Potential Factors Conditioning the Compliance to Mandatory Face Covering in the Public Space Due to SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic

Józefacka, Natalia Maja; Karpiński, Emil Andrzej; Superson, Barbara; Kołek, Mateusz Franciszek; Skrzypczak, Andrzej; Kania, Gabriela

doi:10.3390/ijerph20010726

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 44 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Table 1 provides research examples of government, public health and media promotion of fear-of-contagion during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also illustrates the most vulnerable populations and the range of adverse mental health outcomes linked with fear promotion [60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72].…”

Section: The Covid-19 Pandemic Fear-of-contagion and Compliancementioning

confidence: 99%

“…A study from Poland used a cross-sequential online survey with 202 participants (77% female) to examine factors surrounding mandate compliance. [67] Researchers observed a significant moderate positive correlation between anxiety around COVID-19 and adherence to the mandates (e.g., required face and nose covering). The researchers also noted that pronounced fear of COVID-19 could be a risk factor for mental health challenges.…”

Section: Group Studied [Reference] Findingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The Human Superorganism: Using Microbes for Freedom vs. Fear

Dietert

Dietert²

2023

Applied Microbiology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Balanced fear supports human rational decision-making and useful behavioral responses. In contrast, overwhelming, persistent, and unbalanced fear can paralyze the individual and result in heightened anxiety, lack of cognitive flexibility, fear-based public compliance and serious mental health issues. Psychobiotics research has established that a healthy microbiome is required for balanced fear and mental health protection via control of fear extinction. The recent COVID-19 pandemic featured daily, persistent, fear-of-a-single-contagion conditioning on a global scale paired with various behavioral mandates (e.g., lockdowns of the healthy, required wearing of face masks in many locations including schools, isolation from environmental microbes and each other through the closure of beaches and parks, and restrictions on social gatherings including access to family members in hospitals and senior-assisted facilities). Such mandates degraded the human microbiome and isolated us from each other and useful environmental microbes. It also ignored the historic role of secondary bacterial pathogens in pandemic deaths. This narrative review examines how the institutional promotion of fear-of-a-single-contagion, lack of balanced risk communication, and appalling disregard of our fundamental nature (as majority-microbial human superorganisms) resulted in problems rather than solutions. This review illustrates that government-public health-media promotion of pervasive fear and microbiome-degrading behaviors: (1) increased public compliance, (2) reduced cognitive flexibility, and (3) increased risk of mental health conditions. However, a portion of the general public chose a healthier path through their increased consumption of microbiome- and immune-supportive supplements and fermented foods during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. For a healthier future, public health must follow the lead of this population to ensure that human freedom, rather than paralyzing fear, dominates our future.

show abstract

Section: The Covid-19 Pandemic Fear-of-contagion and Compliancementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Group Studied [Reference] Findingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Human Superorganism: Using Microbes for Freedom vs. Fear

Dietert

Dietert²

2023

Applied Microbiology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

The Human Superorganism: Microbes for Freedom vs. Fear

Dietert¹,

Dietert²

2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Balanced fear supports human rational decision making and useful behavioral responses. In contrast, overwhelming, persistent, and unbalanced fear can paralyze the individual and result in heightened anxiety, lack of cognitive flexibility, fear-based public compliance and serious mental health issues. Psychobiotics research has established that a healthy microbiome is required for balanced fear and mental health protection via control of fear extinction. The recent Covid-19 pandemic featured daily, persistent, fear-of-a single contagion conditioning on a global scale paired with various behavioral mandates (e.g., lockdowns of the healthy, masks, isolation from environmental microbes and each other) that degraded the human microbiome and isolated us from each other and useful environmental microbes. It also ignored the historic role of secondary bacterial pathobionts, in pandemic deaths. This narrative review examines how institutional promotion of fear-of-a single contagion, lack of balanced risk communication, and appalling disregard of our fundamental nature (as majority-microbial human superorganisms) resulted in problems rather than solutions. This review concludes that government-public health-media promotion of pervasive fear and microbiome-degrading behaviors: 1) increased public compliance, 2) reduced cognitive flexibility, and 3) increased risk of mental health conditions. It further argues that microbiome-first public health should be embraced to ensure that human freedom, rather than paralyzing fear, dominates our future.

show abstract

Potential Factors Conditioning the Compliance to Mandatory Face Covering in the Public Space Due to SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic

Cited by 2 publications

References 44 publications

The Human Superorganism: Using Microbes for Freedom vs. Fear

The Human Superorganism: Using Microbes for Freedom vs. Fear

The Human Superorganism: Microbes for Freedom vs. Fear

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About