tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
R Soc Open Sci
. 2020 Sep 16;7(9):200742.
doi: 10.1098/rsos.200742. eCollection 2020 Sep.
Changes in risk perception and self-reported protective behaviour during the first week of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
Toby Wise[SUP] 1 2 3 [/SUP], Tomislav D Zbozinek[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Giorgia Michelini[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Cindy C Hagan[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Dean Mobbs[SUP] 1 5 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Efforts to change behaviour are critical in minimizing the spread of highly transmissible pandemics such as COVID-19. However, it is unclear whether individuals are aware of disease risk and alter their behaviour early in the pandemic. We investigated risk perception and self-reported engagement in protective behaviours in 1591 United States-based individuals cross-sectionally and longitudinally over the first week of the pandemic. Subjects demonstrated growing awareness of risk and reported engaging in protective behaviours with increasing frequency but underestimated their risk of infection relative to the average person in the country. Social distancing and hand washing were most strongly predicted by the perceived probability of personally being infected. However, a subgroup of individuals perceived low risk and did not engage in these behaviours. Our results highlight the importance of risk perception in early interventions during large-scale pandemics.
Keywords: COVID-19; coronavirus; pandemic; protective behaviour; risk perception.
. 2020 Sep 16;7(9):200742.
doi: 10.1098/rsos.200742. eCollection 2020 Sep.
Changes in risk perception and self-reported protective behaviour during the first week of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
Toby Wise[SUP] 1 2 3 [/SUP], Tomislav D Zbozinek[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Giorgia Michelini[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Cindy C Hagan[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Dean Mobbs[SUP] 1 5 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 33047037
- PMCID: PMC7540790
- DOI: 10.1098/rsos.200742
Abstract
Efforts to change behaviour are critical in minimizing the spread of highly transmissible pandemics such as COVID-19. However, it is unclear whether individuals are aware of disease risk and alter their behaviour early in the pandemic. We investigated risk perception and self-reported engagement in protective behaviours in 1591 United States-based individuals cross-sectionally and longitudinally over the first week of the pandemic. Subjects demonstrated growing awareness of risk and reported engaging in protective behaviours with increasing frequency but underestimated their risk of infection relative to the average person in the country. Social distancing and hand washing were most strongly predicted by the perceived probability of personally being infected. However, a subgroup of individuals perceived low risk and did not engage in these behaviours. Our results highlight the importance of risk perception in early interventions during large-scale pandemics.
Keywords: COVID-19; coronavirus; pandemic; protective behaviour; risk perception.