PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
With the singular focus on COVID-19 in both the media environment and in the everyday lives of most people,
it is not clear how perceptions of other health conditions may shift, especially among older adults who are
particularly vulnerable to COVID-19. Research demonstrates a tendency for individuals to allow their attitudes
towards one salient issue to impact their attitudes and behaviors towards unrelated, but similar other issues
(i.e., spillover effects). Given the emphasis on science and research in COVID-19 discourse, it is important to
assess whether older adults’ pandemic experiences may “spillover” to their perceptions of scientific research in
ways that may affect their willingness to participate in Alzheimer’s disease (AD)-related research efforts. In this
project, we propose to examine how information sources on COVID-19 and the larger context of the pandemic
influence older adults’ perceptions of scientific research and AD, adherence to recommended COVID-19
prevention behaviors, and whether these perceptions vary by racial/ethnic group. This research is critical to
determine whether COVID-19 spillover is changing how individuals perceive both AD as a health risk and calls
to participate in AD research such as enrolling in recruitment registries. Grounded in Spreading Activation
Theory and the Reasoned Action Approach (RAA), we propose two aims. First, to determine the extent to
which COVID-19 news coverage and lived experiences change perceptions of scientific research and
willingness to participate in AD-related research, we employ a mixed methods approach using surveys and
content analysis. We conduct a series of repeated cross-sectional surveys over a period of 12 months to
monitor how changes in the pandemic and in news coverage may be related to attitude shifts about research
generally and specific to AD and AD risk. Survey data will be collected across 12 waves from a national
sample stratified by the race groups that correspond to the groups of interest in the parent award (white,
Hispanic, Black). Data are collected monthly, which allows for capturing perceptual shifts as the COVID-19
situation changes rapidly. A theory-driven content analysis of news coverage from main news sources,
coinciding with the surveys, will also be conducted with the goal of understanding the extent and nature of
COVID-19 information and misinformation, including topics such as racial disparities in COVID-19 morbidity
and mortality and emphasis on older adults and racial minorities as vulnerable populations. The second aim
identifies relevant psychosocial determinants (attitudes, norms, efficacy/control) of subsequent COVID-19-
related health behaviors (i.e., preparation, prevention) for older adults using the RAA. We collect a follow-up
wave of data (Wave 2) from the Wave 1/Baseline from the repeated cross-sectional surveys and predict how
effects of exposure to media and interpersonal messages are mediated through attitudes, norms, and efficacy
to predict subsequent COVID-19 recommended behaviors. Together these two aims allow for a test of COVID-
19 spillover into AD-related attitudes and willingness to participate in AD research.
