Fear itself. Is fear a determinant of the efficacy oflockdowns?

Among non-pharmaceutical measures for fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the most important is the implementation of lockdowns. The cost and effectiveness of this policy remains a much-debated topic in economics. In this study we investigate whether a 'fear effect' is at work in influencing the effectiveness of lockdowns. According to previous contributions on the topic, fear can increase protective habits, and for this reason we may imagine that a high number of COVID-19-caused deaths creates fear among the population, which may make people more likely to follow government prescriptions and observe lockdowns strictly. By means of a qualitative-quantitative analysis, we find that among the 46 countries that reported coronavirus-caused deaths before the implementation of a lockdown, the top quartile for per capita deaths has better results in terms of reducing new COVID-19 cases after a lockdown, compared to the worst quartile. This suggests that the number of reported deaths, as well as its communication to the population, are important determinants of the effectiveness of a lockdown.

The effect of disease anthropomorphism on compliance with health recommendations.

The present article examines how disease anthropomorphism affects compliance with recommendations for preventing the disease. We find that consumers are more likely to comply with health recommendations when the disease is described in anthropomorphic (vs. non-anthropomorphic) terms because anthropomorphism increases psychological closeness to the disease, which increases perceived vulnerability. We demonstrate the effect of disease anthropomorphism on health compliance in seven studies with several diseases (COVID-19, breast cancer), manipulations of anthropomorphism (first person and third person; with and without an image), and participant populations (the US and China). We test the proposed pathway through psychological closeness and perceived vulnerability with sequential mediation analyses and moderation-of-process approaches, and we rule out alternative accounts based on known consequences of anthropomorphism and antecedents of health compliance. This research contributes to the theory and practice of health communication and to the growing literature on how the anthropomorphism of negative entities affects consumers' judgments and behaviors. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11747-022-00891-6.

Keeping each other safe: A social identity account of Canadian responses to COVID-19

Community mitigation strategies in a pandemic rely largely on individuals' voluntary compliance with public health measures (e.g., social and physical distancing). That these measures are crucial from a societal and community perspective-not just as means of self-protection-suggests that a sense of solidarity encourages their adoption by individuals. We conceptualized Canadians' responses early in the COVID-19 crisis as a form of collective action motivated by the perceived threat of the novel coronavirus, national identification, and efficacy beliefs (e.g., people's sense that their actions would make a difference in "flattening the curve" of infections). Analyses of responses of a cross-sectional sample of Canadians (N = 499) in April 2020 provided support for effects derived from this social identity account: perceived threat predicted Canadian national identification, and both threat and identification were positively associated with efficacy beliefs, which in turn predicted endorsement of public health measures. We highlight the roles of social identification and efficacy beliefs with a focus on how they might be incorporated into public health messaging. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) (French) Les strategies communautaires d'attenuation des effets d'une pandemie reposent en grande partie sur l'adhesion de la population aux mesures de sante publique (par exemple, la distanciation sociale et physique). Le fait que ces mesures soient cruciales d'un point de vue societal et communautaire-et pas seulement comme moyen d'autoprotection-suggere qu'un sentiment de solidarite favorise leur adoption par les individus. Nous avons conceptualise les reponses des Canadiens au debut de la crise de la COVID-19 comme une forme d'action collective motivee par la menace percue du nouveau coronavirus, l'identification nationale et les sentiments d'auto-efficacite (par exemple, le sentiment des gens que leurs actions feraient une difference pour << aplanir la courbe des infections). Les analyses des reponses d'un echantillon transversal de Canadiens (N = 499) en avril 2020 ont confirme les effets derives de ce concept d'identite sociale : la menace percue a predit l'identification nationale canadienne, et la menace et l'identification ont ete positivement associees aux sentiments d'auto-efficacite, qui a leur tour ont predit l'adoption des mesures de sante publique. Nous soulignons les roles de l'identification sociale et des sentiments d'auto-efficacite en nous concentrant sur la facon dont ils pourraient etre incorpores dans les messages de sante publique. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) Impact Statement Successful responses to the COVID-19 crisis required widespread acceptance of public health measures such as social distancing. This study showed that Canadians' endorsement of these measures was related to the perceived threat of the novel coronavirus, their national identification, and their sense that their own behaviours would make a difference in "flattening the curve" of infections. Thus, public health messages that highlight solidarity and collective responsibility may be effective means of encouraging compliance. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

