DOI: 10.3886/icpsr38737.v1
title: COVID-19 and the Experiences of Populations at Greater Risk: Wave 4 General Population, United States, 2020-2021
title: Version 1

description: In the context of COVID-19, RAND and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation partnered again to build from the National Survey of Health Attitudes to implement a longitudinal survey to understand how these health views and values have been affected by the experience of the pandemic, with particular focus on populations deemed vulnerable or underserved, including people of color and those from low- to moderate-income backgrounds.
The questions in this COVID-19 survey focused specifically on experiences related to the pandemic (e.g., financial, physical, emotional), how respondents viewed the disproportionate impacts of the pandemic, whether and how respondents' views and priorities regarding health actions and investments are changing (including the roles of government and the private sector), and how general values about such issues as freedom and racism may be related to pandemic views and response expectations.
This study includes the results for Wave 4 for the general population.
Demographic information includes sex, marital status, household size, race and ethnicity, family income, employment status, age, and census region.
description: The purposes of this survey were:
1. To understand the experience of COVID-19, with particular focus on underserved populations, especially in terms of income and race and ethnicity
2. To examine how these populations may be thinking about COVID-19 in the context of health mindset and expectations, the role of government versus the private sector, and
health equity and to explore how this thinking evolves as communities continue to experience impacts but also recover
3. To identify, over time, whether American views about health and health equity have evolved and, in short, assess whether the progress toward a Culture of Health has evolved
(e.g., greater understanding of what influences health, the existence of health inequities, the willingness and action to engage civically for health).
description: Data were collected via the RAND American Life Panel (ALP) and the KnowledgePanel. Both are nationally representative internet panels recruited via probability-based sampling methods.
Both provide computers and internet connections for respondents who do not already have them. Both panels collect demographic information about respondents separately and provide this information with each data set. Respondents in both panels are paid a modest amount for their participation. The content of the survey conducted in each panel was identical. Although there were small differences in the formatting used on the screen across the two panels (for example, the standard background colors used for the panels differ), the presentation was very similar.
Both surveys were fielded from September 7 through October 4, 2021. The two survey efforts combined resulted in a final total sample of 3,588 completed surveys. All respondents from the first wave (5,164) were invited to participate in the fourth wave.
description: To make the sample representative of the selected population (or the overall population), the principal investigator used weighting, a statistical adjustment. To create weights to match the distribution of characteristics in our sample as
closely as possible to that of the population from the 2019 Current Population Survey (CPS), researchers used a raking algorithm, following the methods described in Deming
(1943) and Deville, Särndal, and Sautory (1993). Researchers aimed to match population proportions on interactions of gender and race and ethnicity, gender and education, and gender and age and household income interacted with household size.
description: Response Rates: 85.1% completion rate
description: Respondents for the RAND American Life Panel were recruited using probability-based methods (such as Address Based Sampling and Random Digit Dialing). This survey was conducted in two parts. The first part was included in a longer and larger survey of underserved populations. In this survey researchers in the ALP oversampled respondents who were Black, Hispanic, or Asian. The ALP sample limited White individuals to those with household incomes under $125,000 but imposed no income limits on Black, Hispanic, or Asian respondents. In addition to the data described above, data were collected from respondents of higher income.
This group included panelists with incomes between $75,000 and $125,000 who were randomly not selected for the COVID-19 and the Experiences of Populations at Greater Risk Survey and all panelists with incomes over $125,000.
description: Datasets: 
DS1: COVID-19 and the Experiences of Populations at Greater Risk: Wave 4 General Population, United States, 2020-2021
description: Adult population of the United States. Smallest Geographic Unit: Census region
description: web-based surveyRespondents can be linked across all four waves using the <strong> RANDID </strong> variable.For more information, please visit the study report page on the RAND Corporation website.