COVID-19 is rapidly changing: Examining public perceptions and behaviors in response to this evolving pandemic

Abstract

Background Since the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in late 2019, communities have been required to rapidly adopt community mitigation strategies rarely used before, or only in limited settings. This study aimed to examine the attitudes and beliefs of Australian adults towards the COVID-19 pandemic, and willingness and capacity to engage with these mitigation measures. In addition, we aimed to explore the psychosocial and demographic factors that are associated with adoption of recommended hygiene-related and avoidance-related behaviors. Methods A national cross-sectional online survey of 1420 Australian adults (18 years and older) was undertaken between the 18 and 24 March 2020. The statistical analysis of the data included univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis. Findings The survey of 1420 respondents found 50% (710) of respondents felt COVID-19 would 'somewhat' affect their health if infected and 19% perceived their level of risk as high or very high. 84�9% had performed �1 of the three recommended hygiene-related behaviors and 93�4% performed �1 of six avoidance-related behaviors over the last one month. Adopting avoidance behaviors was associated with trust in government/authorities (aOR: 6.0, 95% CI 2.6-11�0), higher perceived rating of effectiveness of behaviors (aOR: 4�0, 95% CI: 1�8-8�7), higher levels of perceived ability to adopt social distancing strategies (aOR: 5.0, 95% CI: 1�5-9.3), higher trust in government (aOR: 6.0, 95% CI: 2.6-11.0) and higher level of concern if self-isolated (aOR: 1.8, 95% CI: 1.1-3.0).

Examining Australian’s beliefs, misconceptions, and sources of information for COVID-19: A national online survey

“…When asked for reasons for this misconception, it emerged that most who endorsed antibiotics had poor understanding of how they worked and their effects on viruses and the immune system broadly. Of concern, this result is similar to another Australian study that reported 35% of participants also thought antibiotics would be effective to prevent or treat COVID-19 [8]. Inappropriate use of antibiotics is considered the leading cause of antibiotic resistance [10,11].…”

“…Additionally, almost all participants correctly identified key public health messaging of common symptoms of fever, fatigue and cough and potential transmission practices such as sneezing and coughing and touching contaminated surfaces. This prevention awareness is supported by several other surveys with between 71% and 93% [5,6,8] of participants endorsing correct responses or reporting practicing the behaviour.…”

“…Misinformation about prevention, transmission, and treatment of COVID-19 has the potential to derail these efforts. International and Australian-focused online surveys suggest 71% -93% of participants [5,6] could identify preventive behaviours (e.g., hand hygiene, physical distancing), but the proportion of individuals who self-report practicing these behaviours were fewer, ranging from a low of 45% in a survey of UK participants [7] to 85% in an Australian sample [8]. The difference between the high proportion of people knowing appropriate prevention behaviours and the lower proportion of those reporting to practice the behaviour, suggests that knowledge alone is insufficient to change behaviour.…”

“…This constitutes a knowledgepractice gap. Varying demographic differences have been reported to predict practicing preventive behaviours including low socio-economic status [7], low health literacy [5], anxiety [5,8], and those with high compared with low engagement and perceptions of risk [8,9].…”

Concerns and adjustments: How the Portuguese population met COVID-19

“…(2020), [21] McFadden (2020), [22] Azlan (2020), [23] Meier (2020), [24] Smith (2020), [25] Trueblood (2020), [26] Seale (2020), [27] Sabat (2020), [28] Nazar (2020), [29] Peres (2020), [30] Bezerra (2020), [31] Wolf (2020) and [32] Nelson (2020)).…”