Key factors affecting people’s unwillingness to be confined during the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain: a large-scale population study

Abstract

Population confinements have been one of the most widely adopted non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) implemented by governments across the globe to help contain the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. While confinement measures have been proven to be effective to reduce the number of infections, they entail significant economic and social costs. Thus, different policy makers and social groups have exhibited varying levels of acceptance of this type of measures. In this context, understanding the factors that determine the willingness of individuals to be confined during a pandemic is of paramount importance, particularly, to policy and decision-makers. In this paper, we study the factors that influence the unwillingness to be confined during the COVID-19 pandemic by the means of a large-scale, online population survey deployed in Spain. We perform two types of analyses (logistic regression and automatic pattern discovery) and consider socio-demographic, economic and psychological factors, together with the 14-day cumulative incidence per 100,000 inhabitants. Our analysis of 109,515 answers to the survey covers data spanning over a 5-month time period to shed light on the impact of the passage of time. We find evidence of pandemic fatigue as the percentage of those who report an unwillingness to be in confinement increases over time; we identify significant gender differences, with women being generally less likely than men to be able to sustain long-term confinement of at least 6 months; we uncover that the psychological impact was the most important factor to determine the willingness to be in confinement at the beginning of the pandemic, to be replaced by the economic impact as the most important variable towards the end of our period of study. Our results highlight the need to design gender and age specific public policies, to implement psychological and economic support programs and to address the evident pandemic fatigue as the success of potential future confinements will depend on the population’s willingness to comply with them.

Social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain: a population study

“…As depicted in the Figure, the average values are generally stable over time except for a notable decrease in the LSNS-6 scores collected during week 27 (5th to 11th of July, 2021) and an increase in the LSNS-6 scores corresponding to week 38 (20th–26th of September, 2021), which might be due to the return to work and school after the summer holidays. A LOESS curve fit reveals a trend of larger average LSNS-6 scores starting in week 43, which might be reflective of the return to the “new normality” and the emergence of pandemic fatigue in the population 41 .

Figure 2 Average LSNS-6 score by income ( a ) and population ( b ) in thousands, both obtained from the 2020 Spanish official statistics (INE) data according to the participants’ reported postal code.

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“…All methods described in this manuscript were carried out in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations. The survey instrument was approved by the Ethical Committee of the University Miguel Hernandez, which is called the Office for Responsible Research (OIR), in the context of previous research 40 , 41 . Informed consent was obtained from all subjects who had to confirm being at least 18 years old to be able to participate in the survey.…”

“…In order to measure social isolation, we use the LSNS-6 instrument, delivered as part of an online, anonymous survey called the COVID19ImpactSurvey 40 , with over 720,000 answers collected since March of 2020. The answers to the survey have been previously analysed for research purposes and extensively used by public authorities, the media and citizens in Spain to measure the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people’s behaviours, perceptions and lives 41 , 42 . While the original survey did not include any questions to assess the levels of social isolation of the respondents, on June 6th 2021, the LSNS-6 questions were added to the survey.…”

Emotional State and Social Media Experience: A Pandemic Case Study

“…The previous study performed in the UK found that the population responded more strongly to depression and anxiety in the early stage of the pandemic [38]. Spain's population showed behavioral changes related to the pandemic period as well [31]. It was found that psychological state plays an important role during pandemics and isolation.…”

“…An empirical study [30] showed the relationship between mass media information and worries and connections in the context of an immigration employee workplace. Previous research [31] also has proven population fatigue from being in pandemic isolation. This fatigue is more pronounced among women, especially if the isolation lasts more than six months.…”