The Use of a Health Compliance Monitoring System During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Indonesia: Evaluation Study.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 cases are soaring in Asia. Indonesia, Southeast Asia's most populous country, is now ranked second in the number of cases and deaths in Asia, after India. The compliance toward mask wearing, social distancing, and hand washing needs to be monitored to assess public behavioral changes that can reduce transmission. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate this compliance in Indonesia between October 2020 and May 2021 and demonstrate the use of the Bersatu Lawan COVID-19 (BLC) mobile app in monitoring this compliance. METHODS: Data were collected in real time by the BLC app from reports submitted by personnel of military services, police officers, and behavioral change ambassadors. Subsequently, the data were analyzed automatically by the system managed by the Indonesia National Task Force for the Acceleration of COVID-19 Mitigation. RESULTS: Between October 1, 2020, and May 2, 2021, the BLC app generated more than 165 million reports, with 469 million people monitored and 124,315,568 locations under observation in 514 districts/cities in 34 provinces in Indonesia. This paper grouped them into 4 colored zones, based on the degree of compliance, and analyzed variations among regions and locations. CONCLUSIONS: Compliance rates vary among the 34 provinces and among the districts and cities of those provinces. However, compliance to mask wearing seems slightly higher than social distancing. This finding suggests that policy makers need to promote higher compliance in other measures, including social distancing and hand washing, whose efficacies have been proven to break the chain of transmission when combined with masks wearing.

Trust in Institutions, Not in Political Leaders, Determines Compliance in COVID-19 Prevention Measures within Societies across the Globe.

A core assumption often heard in public health discourse is that increasing trust in national political leaders is essential for securing public health compliance during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic (2019-ongoing). However, studies of national government trust are typically too coarse-grained to differentiate between trust in institutions versus more interpersonal trust in political leaders. Here, we present multiscale trust measurements for twelve countries and territories across the West, Oceania and East Asia. These trust results were used to identify which specific domains of government and social trust were most crucial for securing public health compliance (frequency of mask wearing and social distancing) and understanding the reasons for following health measures (belief in effectiveness of public health measures). Through the use of linear regression and structural equation modeling, our cross-cultural survey-based analysis (N = 3369 subjects) revealed that higher trust in national and local public health institutions was a universally consistent predictor of public health compliance, while trust in national political leaders was not predictive of compliance across cultures and geographical regions. Institutional trust was mediated by multiple types of transparency, including providing rationale, securing public feedback, and honestly expressing uncertainty. These results highlight the importance of distinguishing between components of government trust, to better understand which entities the public gives the most attention to during crises.

Acces aux soins de sante et respect des consignes sanitaires en temps de pandemie : deux notions independantes

In the United States, bioethicist Arthur L. Caplan, along with three colleagues, stated in a paper published in the PennLive Patriot-News in May 2020 that anyone with COVID-19 who has not followed public health guidelines regarding mask use or social distancing, or who is responsible for a COVID-19 outbreak, should volunteer to be treated last. They do this based on the principle of the philosopher John Stuart Mill that the expression of freedom cannot cause harm to others. While one can understand the arguments raised by Caplan and his colleagues, this position cannot be applied in the Quebec context, for philosophical (ethical) and public health reasons.

Hygiene and social distancing as distinct public health related behaviours among university students during the COVID-19 pandemic

Prevailing research on individuals' compliance with public health related behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic tends to study composite measures of multiple types of behaviours, without distinguishing between different types of behaviours. However, measures taken by governments involve adjustments concerning a range of different daily behaviours. In this study, we seek to explain students' public health related compliance behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic by examining the underlying components of such behaviours. Subsequently, we investigate how these components relate to individual attitudes towards public health measures, descriptive norms among friends and family, and key demographics. We surveyed 7,403 university students in ten countries regarding these behaviours. Principal Components Analysis reveals that compliance related to hygiene (hand washing, coughing behaviours) is uniformly distinct from compliance related to social distancing behaviours. Regression analyses predicting Social Distancing and Hygiene lead to differences in explained variance and type of predictors. Our study shows that treating public health compliance as a sole construct obfuscates the dimensionality of compliance behaviours, which risks poorer prediction of individuals' compliance behaviours and problems in generating valid public health recommendations. Affecting these distinct behaviours may require different types of interventions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Generalized self-efficacy and compliance with health behaviours related to COVID-19 in the US.

OBJECTIVE: Investigate the role of generalized self-efficacy (GSE) in compliance with COVID-19 health behaviours such as wearing masks and social distancing. DESIGN: Two studies conducted online in the US: 312 adults in Study 1 and 253 adults in Study 2. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: In Study 1, participants reported compliance with four health behaviours related to COVID-19: social distancing, hand washing, avoiding non-essential travel, and wearing masks. In Study 2, participants reported expected compliance with wearing masks when it was framed as a national requirement, a state requirement, or a recommendation. RESULTS: In Study 1, GSE positively affected reported compliance with COVID-19 health behaviours. This result was mediated by the perception that these behaviours would offer enhanced control. Psychological reactance negatively affected reported compliance, while trust in science-based institutions and perceived threat from COVID-19 exerted positive effects. In Study 2, requiring (vs. recommending) masks led to higher willingness to comply with COVID-19 health behaviours. This was moderated by GSE, which significantly impacted compliance only when masks were required rather than recommended. CONCLUSION: Higher GSE predicted increased compliance with health behaviours related to COVID-19, such as wearing masks. This effect was strongest when these behaviours were framed as required rather than recommended.