Feasibility, Utility, and Limitations of a Rapid Community Behavioral Diagnosis for Social Distancing During the 2020 Coronavirus Pandemic.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To evaluate the feasibility, utility, and limitations of a rapid community behavioral diagnosis (RCBD) for social distancing behaviors to prevent coronavirus transmission during a global coronavirus pandemic. DESIGN: Using social media for recruitment, we partnered with a local community task force to administer a brief online survey. SETTING: Residential urban community. SAMPLE Eighty-four community members, the majority of whom were white, female, college educated completed the survey. MEASURES: Theory of planned behavior constructs behavioral intentions, attitudes, perceived norms, and perceived behavioral control for 3 social distancing behaviors maintaining a 6-foot distance, avoiding places people congregate, and staying home as much as possible. ANALYSIS: Path analyses were conducted to understand significant determinants of intentions for each behavior to guide the development of locally tailored health promotion messages. RESULTS: The RCBD was implemented, and results were communicated to the community within 1 week. Intentions were high across the 3 behaviors but lowest for staying home as much as possible. Younger participants had lower intentions of maintaining a 6-foot distance than older participants. For each behavior, specific recommendations for health promotion messaging emerged based on how attitudes, norms, and perceived behavioral control related to intentions. CONCLUSION: In a situation where local community action is paramount for reducing coronavirus transmission, this RCBD process is feasible and useful for informing local health promotion.