Protective Behavior in Course of the COVID-19 Outbreak—Survey Results From Germany

Abstract

Objective: The COVID-19 outbreak means far-reaching changes in the organization of daily lives. Disease-related literacy and factors such as age, gender, or education play a major role in shaping individual practices of protective behavior. This paper investigates different types and frequency of practicing protective behaviors, as well as socio-demographic factors that are associated with such behavioral change. Methods: Data stem from a cross-sectional survey in Germany. Three thousand seven hundred and sixty-five people were contacted, 3,186 participated in the survey. Information on behavior to lower the risk of becoming infected with COVID-19 was assessed by nine items (answer options yes/no). For each item, logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios (OR), using education, sex, and age as main predictors and adjusting for partnership status and household composition. Results: People with lower educational level were less likely to avoid gatherings (OR = 0.63; 95%CI = 0.48-0.83), adapt their work situation (OR = 0.66; 95%CI = 0.52-0.82), reduce personal contacts and meetings (OR = 0.71; 95%CI = 0.55-0.93), or increase hand hygiene (OR = 0.53; 95%CI = 0.38-0.73). Being female was associated with higher odds of protective behavior for most outcomes. Exceptions were wearing face masks and adapting the own work situation. Associations between respondents' age and individual behavior change were inconsistent and mostly weak. Conclusion: Disease specific knowledge is essential in order to enable people to judge information on COVID-19. Health education programs aiming at improving COVID-19 knowledge are helpful to build up appropriate practices and reduce the spread of the disease. Strategies are needed to guarantee easy access and better dissemination of high-quality news and fact-checks. Socioeconomic characteristics should be taken into account in the development of infection control measures.

The importance of non-pharmaceutical interventions during the COVID-19 vaccine rollout

“…Women have been found, in all countries, more likely to perceive COVID-19 as a serious problem, agree with NPIs, and comply with them [24]. Similar results have been found in other studies conducted in Slovenia, Japan and Germany [25][26][27][28]. Age is also an important variable affecting adoption.…”

Non-pharmaceutical interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic: A review

“…In fact, female respondents are found more likely to perceive COVID-19 as a risk, agree and comply with NPIs [195] , [197] , [200] , [212] , [218] . Similar trends are observed for individuals with high level of education [200] , [215] . Age again does not appear to be a monotonic function: very young and old individuals share similar trends.…”

“…In fact, young adults have reported a smaller decrease in mobility and old individuals less compliance to NPIs (especially if male) [212] , [218] . It is important to mention that age was not a relevant factor in a survey conducted in Germany [200] . The research points also to a big urban-rural divide and thus to the importance of socio-economic factors when it comes to compliance.…”

Exploring the association between compliance with measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and big five traits with Bayesian generalized linear model

“…Following a previous study that examined COVIDiSTRESS Global Survey dataset ( Lieberoth et al, 2021 ), three demographics variables, participant' age, gender, and educational level, were employed as covariates. These variables were also employed in the previous studies examining compliance and beliefs on preventive measures ( Alper et al, 2020 ; Daoust, 2020 ; Lüdecke & von dem Knesebeck, 2020 ). The studies reported that the aforementioned demographical factors were significantly associated with behavioral and psychological responses to preventive measures, such as protective behavior, distancing, and COVID-19 conspiracy theories.…”