Comparison of reported main COVID-19 information sources in national and culturally and linguistically diverse communities in Australia

Julie Ayre; Danielle M Muscat; Olivia A Mac; Carys Batcup; Erin Cvejic; Kristen Pickles; Hankiz Dolan; Carissa Bonner; Dana Mouwad; Dipti Zachariah; Una Turalic; Yvonne Santalucia; Tingting Chen; Gordana Vasic; Kirsten J McCaffery

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Comparison of reported main COVID-19 information sources in national and culturally and linguistically diverse communities in Australia

Julie Ayre; Danielle M Muscat; Olivia A Mac; Carys Batcup; Erin Cvejic; Kristen Pickles; Hankiz Dolan; Carissa Bonner; Dana Mouwad; Dipti Zachariah; Una Turalic; Yvonne Santalucia; Tingting Chen; Gordana Vasic; Kirsten J McCaffery.

Julie Ayre; The University of Sydney
Danielle M Muscat; The University of Sydney
Olivia A Mac; The University of Sydney
Carys Batcup; The University of Sydney
Erin Cvejic; The University of Sydney
Kristen Pickles; The University of Sydney
Hankiz Dolan; The University of Sydney
Carissa Bonner; The University of Sydney
Dana Mouwad; Western Sydney Local Health District
Dipti Zachariah; Western Sydney Local Health District
Una Turalic; Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District
Yvonne Santalucia; South Western Sydney Local Health District
Tingting Chen; Western Sydney Local Health District
Gordana Vasic; Western Sydney Local Health District
Kirsten J McCaffery; The University of Sydney

Preprint En | PREPRINT-MEDRXIV | ID: ppmedrxiv-21261321

BackgroundTo manage the COVID-19 pandemic effectively, governments need clear and effective communication. This is a challenge for culturally diverse communities as groups may have different informational needs and information-seeking behaviours. In this paper we present the frequency of information sources for COVID-19 in a culturally diverse area of Sydney, Australia. MethodsThis study reports findings from two surveys. The first recruited participants across 10 languages between March 21 and July 9, 2021. The second provides a point of reference, and was an Australian, nationally-representative sample of English-speaking participants between November 4 - 18, 2020. ResultsFor the survey in culturally and linguistically diverse communities, of 708 participants, mean age was 45.4 years (SE 0.78), and 51% of respondents were female. Across all language groups, 54.7% of participants used Australian official or public broadcasters to find out about COVID-19 (n=421). Australian commercial information sources (54.1%, n=417), social media (51.6%, n=397), and family and friends in Australia (32.7%, n=252) were common sources. Patterns varied substantially across language groups. In the nationally representative survey (n=2313), 67% of participants (n=1540) used Australian official or public broadcasters, with lower proportions for social media (31.9%, n=738) and friends, family or other personal sources (23.1%; n=533). ConclusionAlmost 50% of participants from culturally and linguistically diverse communities did not report using Australian official or public broadcaster as main sources of information. Instead Australian commercial information sources, friends and family, overseas sources and social media were common. Though a crude comparison of the two datasets, this data can guide policy decisions for communication to different community groups. Further analysis is needed to interpret this data. Better understanding of how diverse communities seek and receive COVID-19 health information is imperative as we manage the current COVID-19 outbreak in the Sydney region.

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