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PLoS One
. 2025 Jan 17;20(1):e0311596.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0311596. eCollection 2025. The impact of health risk communication on self-perceived health and worry of targeted groups: Lessons from the Swedish COVID-19 response
Jonna Rickardsson 1 , Charlotta Mellander 1
Affiliations
Background: The Swedish COVID-19 strategy aimed to protect vulnerable groups through targeted measures, categorizing individuals aged 70 and above as high-risk. This study examines the impact of such group-based risk assessments on subjective health and virus-related concerns among older adults.
Methods: We analyzed survey data from the SOM Institute for 68- to 71-year-olds in 2019 (N = 684) and 2020 (N = 726). Using ordered logit regression, we compared perceived health and virus-related concerns between individuals just below (68-69 years) and just above (70-71 years) the high-risk age threshold, controlling for demographic factors.
Results: In 2020, 70-year-olds reported significantly lower perceived health compared to their 69-year-old peers, a difference not observed in 2019. Furthermore, 70-year-olds exhibited significantly higher virus-related concerns than their slightly younger counterparts. These patterns persisted when expanding the analysis to include individuals aged 68 and 71.
Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the Swedish COVID-19 strategy, while aimed at protecting individuals aged 70 and over, may have inadvertently increased perceived vulnerability and health concerns within this group. Conversely, those just below the high-risk age threshold reported better health and lower virus-related concerns, highlighting potential unintended psychological consequences of age-based risk communication.
. 2025 Jan 17;20(1):e0311596.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0311596. eCollection 2025. The impact of health risk communication on self-perceived health and worry of targeted groups: Lessons from the Swedish COVID-19 response
Jonna Rickardsson 1 , Charlotta Mellander 1
Affiliations
- PMID: 39823468
- PMCID: PMC11741659
- DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0311596
Background: The Swedish COVID-19 strategy aimed to protect vulnerable groups through targeted measures, categorizing individuals aged 70 and above as high-risk. This study examines the impact of such group-based risk assessments on subjective health and virus-related concerns among older adults.
Methods: We analyzed survey data from the SOM Institute for 68- to 71-year-olds in 2019 (N = 684) and 2020 (N = 726). Using ordered logit regression, we compared perceived health and virus-related concerns between individuals just below (68-69 years) and just above (70-71 years) the high-risk age threshold, controlling for demographic factors.
Results: In 2020, 70-year-olds reported significantly lower perceived health compared to their 69-year-old peers, a difference not observed in 2019. Furthermore, 70-year-olds exhibited significantly higher virus-related concerns than their slightly younger counterparts. These patterns persisted when expanding the analysis to include individuals aged 68 and 71.
Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the Swedish COVID-19 strategy, while aimed at protecting individuals aged 70 and over, may have inadvertently increased perceived vulnerability and health concerns within this group. Conversely, those just below the high-risk age threshold reported better health and lower virus-related concerns, highlighting potential unintended psychological consequences of age-based risk communication.