Non-pharmaceutical Interventions for Pandemic COVID-19: A Cross-Sectional Investigation of US General Public Beliefs, Attitudes, and Actions

Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) represent the primary mitigation strategy for the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this, many government agencies and members of the general public may be resistant to NPI adoption. We sought to understand public attitudes and beliefs regarding various NPIs and self...

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Main Authors: Bella Nichole Kantor, Jonathan Kantor
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2020-07-01
Series:Frontiers in Medicine
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmed.2020.00384/full
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spelling doaj-33928c7d67bb4bd8a26d57b7eedb4d492020-11-25T03:22:49ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Medicine2296-858X2020-07-01710.3389/fmed.2020.00384562606Non-pharmaceutical Interventions for Pandemic COVID-19: A Cross-Sectional Investigation of US General Public Beliefs, Attitudes, and ActionsBella Nichole Kantor0Jonathan Kantor1Jonathan Kantor2Jonathan Kantor3Jonathan Kantor4Harvard Extension School, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United StatesCenter for Global Health, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, United StatesCenter for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, United StatesDepartment of Dermatology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, United StatesFlorida Center for Dermatology, P.A., St Augustine, FL, United StatesNon-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) represent the primary mitigation strategy for the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this, many government agencies and members of the general public may be resistant to NPI adoption. We sought to understand public attitudes and beliefs regarding various NPIs and self-reported adoption of NPIs, and to explore associations between NPI performance and the baseline characteristics of respondents. We performed a cross-sectional age-, sex-, and race- stratified survey of the general US population. Of the 1,005 respondents, 37% (95% CI 34.0, 39.9) felt that NPIs were inconvenient, while only 0.9% (95% CI 0.3, 1.5) of respondents believed that NPIs would not reduce their personal risk of illness. Respondents were most uncertain regarding the efficacy of mask and eye protection use, with 30.6 and 22.1%, respectively, unsure whether their use would slow disease spread. On univariate logistic regression analyses, NPI adherence was associated with a belief that NPIs would reduce personal risk of developing COVID-19 [OR 3.06, 95% CI [1.25, 7.48], p = 0.014] and with a belief that NPIs were not difficult to perform [OR 1.79, 95% CI [1.38, 2.31], p < 0.0001]. Respondents were compliant with straightforward, familiar, and heavily-encouraged NPI recommendations such as hand-washing; more onerous approaches, such as avoiding face touching, disinfecting surfaces, and wearing masks or goggles, were performed less frequently. NPI non-adherence is associated with both outcome expectations (belief that NPIs are effective) and process expectations (belief that NPIs are not overly inconvenient); these findings have important implications for designing public health outreach efforts, where the feasibility, as well as the effectiveness, of NPIs should be stressed.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmed.2020.00384/fullCOVID- 19non-pharmaceutical interventionsSARS—CoV-2quarantinepublic attitudes
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Bella Nichole Kantor
Jonathan Kantor
Jonathan Kantor
Jonathan Kantor
Jonathan Kantor
spellingShingle Bella Nichole Kantor
Jonathan Kantor
Jonathan Kantor
Jonathan Kantor
Jonathan Kantor
Non-pharmaceutical Interventions for Pandemic COVID-19: A Cross-Sectional Investigation of US General Public Beliefs, Attitudes, and Actions
Frontiers in Medicine
COVID- 19
non-pharmaceutical interventions
SARS—CoV-2
quarantine
public attitudes
author_facet Bella Nichole Kantor
Jonathan Kantor
Jonathan Kantor
Jonathan Kantor
Jonathan Kantor
author_sort Bella Nichole Kantor
title Non-pharmaceutical Interventions for Pandemic COVID-19: A Cross-Sectional Investigation of US General Public Beliefs, Attitudes, and Actions
title_short Non-pharmaceutical Interventions for Pandemic COVID-19: A Cross-Sectional Investigation of US General Public Beliefs, Attitudes, and Actions
title_full Non-pharmaceutical Interventions for Pandemic COVID-19: A Cross-Sectional Investigation of US General Public Beliefs, Attitudes, and Actions
title_fullStr Non-pharmaceutical Interventions for Pandemic COVID-19: A Cross-Sectional Investigation of US General Public Beliefs, Attitudes, and Actions
title_full_unstemmed Non-pharmaceutical Interventions for Pandemic COVID-19: A Cross-Sectional Investigation of US General Public Beliefs, Attitudes, and Actions
title_sort non-pharmaceutical interventions for pandemic covid-19: a cross-sectional investigation of us general public beliefs, attitudes, and actions
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
series Frontiers in Medicine
issn 2296-858X
publishDate 2020-07-01
description Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) represent the primary mitigation strategy for the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this, many government agencies and members of the general public may be resistant to NPI adoption. We sought to understand public attitudes and beliefs regarding various NPIs and self-reported adoption of NPIs, and to explore associations between NPI performance and the baseline characteristics of respondents. We performed a cross-sectional age-, sex-, and race- stratified survey of the general US population. Of the 1,005 respondents, 37% (95% CI 34.0, 39.9) felt that NPIs were inconvenient, while only 0.9% (95% CI 0.3, 1.5) of respondents believed that NPIs would not reduce their personal risk of illness. Respondents were most uncertain regarding the efficacy of mask and eye protection use, with 30.6 and 22.1%, respectively, unsure whether their use would slow disease spread. On univariate logistic regression analyses, NPI adherence was associated with a belief that NPIs would reduce personal risk of developing COVID-19 [OR 3.06, 95% CI [1.25, 7.48], p = 0.014] and with a belief that NPIs were not difficult to perform [OR 1.79, 95% CI [1.38, 2.31], p < 0.0001]. Respondents were compliant with straightforward, familiar, and heavily-encouraged NPI recommendations such as hand-washing; more onerous approaches, such as avoiding face touching, disinfecting surfaces, and wearing masks or goggles, were performed less frequently. NPI non-adherence is associated with both outcome expectations (belief that NPIs are effective) and process expectations (belief that NPIs are not overly inconvenient); these findings have important implications for designing public health outreach efforts, where the feasibility, as well as the effectiveness, of NPIs should be stressed.
topic COVID- 19
non-pharmaceutical interventions
SARS—CoV-2
quarantine
public attitudes
url https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmed.2020.00384/full
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