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The COVID-19 pandemic has required the adoption of precautionary health behaviours to reduce the risk of infection. This study examines adherence, as well as changes in adherence, to four key precautionary behaviours among Canadian adults: wearing face masks, social distancing, hand washing, and avoiding large crowds. Data are drawn from Series 3 and 4 of the nationally representative Canadian Perspectives Survey Series, administered by Statistics Canada in June and July 2020. We calculate overall adherence levels as well as changes over time. Logistic regression models estimate each behaviour as a function of demographic and socioeconomic characteristics in order to identify adherence disparities across population segments. We find a nearly universal increase in precautionary behaviours from June to July in mask wearing (67.3% to 83.6%), social distancing (82.4% to 89.2%), and avoiding crowds (84.1% to 88.9%); no significant change occurred for the frequency of hand washing. We observe significant disparities in adherence to precautionary behaviours, especially for mask-wearing, in June; women, older, immigrant, urban, and highly educated adults were significantly more likely to adhere to precautionary behaviours than men, younger, Canadian-born, rural, and low-educated adults. By July 2020, these disparities persisted or slightly attenuated; women, however, had consistently higher adherence to all behaviours at both time points. These findings have substantial implications for policy and potential public health interventions.

Background The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the psychological wellbeing of populations worldwide. In this study, we assess changes in mental health during the early months of the pandemic in Canada and examine its relationship with another prominent problem during this time, economic concerns. MethodsAnalyses were based on two nationally representative cross-sectional surveys from the Canadian Perspectives Survey Series (N=4,627 in March and 4,600 in May). We described the changes in mental health and economic concerns between March and May, and assessed the relationship between the two characteristics.ResultsMental health declined significantly during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic: the proportion of Canadian adults who reported only good/fair/poor mental health grew from 46% to 52% from March to May. Economic concerns including food insecurity were an important correlate of ‘bad’ mental health, as was younger age, female gender, and Canada-born status. Contrary to expectations, however, economic concerns lessened during this time frame. ConclusionsThese findings suggest that policies to mitigate economic stress, such as Canada’s Emergency Response Benefit, may have eased mental health deterioration in early pandemic months through a reduction in financial hardship. Interventions to increase the economic security of the population will have far-reaching consequences in terms of improved mental health, and should be continued throughout the pandemic.

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