The Effectiveness of Free Face Mask Distribution on Use of Face Masks. A Cluster Randomised Trial in Stovner District of Oslo, Norway

Fretheim, Atle; Elgersma, Ingeborg Hess; Aaeng, Kristiansen, Fredrik; Varmbo, Caroline Rømming; Olsbø, Miriam Kristine Salame; Glover, Iselin Havstein Strand; Flatø, Martin

doi:10.3390/ijerph18178971

Cited by 8 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 11 publications

(13 reference statements)

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“…Free mask distribution could encourage good mask-wearing behaviors. The finding supported the hypothesis proposed by Fretheim et al, who suggested that free distribution can increase face mask compliance [ 31 ]. Mask distribution can be regarded as social welfare to promote good mask-wearing behavior and combat the COVID-19 epidemic.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 91%

Do you take off your mask correctly? A survey during COVID-19 pandemic in Ningbo, China

Zhang

et al. 2022

PLoS ONE

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Guidelines and recommendations from public health authorities related to face masks have been essential for containing the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Ningbo City, China, from April 8 to 12, 2022. We assessed the behavioral differences and correlates of mask usage, primarily mask-removal. We examined public mask-wearing behavior during on-site COVID-19 nucleic acid detection. The survey instrument was developed based on the guidelines issued by the World Health Organization and consisted of demographics, mask-wearing knowledge, and behavior. We analyzed data from 1180 participants; 73.2% demonstrated good mask-wearing knowledge. However, regarding mask-wearing behavior, only 53.7% knew the correct way to remove a mask; 70.3% maintained hand hygiene after touching the outside. Binary logistic regression analyses revealed that health prevention knowledge and free mask distribution were positively associated with two types of mask-wearing behaviors. Most participants used masks during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, mask-removal and hand hygiene were neglected when touching the outside of the mask. More attention must be paid to mask-removal and hand hygiene details. Local health authorities should consider introducing the free distribution of masks.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 91%

Do you take off your mask correctly? A survey during COVID-19 pandemic in Ningbo, China

Zhang

et al. 2022

PLoS ONE

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“…Accordingly, Jefferson et al [ 5 ] discuss the lack of mask adherence as a possible cause of the inconclusive results of RCTs on the effectiveness of face masks in preventing ARIs. To increase the willingness to wear masks, public health authorities used social media to educate the public during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 30 ] or distributed masks free of charge [ 31 ]. In addition to these interventions, governments have introduced more drastic initiatives, such as mandatory masks, which penalize people who do not wear masks.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Face Mask Mandates on COVID-19 Transmission in 51 Countries: Retrospective Event Study

Näher,

Schulte-Althoff,

Kopka

et al. 2024

JMIR Public Health Surveill

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Background The question of the utility of face masks in preventing acute respiratory infections has received renewed attention during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, given the inconclusive evidence from existing randomized controlled trials, evidence based on real-world data with high external validity is missing. Objective To add real-world evidence, this study aims to examine whether mask mandates in 51 countries and mask recommendations in 10 countries increased self-reported face mask use and reduced SARS-CoV-2 reproduction numbers and COVID-19 case growth rates. Methods We applied an event study approach to data pooled from four sources: (1) country-level information on self-reported mask use was obtained from the COVID-19 Trends and Impact Survey, (2) data from the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker provided information on face mask mandates and recommendations and any other nonpharmacological interventions implemented, (3) mobility indicators from Google’s Community Mobility Reports were also included, and (4) SARS-CoV-2 reproduction numbers and COVID-19 case growth rates were retrieved from the Our World in Data—COVID-19 data set. Results Mandates increased mask use by 8.81 percentage points (P=.006) on average, and SARS-CoV-2 reproduction numbers declined on average by −0.31 units (P=.008). Although no significant average effect of mask mandates was observed for growth rates of COVID-19 cases (−0.98 percentage points; P=.56), the results indicate incremental effects on days 26 (−1.76 percentage points; P=.04), 27 (−1.89 percentage points; P=.05), 29 (−1.78 percentage points; P=.04), and 30 (−2.14 percentage points; P=.02) after mandate implementation. For self-reported face mask use and reproduction numbers, incremental effects are seen 6 and 13 days after mandate implementation. Both incremental effects persist for >30 days. Furthermore, mask recommendations increased self-reported mask use on average (5.84 percentage points; P<.001). However, there were no effects of recommendations on SARS-CoV-2 reproduction numbers or COVID-19 case growth rates (−0.06 units; P=.70 and −2.45 percentage points; P=.59). Single incremental effects on self-reported mask use were observed on days 11 (3.96 percentage points; P=.04), 13 (3.77 percentage points; P=.04) and 25 to 27 (4.20 percentage points; P=.048 and 5.91 percentage points; P=.01) after recommendation. Recommendations also affected reproduction numbers on days 0 (−0.07 units; P=.03) and 1 (−0.07 units; P=.03) and between days 21 (−0.09 units; P=.04) and 28 (−0.11 units; P=.05) and case growth rates between days 1 and 4 (−1.60 percentage points; P=.03 and −2.19 percentage points; P=.03) and on day 23 (−2.83 percentage points; P=.05) after publication. Conclusions Contrary to recommendations, mask mandates can be used as an effective measure to reduce SARS-CoV-2 reproduction numbers. However, mandates alone are not sufficient to reduce growth rates of COVID-19 cases. Our study adds external validity to the existing randomized controlled trials on the effectiveness of face masks to reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2.

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Nondrug interventions for reducing SARS-CoV-2 transmission are frequently incompletely reported

Sanders¹,

Gibson²,

Glasziou³

et al. 2023

Journal of Clinical Epidemiology

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The Effectiveness of Free Face Mask Distribution on Use of Face Masks. A Cluster Randomised Trial in Stovner District of Oslo, Norway

Cited by 8 publications

References 11 publications

Do you take off your mask correctly? A survey during COVID-19 pandemic in Ningbo, China

Do you take off your mask correctly? A survey during COVID-19 pandemic in Ningbo, China

Effects of Face Mask Mandates on COVID-19 Transmission in 51 Countries: Retrospective Event Study

Nondrug interventions for reducing SARS-CoV-2 transmission are frequently incompletely reported

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