Associate Professor of Communication Katherine Ognyanova at the Rutgers School of Communication and Information has shared new survey data from the "The Civic Health and Institutions Project (CHIP50),” a new joint project between Ognyanova and her  collaborators at Harvard University, Harvard Medical School, Northeastern University, Northwestern University, and the University of Rochester.

Involving researchers from the Covid States Project, the aim of CHIP50, Ognyanova said, is to provide access to state-level data on citizens’ opinions and behaviors for social scientists and health researchers. The project recruits representative samples from every state and D.C. and generates research insights across a variety of socially relevant topics.

To gather data for the new CHIP50 report, “Who has the flu? Early winter 2023-24 spread of flu and COVID-19,” the research team polled 30,460 individuals aged 18 and older across all 50 states plus the District of Columbia between December 21, 2023 and January 29, 2024. They then summarized the data across a variety of demographic subgroups, including age, race, education, income, gender, and geography.

To view the full report, click here. Among the findings:

• Approximately 10% of Americans reported experiencing illnesses characterized by cough or sore throat in the month before taking the survey (presumably during December 2023 and January 2024).
• The likelihood of reporting such illnesses varied significantly with age, with younger individuals more frequently indicating they had experienced these symptoms.
• Among those who acknowledged having a fever accompanied by cough or sore throat, about 34% sought advice from medical professionals.
• The inclination to consult healthcare providers also showed age-related variation, with older generations being more prone to seek medical consultation.
• Around 28% of Americans have been tested for COVID-19 since October 1st, 2023, with 6% reporting a positive result. Notably, we do not observe significant variation across age groups in the self-diagnosis of COVID-19.
• Finally, 47% of Americans have received or intend to receive a flu vaccination for the current season. Older individuals are more likely to report having received the flu shot compared to their younger counterparts.

Ognyanova conducts research in network science, computational social science, social technology, media, civic and political communication.

Learn more about the Communication Department at the Rutgers School of Communication and Information on the website.

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