Measures
fatigue, fever, pain, infection, dry cough
VIRUS, INFECTION, EVENTS
All data was generated from interviews conducted by a Spanish-speaking research assistant. Demographic variables including age, gender, marital status, educational level, and working status were ascertained. Acculturation level was measured using the 23-item Cuellar acculturation scale [The assessment of COVID-19 Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviors were derived from Spanish-language measures available through the NIH COVID-19 Survey repository at: COVID-19 Knowledge was queried through a 12-item questionnaire that included Yes–No questions such as: “The principal symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, fatigue, dry cough and body pain” and “People with COVID-19 are not contagious if they don’t have a fever.” Correct answers received 1 point and incorrect answers received 0 points. Knowledge was calculated as the total number of correct answers on the 12-item questionnaire. Higher scores indicate greater knowledge about COVID-19. The internal consistency for this scale was 0.70 and 0.71 for the baseline and month 1 assessments.COVID-19 Attitudes were assessed through seven questions using a 5-point Likert style rating (impossible-possible-probable-very probable-definitely). One three-item subscale measured attitudes about infection: “How likely do you think it is that the following events will happen in light of the current COVID-19 pandemic (you will be infected, someone in your family will be infected, you will be quarantined).” Cronbach alphas were 0.67 for baseline and 0.76 for month 1 assessments. The other three-item subscale assessed attitudes toward safety behaviors: “How effective are the following actions for keeping you safe from COVID-19 (wearing a face mask, washing your hands, and maintaining physical distance).” Cronbach alphas were 0.90 and 0.89 for the two assessment periods. The final item concerned attitudes toward vaccination: “How likely are you to become vaccinated when a vaccine becomes available?” Higher scores for all attitudinal items suggest more realistic attitudes towards the effects of the COVID-19 virus and what can be done to mitigate these effects.COVID-19 Behaviors were evaluated with five items in which a 5-point Likert style rating (not at all-somewhat-half the time-mostly-always) was applied. Respondents were asked, “Over the past week, how often have you engaged in the following behaviors: (1) worn a mask, (2) maintained six feet of physical space from others when out of your house, (3) avoided contact with people who could be high risk, (4) talked to a key relative about safe practices, and (5) washed your hands with soap and water after being in a public area.” Higher scores represent increased use of safe behaviors to prevent contracting the COVID-19 virus. The Cronbach alpha for the behavior measure was 0.87 for both baseline and month 1 assessments.