Community focus groups about a COVID-19 individual risk assessment tool: access, understanding and usefulness

Background : In order to make informed COVID-19 related decisions, individuals need information about their personal risks and how those risks may vary with specific demographic and health characteristics. The Fight COVID MKE web=based risk assessment tool allows for assessment of COVID-19 mortality risk as a function of personal and neighborhood characteristics. The purpose of this study is to explore public understanding of this risk assessment tool and risk perception through community focus groups. Methods : Individuals were recruited from Milwaukee County to participate in nine online focus groups where the risk assessment tool was presented for feedback. Focus group transcripts were then analyzed qualitatively for common themes using MAXQDA. Results : Three main themes were identified in the focus groups regarding the web-based risk assessment tool: access, understanding, and usefulness. Conclusions : This paper explores how members of the community interpret individual risk assessments and life expectancy estimations, and how these vary with age, gender, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and pre-existing comorbidities. Understanding COVID-19 infection and progression rates, and how they vary with a full set of patient-specific characteristics is critical for effective policy and practice responses to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as for future infection outbreaks.