COVID-19 study shows Americans safety-minded, except with family, roommates

February 24, 2022 - University of Wisconsin-River Falls Sociology Professor Paige Miller is part of a Louisiana State University (LSU)-Wisconsin study funded through the Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership related to COVID-19. The Tommy G. Thompson Center funded the study “The Social Life of COVID-19: Fear, Uncertainties, Anxieties” in July 2020 for $58,000.

The study is the U.S. portion of a larger National Science Foundation project taking place in eight countries that examines the role of social, political and economic factors in shaping community responses to COVD-19. The data will provide policymakers important insights into the factors shaping public perceptions and reactions to pandemics and information to craft appropriate and effective responses.

Survey data of more than 10,000 people across the nation was collected last summer about COVID-19 by Alchemer, a data and feedback collection company.

Miller, of the Sociology, Criminology and Anthropology Department, said researchers are just starting to analyze the data and expect to do so for about a year. Roughly six to nine research papers are expected to be written from the data collected.

Preliminary results indicate most Americans are familiar with expert advice on how to stay safe and are generally compliant with the most important recommendations such as wearing masks, social distancing and getting vaccinated, Miller said.

“New behaviors, for example wearing face masks, are considered much easier precautions than avoiding places, people or activities,” Miller said. “The recommendation to avoid close contact with housemates is generally considered to be the most difficult, as well as the least necessary, by a large margin.”

LSU Professor of Sociology Wesley Shrum believes most people aren’t willing to change their household habits. Unfortunately, that does not bode well for the continued spread of the COVID-19 and its variants.

“The precautions most people take won’t protect them because the way you normally get it is from people you live with,” Shrum said. “Avoiding close contact with them is both the most difficult precaution and the one people feel is least necessary.”

Some of the respondents to the surveys adhered to more questionable ideas on how to treat COVID-19 that do not have medical backing, Miller noted.

Also, experts were not ranked particularly high by respondents, including members of the media and government, in terms of their reactions to the pandemic and their reliability. Indeed, respondents’ greatest concern is with false or inaccurate information and the lack of agreement among experts. Medical professionals, though, were ranked more reliable, Miller noted.

Among study respondents, most had already been vaccinated while others said they were likely to get vaccinated—most agree vaccines are the main solution to the pandemic. And yet, a majority also worries vaccines may be harmful in some way.

“Interestingly, despite waning trust in media, government, and expert sources, many Americans are actually willing to follow expert advice related to vaccinations,” said Miller. “I think these findings really emphasize the importance of consistent and measured messaging from officials. They need to address people’s concerns in a manner that is both clear, empathetic, and avoids demonizing or further polarization, particularly if we want to increase compliance with this pandemic or with others in the future.”

Miller said future studies should address what losing trust in the media and the government means and what the broader consequences of that trend might be.

Now, nearly six months since the data were gathered, she does see a degree of pandemic fatigue, on the one hand, with many wanting to return to normalcy, while others continue to be quite cautious, even fearful, and may be for some time.

“The question now is where do we go from here,” Miller said. “How do we balance the risks of returning to some kind of normal versus the costs of doing so, recognizing there are also serious consequences of continuing to disrupt people’s lives?”

Miller has taught at UWRF since 2009. She has her bachelor of arts degree from Black Hills State University, Spearfish, S.D., and her master of arts and doctorate in sociology from Louisiana State University.

Miller enjoys teaching at UWRF.

“I appreciate at UWRF we are a teaching institute with our goal to be excellent in the classroom,” she noted, adding the university also gives professors opportunities to conduct research.

For more information, call Miller at 715-425-4435 or email page.miller@uwrf.edu.