Incorrect Use of Face Masks during the Current COVID-19 Pandemic among the General Public in Japan

Abstract

Since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of face masks by healthy individuals for prevention has been attracting public attention. However, efficacy depends on proper usage. We set out to determine the prevalence of wearing masks to prevent COVID-19 and compliance with appropriate measures for the correct use of face masks among the general public in Japan where wearing medical masks is a “cultural” normality. This cross-sectional study was based on an internet-based survey completed by 2141 people (50.8% men, aged 20–79 years) who were selected among registrants of an Internet research company between 1 April and 6 April 2020. Participants were asked to indicate how often they wore masks for prevention and to what extent they practiced appropriate measures suggested by the World Health Organization. The prevalence of wearing masks was 80.9% and compliance rates with appropriate measures ranged from 38.3% to 83.5%. Only 23.1% complied with all recommendations. Compliance rates were overall low in men and persons with low household incomes. Our results, hence show that many citizens implement inaccurate measures when using face masks. Therefore, providing guidance on correct usage is essential when encouraging the use of face masks to prevent COVID-19.

The Utilization of Protective Face Masks among Polish Healthcare Workers during COVID-19 Pandemic: Do We Pass the Exam?

“…According to WHO, face masks constitute an important component of the protective armamentarium against SARS-CoV-2 both in the general public and in HCW [ 5 ]. Recently, a Japanese study has evaluated the behaviors in over 2000 general public respondents in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, with only 23.1% declaring adherence to all the WHO recommendations [ 18 ]. The correct use of face masks is mandatory to ensure their protective properties and it would seem that HCW should exceed the general population in this aspect.…”

“…Based on their professional knowledge and experience, as well as acknowledging their unique role in managing the developing COVID-19 pandemic, it seems reasonable to expect more strict adherence to the safety regulations, especially when compared with the general public. On the other hand, the authors of the previous study emphasized that Japan has a cultural habit of wearing face masks among the general public [ 18 ]. Nevertheless, our findings may still be regarded as alarming when taking into account the limitations of our study.…”

“…The utilized questionnaire is provided in Supplementary Material . The survey also included 7 questions based on the World Health Organization WHO guidance on the correct use of face masks as reported by Machida et al [ 18 ] ( Table 1 ). Each question could have been answered with “always/nearly always”, “often”, “rarely” or “never”.…”

Testing Surgical Face Masks in an Emergency Context: The Experience of Italian Laboratories during the COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis

“…These findings are in agreement with previously published data on community masks made of fabrics [ 21 , 22 , 23 ] and should be considered in a comprehensive evaluation of mask performance. In fact, despite no clear effect on blood or muscle oxygenation being found in healthy subjects wearing a face mask [ 24 ], low breathability can have an impact on the user’s comfort [ 23 ] and may contribute to incorrect use in the general population [ 25 , 26 ]. Therefore, very low values of DP (e.g., <20 Pa/cm 2 ) could be considered an added value for increasing the willingness of the population to wear masks where no high level of contaminated aerosol is expected (e.g., outdoor areas or other areas where community masks are recommended).…”

Relationship Knowledge and The Level of Compliance with The Use of Masks During the Covid-19 Pandemic at Gatot Soebroto Hospital 2020

“…Tingkat kepatuhan berkisar antara 38,3-62,9%. 23,1% responden patuh terhadap penggunaan masker yang benar (Machida et al, 2020 Berdasarkan tabel 1 dapat dilihat bahwa pada penelitian ini melibatkan mahasiswa semester VI di masa pandemik covid sebanyak 16 orang (50%) dan bidan dari ruang tindakan dan persalinan RSPAD Gatot Soebroto sebanyak 16 orang (50%) sehingga total responden sebanyak 32 orang. Dari segi pengetahuan didapatkan hasil pada bidan pengetahuan baik sebanyak 13 orang (81,3%) dan pengetahuan kurang sebanyak 3 orang (18,8%).…”