Main COVID-19 information sources in a culturally and linguistically diverse community in Sydney, Australia: A cross-sectional survey

Objective: Describe COVID-19 information-seeking experiences for culturally and linguistically diverse groups in Sydney, Australia. Methods: Cross-sectional survey, translated into 11 languages; participants recruited from March 21 to July 9, 2021. Regression models identified factors associated with difficulty finding easy-to-understand COVID-19 information. Results: Across 708 participants (88% born overseas, 31% poor English proficiency), difficulty finding easy-to-understand COVID-19 information was rated 4.13 for English (95%CI: 3.85-4.41) and 4.36 for non-English language materials (95%CI: 4.07-4.66) (1 easy to 10 hard). Participants who were older (p < 0.001), had inadequate health literacy (p < 0.001), or poor English proficiency (p < 0.001) found it harder to find easy-to-understand English-language COVID-19 information. Those who had greater difficulty finding easy-tounderstand non-English COVID-19 information were younger (p = 0.004), had poor English proficiency (p < 0.001), were university-educated (p = 0.05), and had spent longer living in Australia (p = 0.001). They were more likely to rely on friends and family for COVID-19 information (p = 0.02). There was significant variation in information-seeking experiences across language groups (p's < 0.001). Conclusions: Easy-to-understand and accessible COVID-19 information is needed to meet the needs of people in culturally and linguistically diverse communities.

Automated summary

This study aimed to describe the COVID-19 information-seeking experiences of culturally and linguistically diverse groups in Sydney, Australia. The results showed that older individuals, those with inadequate health literacy, and those with poor English proficiency had more difficulty finding easy-to-understand COVID-19 information in English. Additionally, younger individuals, those with poor English proficiency, higher education levels, and longer residency in Australia had more difficulty finding easy-to-understand non-English COVID-19 information. Furthermore, there were significant variations in information-seeking experiences among different language groups.