The Association Between Sensory Impairment and Adherence to COVID-19 Prevention Measures in the Adult California Health Interview Survey Population

This study explores the association between vision/hearing impairment and COVID-19 prevention strategies in the 2020 and 2021 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS). This cross-sectional study used data from the 2020 and 2021 CHIS. The exposure of interest was self-reported history of sensory imp...

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Main Authors: Catherine T. Cascavita, Ahmad Santina, Ken Kitayama, Fei Yu, Victoria L. Tseng, Anne L. Coleman
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Vision
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2411-5150/9/2/40
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author Catherine T. Cascavita
Ahmad Santina
Ken Kitayama
Fei Yu
Victoria L. Tseng
Anne L. Coleman
author_facet Catherine T. Cascavita
Ahmad Santina
Ken Kitayama
Fei Yu
Victoria L. Tseng
Anne L. Coleman
author_sort Catherine T. Cascavita
collection DOAJ
description This study explores the association between vision/hearing impairment and COVID-19 prevention strategies in the 2020 and 2021 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS). This cross-sectional study used data from the 2020 and 2021 CHIS. The exposure of interest was self-reported history of sensory impairment. The outcome of interest was adherence to COVID-19 mitigation strategies defined as obtaining a COVID-19 vaccine, face mask adherence, hand washing, social distancing, and not gathering with non-household members. Logistic regression models examined the association between sensory impairment and adherence to COVID-19 mitigation strategies, controlling for age, sex, race and ethnicity, general health status, and household income. All analyses were weighted according to the CHIS sampling design. With 24,453 California adults representing 29,649,837 people, the weighted prevalence of sensory impairment was 6.1% (1,808,640/29,649,837). The regression revealed that adults with sensory impairment were 80% more likely not to maintain social distancing (odds ratio: 1.80, 95%CI: 1.03–3.13, <i>p</i> = 0.04) compared to those without impairment. No significant differences were found for adherence to other COVID-19 strategies. Individuals with sensory impairment may have increased difficulty with physical distancing due to their underlying impairment. Further studies are needed to explore risk reduction strategies for COVID-19 and the transmission of other infections for those with sensory impairment.
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spelling doaj-art-ee64e3eddc224aa4b3ee01a11f6e02312025-08-20T03:26:52ZengMDPI AGVision2411-51502025-05-01924010.3390/vision9020040The Association Between Sensory Impairment and Adherence to COVID-19 Prevention Measures in the Adult California Health Interview Survey PopulationCatherine T. Cascavita0Ahmad Santina1Ken Kitayama2Fei Yu3Victoria L. Tseng4Anne L. Coleman5David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USADepartment of Ophthalmology, Stein and Doheny Eye, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USADepartment of Ophthalmology, Stein and Doheny Eye, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USADepartment of Ophthalmology, Stein and Doheny Eye, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USADavid Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USADavid Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USAThis study explores the association between vision/hearing impairment and COVID-19 prevention strategies in the 2020 and 2021 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS). This cross-sectional study used data from the 2020 and 2021 CHIS. The exposure of interest was self-reported history of sensory impairment. The outcome of interest was adherence to COVID-19 mitigation strategies defined as obtaining a COVID-19 vaccine, face mask adherence, hand washing, social distancing, and not gathering with non-household members. Logistic regression models examined the association between sensory impairment and adherence to COVID-19 mitigation strategies, controlling for age, sex, race and ethnicity, general health status, and household income. All analyses were weighted according to the CHIS sampling design. With 24,453 California adults representing 29,649,837 people, the weighted prevalence of sensory impairment was 6.1% (1,808,640/29,649,837). The regression revealed that adults with sensory impairment were 80% more likely not to maintain social distancing (odds ratio: 1.80, 95%CI: 1.03–3.13, <i>p</i> = 0.04) compared to those without impairment. No significant differences were found for adherence to other COVID-19 strategies. Individuals with sensory impairment may have increased difficulty with physical distancing due to their underlying impairment. Further studies are needed to explore risk reduction strategies for COVID-19 and the transmission of other infections for those with sensory impairment.https://www.mdpi.com/2411-5150/9/2/40sensory impairmentCOVID-19public policymitigation strategies
spellingShingle Catherine T. Cascavita
Ahmad Santina
Ken Kitayama
Fei Yu
Victoria L. Tseng
Anne L. Coleman
The Association Between Sensory Impairment and Adherence to COVID-19 Prevention Measures in the Adult California Health Interview Survey Population
Vision
sensory impairment
COVID-19
public policy
mitigation strategies
title The Association Between Sensory Impairment and Adherence to COVID-19 Prevention Measures in the Adult California Health Interview Survey Population
title_full The Association Between Sensory Impairment and Adherence to COVID-19 Prevention Measures in the Adult California Health Interview Survey Population
title_fullStr The Association Between Sensory Impairment and Adherence to COVID-19 Prevention Measures in the Adult California Health Interview Survey Population
title_full_unstemmed The Association Between Sensory Impairment and Adherence to COVID-19 Prevention Measures in the Adult California Health Interview Survey Population
title_short The Association Between Sensory Impairment and Adherence to COVID-19 Prevention Measures in the Adult California Health Interview Survey Population
title_sort association between sensory impairment and adherence to covid 19 prevention measures in the adult california health interview survey population
topic sensory impairment
COVID-19
public policy
mitigation strategies
url https://www.mdpi.com/2411-5150/9/2/40
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