theCOVIDboard

At-home COVID-19 Test Instructions Frequently Misinterpreted

Quote:Participants [of an online survey] were randomly assigned to receive 1 of 3 different instructions [for at-home COVID test]: the FDA-authorized instructions, the intervention instructions, or no instructions.

Participants responded to 4 different risk scenarios, ranging from high probability of infection defined by symptoms or close contact with someone testing positive for COVID-19 to low likelihood of infection with no symptoms and no contact.

But when the self-test was negative despite a high probability of infection, 33% of the group that received the FDA’s instructions misinterpreted the test result to mean they did not need to quarantine, compared with 14% of the intervention group and 24% of the group that received no instructions.

(04-07-2022, 12:19 PM)M_T Wrote: [ -> ]At-home COVID-19 Test Instructions Frequently Misinterpreted

Quote:Participants [of an online survey] were randomly assigned to receive 1 of 3 different instructions [for at-home COVID test]: the FDA-authorized instructions, the intervention instructions, or no instructions.

Participants responded to 4 different risk scenarios, ranging from high probability of infection defined by symptoms or close contact with someone testing positive for COVID-19 to low likelihood of infection with no symptoms and no contact.

But when the self-test was negative despite a high probability of infection, 33% of the group that received the FDA’s instructions misinterpreted the test result to mean they did not need to quarantine, compared with 14% of the intervention group and 24% of the group that received no instructions.

It'd be funny if it wasn't so dangerous. Institutions sure haven't earned much confidence from me during this pandemic.