tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Only about one in five young adults in their late 30s received a flu shot during the 2009-2010 swine flu epidemic, according to a University of Michigan report that details the behavior and attitudes of Generation X.
But about 65 percent were at least moderately concerned about the flu, and nearly 60 percent said they were following the issue very or moderately closely.
Using survey data collected from approximately 3,000 young adults during the 2009-2010 H1N1 influenza epidemic?the first serious infectious disease this group had ever experienced?The Generation X Report explores how Americans ages 36-39 kept abreast of the issue and what actions they eventually took to protect themselves and their families.
"These results suggest that young adults in Generation X did reasonably well in their first encounter with a major epidemic," said Jon D. Miller, author of The Generation X Report. "Those with minor children at home were at the greatest risk, and they responded accordingly, with higher levels of awareness and concern."
According to Miller, understanding Gen X reactions to this recent threat may help public health officials deal more effectively with future epidemics.
The results show that a majority of Generation X young adults felt that they were "well informed" or "very well informed" about the issue. However, they scored only moderately well, overall, on an Index of Influenza Knowledge, a series of five items designed to test the level of knowledge about viral infections generally and about the swine flu epidemic specifically.
Miller directs the Longitudinal Study of American Youth at the U-M Institute for Social Research. The study, funded by the National Science Foundation since 1986, now includes responses from approximately 4,000 Gen Xers?those born between 1961 and 1981.
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http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/uom-gxh011712.php
But about 65 percent were at least moderately concerned about the flu, and nearly 60 percent said they were following the issue very or moderately closely.
Using survey data collected from approximately 3,000 young adults during the 2009-2010 H1N1 influenza epidemic?the first serious infectious disease this group had ever experienced?The Generation X Report explores how Americans ages 36-39 kept abreast of the issue and what actions they eventually took to protect themselves and their families.
"These results suggest that young adults in Generation X did reasonably well in their first encounter with a major epidemic," said Jon D. Miller, author of The Generation X Report. "Those with minor children at home were at the greatest risk, and they responded accordingly, with higher levels of awareness and concern."
According to Miller, understanding Gen X reactions to this recent threat may help public health officials deal more effectively with future epidemics.
The results show that a majority of Generation X young adults felt that they were "well informed" or "very well informed" about the issue. However, they scored only moderately well, overall, on an Index of Influenza Knowledge, a series of five items designed to test the level of knowledge about viral infections generally and about the swine flu epidemic specifically.
Miller directs the Longitudinal Study of American Youth at the U-M Institute for Social Research. The study, funded by the National Science Foundation since 1986, now includes responses from approximately 4,000 Gen Xers?those born between 1961 and 1981.
..
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/uom-gxh011712.php