance. Results indicate that personal party identification and message source party identification did not significantly impact intent to comply with COVID guidance. Across both conditions, Democrats expressed higher perceived credibility towards the messages than Republicans; however, political congruence between the sender and receiver did not affect perceived credibility. Contrary to expectations, Republicans reported greater perceived susceptibility to the virus than Democrats. In line with our predictions regarding the Health Belief Model, lower perceptions of barriers and greater perceptions of severity and benefits significantly predicted intent to comply, although perceived susceptibility was not a significant predictor. In contrast to previous studies, no significant differences were observed in perceived severity, barriers to compliance, or benefits of compliance based on political party. This study suggests that, in the context of relaxed COVID guidelines, political factors may have less influence on public health perceptions and intent to comply with preventive measures, emphasizing the importance of message content and context. These findings prompt further exploration into the evolving dynamics of COVID-19 perceptions, political congruence, and health behavior over time. Furthermore, the results have implications for future public health communication campaigns, suggesting potential areas for innovation in communicating preventive guidelines.