Local risk perception enhances epidemic control

Herrera-Diestra, José L.; Meyers, Lauren Ancel

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0225576

Cited by 39 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…Second, our results reveal the risk perception in the community, which is an important piece of information to enhance epidemic control [21]. Although the epicenter of the COVID-19 epidemic is Wuhan, the perceived risk of the community in Hong Kong was high.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Community responses during the early phase of the COVID-19 epidemic in Hong Kong: risk perception, information exposure and preventive measures

Kwok

Chan

et al. 2020

Preprint

162

198

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17 18 Background: Community responses are important for outbreak management during the early phase 19 when non-pharmaceutical interventions are the major preventive options. Therefore, this study aims to 20 examine the psychological and behavioral responses of the community during the early phase of the 21 COVID-19 epidemic in Hong Kong.22 23 Method: A cross-sectional online survey was launched within 36 hours after confirmed COVID-19 24 cases were first reported. Councilors of all 452 district council constituency areas were approached for 25 survey dissemination. Respondent demographics, anxiety level, risk perception, sources to retrieve 26 .CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license It is made available under a author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity.is the (which was not peer-reviewed) The copyright holder for this preprint . https://doi.org/10. 1101 /2020 COVID-19 information, actual adoption and perceived efficacy of precautionary measures were 27 collected. 29Result: Analysis from 1715 complete responses indicated high perceived susceptibility (89%) and high 30 perceived severity (97%). Most respondents were worried about COVID-19 (97%), and had their daily 31 routines disrupted (slightly/greatly: 98%). The anxiety level, measured by the Hospital Anxiety and 32 Depression Scale, was borderline abnormal (9.01). Nearly all respondents were alert to the disease 33 progression (99.5%). The most trusted information sources were doctors (84%), followed by broadcast 34 (57%) and newspaper (54%), but they were not common information sources (doctor: 5%; broadcast: 35 34%; newspaper: 40%). Only 16% respondents found official websites reliable. Enhanced personal 36 hygiene practices and travel avoidance to China were frequently adopted (>77%) and considered 37 effective (>90%). The adoption of social-distancing measures was lower (39%-88%), and their drivers 38 for greater adoption include: being female (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]:1.27), living in the New 39 Territories (aOR:1.32-1.55), perceived as having good understanding of COVID-19 (aOR:1.84) and 40 being more anxious (aOR:1.07). 41 42 Discussion: Risk perception towards COVID-19 in the community was high. Most respondents are alert 43 to the disease progression, and adopt self-protective measures. This study contributes by examining the 44 psycho-behavioral responses of hosts, in addition to the largely studied mechanistic aspects, during the 45 early phase of the current COVID-19 epidemic. The timely psychological and behavioral assessment of 46 the community is useful to inform subsequent interventions and risk communication strategies as the 47 epidemic progresses.48 49

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Community responses during the early phase of the COVID-19 epidemic in Hong Kong: risk perception, information exposure and preventive measures

Kwok

Chan

et al. 2020

Preprint

162

198

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Preventive behaviors are essential to control infectious diseases from both public and individual perspectives. Authorities and public health agencies should implement a variety of pharmaceutical and nonpharmaceutical interventions to prevent pandemic expansion, including vaccination and medical prophylaxis, hygienic precautions, patient isolation, and other social distancing measures [ 5 ]. Individuals should also take preventive measures to protect themselves, such as washing hands frequently with soap or hand sanitizer, avoiding crowded gatherings, and wearing face masks when going outside [ 6 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Media Use, eHealth Literacy, Disease Knowledge, and Preventive Behaviors in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-Sectional Study on Chinese Netizens

Li¹,

Liu²

2020

J Med Internet Res

228

200

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Background Since its outbreak in January 2020, COVID-19 has quickly spread worldwide and has become a global pandemic. Social media platforms have been recognized as important tools for health-promoting practices in public health, and the use of social media is widespread among the public. However, little is known about the effects of social media use on health promotion during a pandemic such as COVID-19. Objective In this study, we aimed to explore the predictive role of social media use on public preventive behaviors in China during the COVID-19 pandemic and how disease knowledge and eHealth literacy moderated the relationship between social media use and preventive behaviors. Methods A national web-based cross-sectional survey was conducted by a proportionate probability sampling among 802 Chinese internet users (“netizens”) in February 2020. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations, and hierarchical multiple regressions were employed to examine and explore the relationships among all the variables. Results Almost half the 802 study participants were male (416, 51.9%), and the average age of the participants was 32.65 years. Most of the 802 participants had high education levels (624, 77.7%), had high income >¥5000 (US $736.29) (525, 65.3%), were married (496, 61.8%), and were in good health (486, 60.6%). The average time of social media use was approximately 2 to 3 hours per day (mean 2.34 hours, SD 1.11), and the most frequently used media types were public social media (mean score 4.49/5, SD 0.78) and aggregated social media (mean score 4.07/5, SD 1.07). Social media use frequency (β=.20, P<.001) rather than time significantly predicted preventive behaviors for COVID-19. Respondents were also equipped with high levels of disease knowledge (mean score 8.15/10, SD 1.43) and eHealth literacy (mean score 3.79/5, SD 0.59). Disease knowledge (β=.11, P=.001) and eHealth literacy (β=.27, P<.001) were also significant predictors of preventive behaviors. Furthermore, eHealth literacy (P=.038) and disease knowledge (P=.03) positively moderated the relationship between social media use frequency and preventive behaviors, while eHealth literacy (β=.07) affected this relationship positively and disease knowledge (β=–.07) affected it negatively. Different social media types differed in predicting an individual’s preventive behaviors for COVID-19. Aggregated social media (β=.22, P<.001) was the best predictor, followed by public social media (β=.14, P<.001) and professional social media (β=.11, P=.002). However, official social media (β=.02, P=.597) was an insignificant predictor. Conclusions Social media is an effective tool to promote behaviors to prevent COVID-19 among the public. Health literacy is essential for promotion of individual health and influences the extent to which the public engages in preventive behaviors during a pandemic. Our results not only enrich the theoretical paradigm of public health management and health communication but also have practical implications in pandemic control for China and other countries.

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“…[12][13][14][15] People who perceive greater risk are more likely to implement protective behaviors, and this influences the probability of infection. [16][17][18] Thus, sound empirical data on how laypersons perceive the risks of newly emerged COVID-19 is essential to devise proper risk communication strategies. Moreover, though waiters are more at risk of contracting the infection, 15 information regarding their risk perception is scarce.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

<p>Risk Perception Towards COVID-19 and Its Associated Factors Among Waiters in Selected Towns of Southwest Ethiopia</p>

Asefa¹,

Qanche²,

Hailemariam³

et al. 2020

RMHP

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Local risk perception enhances epidemic control

Cited by 39 publications

References 63 publications

Community responses during the early phase of the COVID-19 epidemic in Hong Kong: risk perception, information exposure and preventive measures

Community responses during the early phase of the COVID-19 epidemic in Hong Kong: risk perception, information exposure and preventive measures

Social Media Use, eHealth Literacy, Disease Knowledge, and Preventive Behaviors in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-Sectional Study on Chinese Netizens

<p>Risk Perception Towards COVID-19 and Its Associated Factors Among Waiters in Selected Towns of Southwest Ethiopia</p>

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