Factors Influencing COVID-19 Prevention Behaviors

Abstract

COVID-19 remains a public health emergency with prevention guidelines and mitigation strategies being constantly updated to curb the rapid spread of the disease. Despite proven successes of recommended preventive behaviors, there is low uptake of wearing a mask, washing of hands, and social distancing in the United States (US). The purpose of this study was to examine factors that influence COVID-19 preventive behaviors. We used data from the nationally representative COVID-19 Household Impact Survey (n = 19,815) conducted in the US from April to June 2020. Chi-square (χ2) test and bivariate analyses were performed to compare study participants who used all COVID-19 related preventive behaviors and those who did not, and multivariate logistic regressions to determine associations across demographic and social characteristics. Of the 19,815 participants, 79.2% of participants reported practicing the aforementioned COVID-19 preventive behaviors. Further, non-Hispanic white, Spanish speaking, living in urban areas, of older age (60+), being female, having an education above an undergraduate, those with income levels $100K or more, living in the urban northeast region that trust and communicate frequently with family and neighbors were more likely to use all three preventive behaviors. Findings suggest a need for continued provision of information on prevention and vaccination importance, but expand efforts to target adopters of these behaviors and encourage them to share their uptake and adherence efforts. This type of horizontal communication where information is shared within trusted social networks can shape social norms that influence the uptake of COVID-19 preventive behaviors and slowly curb communal spread.

COVID-19 home remedy consumption and perceived effectiveness among adult population in Brunei Darussalam: a PLS-SEM approach

“…This postulates a crucial influence of personal motivation and close social networks, as only 16% reported using home remedy based on the recommendations from other individuals. A study investigating factors influencing COVID-19 preventive behaviour found that individuals can be socially influenced when trusted individuals in their social circle adhere to a social norm [ 37 ]. A global systematic review highlighted that people primarily turn to CAM due to their expectations of its benefits, discontentment with conventional medicine, and the perceived safety of CAM [ 38 ].…”

Community Behavior to Prevent Covid-19 and its Associated Factors in North Parigi District

“…Age is a significant factor that correlates with COVID-19 prevention behavior (8,10,20). Elderly individuals have a weakened immune system compared to adolescent and adult individuals, especially if they have comorbidities (21).…”

“…One important aspect of community behavior is compliance with public health guedilines, such as using masks, hand washing, bring hand sanitizer, and social distancing. This series of health protection behaviors has been proposed by World Health Organization (WHO) to become a global plan to prevent the spread of covid-19 infection (8). In Indonesia, the government has made various efforts to prevent and reduce the prevalence and mortality due to covid-19 virus infection, such as implementing the health protocol, namely 3M, which includes wearing masks, washing hands and maintaining distance.…”

“…Human behavior in preventing the spread of Covid-19 can be influenced by various factors that were clasified into five categories: social factors, cultural factors, individual factors, knowledge, and education factors (10). Factors such as age, gender, household income, education, household size, region, population density, language, chronic health conditions, trust and communication with neighbors, communication with family and friends, getting tested for COVID, time period, and Having a family member or close friend die from COVID-19 or respiratory illness was found to have a significant relationship with COVID-19 prevention behavior (8).…”

COVID-19 vaccination willingness and uptake among low-income Black/African American, Latino, and White adults living in the U.S

“…Disparities in COVID-19 vaccination, as well as other COVID-19 prevention behaviors, exist between high- and lower-income individuals and communities in the United States. ( Brownstein et al, 2022 , Cheng and Li, 2022 , Wachira et al, 2022 ) Racial-ethnic disparities in vaccine willingness and uptake have also been observed. ( Pingali et al, 2021 , Nápoles et al, 2021 ) However, less is known about how income disparities and racial-ethnic disparities in COVID-19 vaccine willingness and uptake intersect.…”