Toluna, an ITWP company and leading consumer intelligence platform that delivers insights on demand, today announced new findings about the opinions of surveyed U.S. healthcare professionals on the coronavirus pandemic.
The Toluna COVID-19 research report revealed that while over 90 percent of physicians, nurses and pharmacists surveyed are concerned about the coronavirus affecting their patients, 68 percent of doctors and 67 percent of nurses say they are reasonably prepared for a COVID-19 outbreak in their local area.
Most healthcare professionals questioned believe that the media, on a global scale, is overplaying the threat that the coronavirus poses to the health of average Americans. Nearly 60 percent of doctors and 70 percent of nurses agreed with this sentiment.
From a patient perspective, 46 percent of physicians and 68 percent of nurses revealed in the survey that they’ve already been contacted by patients for advice on how they can best protect themselves from catching the virus.
“Opinions and perspectives change rapidly. It’s important to have a solution like Toluna QuickSurveys to understand the environment and to have context for the situations that medical professionals are navigating,” said Josh Monroe, Senior Vice President, North America MR&A and Healthcare for Toluna.
Nick Langeveld, Managing Director of North America for Toluna, said, “We were able to reach out to doctors, nurses and pharmacists across the United States via our new specialist healthcare insight tool, which provides qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, to gain accurate perceptions of their thoughts about the coronavirus pandemic.”
He continued, “Our research also helps to identify common misperceptions about staying healthy that medical professionals want us to know. A majority said there is not enough for us to all wear face masks; this only helps people in direct contact with infected patients.”
Consumer Anxiety is Rising
Separately, Toluna also surveyed 1,000 U.S. consumers to gauge their feelings towards the coronavirus and assess whether behaviors were changing as a result of the outbreak.
A full 80 percent of Americans feel knowledgeable about COVID-19, saying they understand what the disease is and its effects.
However, only 38 percent of Americans have changed their purchasing habits since the coronavirus entered the U.S. As a result of these changes, 27 percent of people surveyed specifically purchased products they believed would help protect themselves and their families from contracting the infection.
Monroe continued: “Americans are becoming more anxious about COVID-19 and, as a result, are starting to change their day-to-day behavior, including the products that they purchase, in order to protect themselves and their families.”
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Notes to Editors:
About the Research
Toluna gathered insights into the 2019 novel coronavirus (abbreviated “COVID-19”) by surveying U.S. doctors, nurses, pharmacists and the general population on the 2019 novel coronavirus. The study was fielded in the U.S. within 6 days in March 2020.
About Toluna
Toluna is a technology company connecting brands with consumers for digital qualitative and quantitative research. We deliver insights on demand through a full spectrum of end-to-end solutions that map customer journeys, develop new products and much more. Toluna is powered by an innovative platform, best-in-class methodologies and a community panel that is 30+ million members strong. An ITWP company, we employ 1,400 people in 24 offices across six continents. Please visit us at tolunacorporate.com.
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