Effect of Physician-Delivered COVID-19 Public Health Messages and Messages Acknowledging Racial Inequity on Black and White Adults’ Knowledge, Beliefs, and Practices Related to COVID-19: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Carlos Torres, Lucy Ogbu-Nwobodo, Marcella Alsan, Fatima Cody Stanford, Abhijit Banerjee, Emily Breza, Arun G. Chandrasekhar, Sarah Eichmeyer, Mohit Karnani, Tristan Loisel, Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham, Benjamin A. Olken, Pierre-Luc Vautrey, Erica Warner, Esther Duflo, for the COVID-19 Working Group

JAMA Network Open, 2021 4(7): e2117115.

Question: Do messages delivered by physicians increase COVID-19 knowledge and improve preventive behaviors among White and Black individuals?

Findings: In this randomized clinical trial of 18,223 White and Black adults, a message delivered by a physician increased COVID-19 knowledge and shifted information-seeking and self-protective behaviors. Effects did not differ by race, and tailoring messages to specific communities did not exhibit a differential effect on knowledge or individual behavior.

Meaning: These findings suggest that physician messaging campaigns may be effective in persuading members of society from a broad range of backgrounds to seek information and adopt preventive behaviors to combat COVID-19.