“Responsible” or “Strange?” Differences in Face Mask Attitudes and Use Between Chinese and Non-East Asian Canadians During COVID-19’s First Wave

Abstract

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, journalists and scholars noted differences between Asians and North Americans in their support for public mask use. These differences were primarily assumed to be due d to variations in ethnocultural norms and practices. To better ascertain people’s motives for wearing masks and potential cultural differences in these rationales, this comparative, mixed-methods research examines Chinese and non-East Asian Canadians’ mask use attitudes utilizing online group interviews (Study 1) and a nation-wide survey (Study 2) Study 1, conducted in the early stages of the pandemic, captured an ambivalent, yet evolving attitude toward public mask use among the non-East Asian Canadians, which differed from their Chinese counterparts who more uniformly perceived mask use favorably. Study 2, conducted 2 months later, suggests that both groups primarily wore masks for disease protection- and prevention-related reasons. However, age and education appeared to influence the mask wearing frequency of the non-East Asian Canadians, for whom public mask use was less prevalent and normative. The attitudinal differences in public mask use call for targeted strategies to support mask wearing for different ethnocultural groups, which may be achieved partially through enhancing interethnic understanding on the diversified use of and opinions about masks. The findings suggest that favorable social norms, along with evidence-based information campaigns involving personal appeals may encourage greater mask use by the non-East Asian population.

Environmental determinants of infectious and chronic disease prevention behaviours: A systematic review and thematic synthesis of qualitative research

“…It's just Asian people wear masks…when you're sick to be polite." (Zhang et al, 2022) Societal attitudes (n = 51). There was a shift in the social acceptability of preventive health behaviours across both smoke-free policy and COVID-19 studies.…”

Receptiveness of and Implementation Considerations for COVID-19 Vaccination Certificates in Asia: A Survey Across 9 Countries

“…This finding is a critical one since the use of NPIs post-vaccination have had mixed policy responses as they been closely associated with socio-cultural freedoms and geographic context [13]. For Asia, some evidence indicates that NPIs such as mask mandates might continue to be practicable, even preferred, despite the relaxations with CVCs, unlike in Western countries where mandates have been dropped, only to be reinstated occasionally as new variants emerge [14][15][16][17]. With models indicating an inevitable steep rise in cases without the continued use of NPIs [12], estimating the appetite for their continuation and identifying nudges to support their use is an area of further investigation [7,8,18].…”

Are We Prepared for The Next Pandemic?

“…A meta-analysis found that the high use of masks in Asian countries, even after mandates were lifted, is related to the perceived usefulness and necessity of masks by individuals (Leffler et al, 2020). In fact, before COVID-19, wearing masks in Asia is not an uncommon sight during the winter, as masks policies and public health education efforts during the 1918 H1N1, SARS-CoV, and MERS outbreaks helped normalize masks (Ives, 2022;Rich & Hayashi, 2020;Zhang et al, 2022). Hence, communication and education on part of leaders can tremendously impact the public understanding of the need for specific public health measures, thereby positively influencing public compliance during their implementations.…”