Becoming socialized in a COVID-19 World: A survey exploring the response of regional Australians’ health-related behavior patterns

Consumer socialization theory provides a means of understanding how adults drew on the expert knowledge of socialization agents to develop the skills, knowledge, and attitudes required to function in a COVID-19 world. In this paper, we report on a project conducted in partnership with two universiti...

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Main Authors: Jodie Kleinschafer, Jessica Kingsford, Julaine Allan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2024-12-01
Series:Health Literacy and Communication Open
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Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/28355245.2023.2295251
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author Jodie Kleinschafer
Jessica Kingsford
Julaine Allan
author_facet Jodie Kleinschafer
Jessica Kingsford
Julaine Allan
author_sort Jodie Kleinschafer
collection DOAJ
description Consumer socialization theory provides a means of understanding how adults drew on the expert knowledge of socialization agents to develop the skills, knowledge, and attitudes required to function in a COVID-19 world. In this paper, we report on a project conducted in partnership with two universities, a local health district and First Nations researchers to understand the role of socialization agents in supporting the community response to the threat of COVID-19. A quantitative survey was conducted of 701 individuals in rural, regional and remote New South Wales (NSW), Australia. The socialization agents they used could be categorized into four types (Government, Professional, Personal, and Mass Media). The community could be segmented based on the types of socialization agents they used, and there was a significant difference across the segments in terms of their behavioral intentions and their adoption of preventative health behaviors, such as wearing masks and social distancing. The results point to the need to leverage the role of socialization agents during social change and to use targeted health-based promotion.
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spelling doaj-art-cfeb2a4d45184943a37dcff314de519c2025-08-20T02:49:36ZengTaylor & Francis GroupHealth Literacy and Communication Open2835-52452024-12-012110.1080/28355245.2023.2295251Becoming socialized in a COVID-19 World: A survey exploring the response of regional Australians’ health-related behavior patternsJodie Kleinschafer0Jessica Kingsford1Julaine Allan2Charles Sturt University, Panorama Ave, Bathurst, NSW, AustraliaUniversity of Sydney, Brennan MacCallum Building A18, Camperdown, NSW, AustraliaUniversity of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, AustraliaConsumer socialization theory provides a means of understanding how adults drew on the expert knowledge of socialization agents to develop the skills, knowledge, and attitudes required to function in a COVID-19 world. In this paper, we report on a project conducted in partnership with two universities, a local health district and First Nations researchers to understand the role of socialization agents in supporting the community response to the threat of COVID-19. A quantitative survey was conducted of 701 individuals in rural, regional and remote New South Wales (NSW), Australia. The socialization agents they used could be categorized into four types (Government, Professional, Personal, and Mass Media). The community could be segmented based on the types of socialization agents they used, and there was a significant difference across the segments in terms of their behavioral intentions and their adoption of preventative health behaviors, such as wearing masks and social distancing. The results point to the need to leverage the role of socialization agents during social change and to use targeted health-based promotion.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/28355245.2023.2295251Consumer behaviorhealth marketingexpectationslearningsocial distancing First Nations
spellingShingle Jodie Kleinschafer
Jessica Kingsford
Julaine Allan
Becoming socialized in a COVID-19 World: A survey exploring the response of regional Australians’ health-related behavior patterns
Health Literacy and Communication Open
Consumer behavior
health marketing
expectations
learning
social distancing First Nations
title Becoming socialized in a COVID-19 World: A survey exploring the response of regional Australians’ health-related behavior patterns
title_full Becoming socialized in a COVID-19 World: A survey exploring the response of regional Australians’ health-related behavior patterns
title_fullStr Becoming socialized in a COVID-19 World: A survey exploring the response of regional Australians’ health-related behavior patterns
title_full_unstemmed Becoming socialized in a COVID-19 World: A survey exploring the response of regional Australians’ health-related behavior patterns
title_short Becoming socialized in a COVID-19 World: A survey exploring the response of regional Australians’ health-related behavior patterns
title_sort becoming socialized in a covid 19 world a survey exploring the response of regional australians health related behavior patterns
topic Consumer behavior
health marketing
expectations
learning
social distancing First Nations
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/28355245.2023.2295251
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