Masks, Gloves, and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Rapid Assessment of Public Behaviors in the United States

Abstract

The COVID-19 outbreak was declared a national emergency in the U.S. in March 2020, and in April 2020, the U.S. government authorities issued recommendations on the use of masks and gloves as protective measures. Despite such recommendations, popular media reports highlighted a lack of compliance. However, no systematic study has examined the use of protective strategies (e.g., wearing a mask) by the American public to prevent the spread of COVID-19 during early stages of the pandemic. The purpose of this study was to conduct a rapid national assessment of public behaviors to prevent COVID-19 spread during the early stages of the pandemic and to assess how these behaviors may have differed based on selected sociodemographic characteristics. A total of 835 adult Americans nationwide took a multi-item survey and were asked about wearing masks, gloves, and their demographic background. The majority of the study participants reported wearing a mask more often during the pandemic (76%), but the majority did not wear gloves more often during the pandemic (30%). Significant differences (p < 0.05) for wearing masks were found based on sex, age, ethnicity, marital status, living arrangements, and employment status. For gloves, significant differences were found based on sex, age, marital status, and employment. While the pandemic continues to unfold and with recent reports of a surge in cases in the U.S., public health practitioners and policymakers must emphasize COVID-19 prevention strategies for the general public and explore pragmatic options to increase compliance of protective behaviors among the general public.

Attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination, vaccine hesitancy and intention to take the vaccine

“…The present study showed that while women were more likely to engage in preventive behaviour as demonstrated in other studies, they were less likely to believe that the vaccine will protect the health of the people who take it and were less willing than men to take the vaccine. 38 - 40 The latter was evident in both studies with more females declaring that they are unsure of taking the vaccine. This lack of conviction by women has been identified by a number of other studies.…”

COVID-19 Vaccination Hesitancy in the United States: A Rapid National Assessment

“…Similarly, a May 2020 study by Malik and colleagues found that males (72%) were more likely to accept COVID-19 vaccine than females (63%) [ 7 , 15 – 17 , 23 ]. In general, women are more likely to practice preventive behaviors and avoid risk behaviors (e.g., influenza vaccination rates in the US and wearing of face masks to prevent COVID-19 infections) [ 24 – 26 ]. However, the results of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy have been mixed.…”

“…Throughout the pandemic, COVID-19 risk perception and mitigation have been discussed and explored via a variety of national polls and studies keeping in mind sociodemographic factors and political affiliation [ 17 , 18 , 24 , 27 ]. For example, the wearing of face masks became a divisive issue and ended up becoming a “culture war” with a greater divide in compliance based on gender, age, and political affiliation [ 24 , 27 ]. Even while the trials for the COVID-19 vaccine were going on worldwide, many Americans did not believe COVID-19 was a serious problem or the topmost concern in the country.…”

“…Even while the trials for the COVID-19 vaccine were going on worldwide, many Americans did not believe COVID-19 was a serious problem or the topmost concern in the country. Republicans, Democrats, and other participants in polls and studies differed in their opinion with certain groups less likely to believe in the seriousness of COVID-19, the efficacy of masks, scientific guidance on controlling the pandemic, and willingness to take a COVID-19 vaccine when it became available [ 4 , 6 , 17 , 18 , 24 , 27 ]. To reach the levels of reasonable herd immunity or for successful mass COVID-19 immunization, tailored and community-based interventions that can address the political divide and risk perception differences will be needed along with the plans to distribute the COVID-19 vaccines.…”

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).…”