Queensland COVID-19 research

This page of Queensland’s research related to the COVID-19 pandemic is compiled from information provided by Queensland universities and research institutes.

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2. Parent organisation (any) Australian Centre For Health Services Innovation (AusHSI) Bond University CQUniversity Griffith University James Cook University Mater Research QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute Queensland Health Queensland University of Technology The University of Queensland The University of Queensland, and The Prince Charles Hospital University of Southern Queensland University of Sunshine Coast University of the Sunshine Coast Wesley Medical Research
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• A national online survey examining the beliefs, misconceptions and sources of information of Australians on the COVID-19 pandemic September 2021

  Public cooperation to practise preventive health behaviours is essential to manage the transmission of infectious diseases such as COVID-19. This study investigated the beliefs about COVID-19 diagnosis, transmission and prevention of Australians that have the potential to impact the uptake of recommended public health strategies. This national online survey targeted a resentative sample of 1500 Australian adults to identify the proportion of participants with correct/incorrect knowledge of COVID-19 preventive behaviours and reasons for any misconceptions. Most participants correctly identified washing your hands regularly with soap and water and staying at least 1.5m away from others could help prevent COVID-19. Over 40% incorrectly considered wearing gloves outside of the home would prevent them from contracting COVID-19. Views about face masks were divided. Only 66% of participants correctly identified that regular use of antibiotics would NOT prevent COVID-19. Most participants (90%) identified fever, fatigue and cough as indicators of COVID-19. However, of concern, 42% of participants incorrectly thought that being unable to hold your breath for 10 seconds without coughing was an indicator of having the virus. The most frequently reported sources of COVID-19 information were commercial television channels (56%), the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (43%) and the Australian Government COVID-19 information app (31%). The report concluded that public messaging about hand hygiene and physical distancing to prevent transmission appears to have been effective. However, there are clear, identified barriers for many individuals that have the potential to impede uptake or maintenance of these behaviours in the long term. The researcher advocated the need to develop public health messages that harness these barriers to improve future cooperation. Ensuring adherence to these interventions is critical.

  #Social sciences#Public health#Community perceptions

  Centre

  Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare
  Bond University

  Contact details

  Ass Prof Rae Thomas
  Associate Professor
  rthomas@bond.edu.au
  +617 5595 5521

  Collaborations

  • Co-researcher: Hannah Greenwood - Institute for Evidence-Based Healtchare
  • Dr Zoe A Michaleff - Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare
  • Dr Eman Abukmail - Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare
  • Prof Tammy Hoffmann - Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare
  • Prof Kirsten McCaffery - University of Sydney
  • Leah Hardiman - Consumer Representative
  • Prof Paul Glasziou - Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare

• A national online survey on the concerns and misconceptions about the Australian Government’s COVIDSafe App September 2021

  Timely and effective contact tracing is an essential public health role to curb the transmission of COVID-19. App-based contact tracing has the potential to optimise the resources of overstretched public health departments. However, it’s efficiency is dependent on wide-spread adoption. Using a national online survey resercher from the Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare targeted a representative sample of 1500 Australians the study sought to identify the proportion of people who had downloaded the Australian Government COVIDSafe app and examine the reasons why some did not. The survey showed that 37% had downloaded the COVIDSafe app, 19% intended to, 28% refused, and 16% were undecided. Equally proportioned reasons for not downloading the app included privacy (25%) and technical concerns (24%). Other reasons included a belief that social distancing was sufficient and the app is unnecessary (16%), distrust in the Government (11%), and apathy (11%). In addition, COVIDSafe knowledge varied, with confusion about its purpose and capabilities. The study concluded that for the COVIDSafe app to be accepted by the public and used correctly, public health messages need to address the concerns of its citizens, specifically privacy, data storage, and technical capabilities. Understanding the specific barriers preventing the uptake of tracing apps provides the opportunity to design targeted communication strategies aimed at strengthening public health initiatives such as download and correct use.

  #Social sciences#Public health#Community perceptions

  Centre

  Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare
  Bond University

  Contact details

  Ass Prof Rae Thomas
  Associate Professor
  rthomas@bond.edu.au
  +617 5595 5521

  Collaborations

  • Co-researchers: Zoe Michaleff - Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare
  • Hannah Greenwood - Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare
  • Dr Eman Abukmail - Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare
  • Paul Glasziou - Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare