We’ve been continuing to monitor sentiment in the community around the coronavirus through an Evidation Survey called COVID Pulse. Since kicking off the survey on March 12th right after the coronavirus was declared a pandemic, we’ve been sending out a weekly survey to our members.
We wanted to quantify participation and interest and share some of the latest trends from our most recent surveys. After we released the first survey, we received over 120,000+ responses in five days from over 20,000 United States zip codes. The highest percentage of responses came from the age groups in the range of 30–39, followed by the 18–29 age range, and lastly, the 40–49 range. Though, we did see representation from members ages 18–80+! We’ve been pleasantly surprised by the number of members who have continued to check in week over week to share their sentiment surrounding coronavirus. In fact, 11% of survey respondents have completed all five COVID Pulse Surveys to date and 22%+ completed four out of five COVID Pulse Surveys.
Most recently, we saw that over 85% of respondents said that if social distancing and stay at home orders were lifted today, they would know what to do to reduce chances of contracting the coronavirus. We also saw that members would continue to take the necessary precautions even if social distancing guidelines and stay at home orders were lifted. Over 60% would continue to stay at home and maintain social distancing behaviors. Additionally, nearly 70% said they would continue to start to wear protective equipment (for example a face mask) in public settings. For those who responded in locations where shelter in place has been lifted, only ~25% of respondents said that they were attending small social events.
Through this challenging time, we were also inspired by our members who responded to many questions with great empathy and creativity as they have adapted to new routines. In fact, when asked about their concerns if they were to be diagnosed, 75% of respondents expressed concern over getting others sick in their worries. This fear was followed by 60% of respondents expressing their worry over the physical discomforts of getting sick. Regarding ways to minimize changes to physical and mental health, we’ve seen an uptick in individuals sharing the importance of maintaining whatever routines possible, avoiding or taking breaks from the news, and a continued connection through video chats with friends and family. In fact, maintaining connection through social media scored high for Evidation Members as a method to socialize with others. Both last week and this week, 70% of respondents said they used social media to socialize with other people.
