This article is a Preprint
Preprints are preliminary research reports that have not been certified by peer review. They should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Preprints posted online allow authors to receive rapid feedback and the entire scientific community can appraise the work for themselves and respond appropriately. Those comments are posted alongside the preprints for anyone to read them and serve as a post publication assessment.
Observed and self-reported COVID-19 health protection behaviours on a university campus and the impact of a single simple intervention.
Preprint
in English
| medRxiv
| ID: ppmedrxiv-21258920
ABSTRACT
ObjectivesHygiene behaviours had been an essential component of attempts to slow the spread of SARS-CoV-2. Most data on adherence to these behaviours is collected via self-reporting, which can differ from observed behaviours. We quantified this discrepancy among a university sample and tested the impact of simple intervention on observed behaviour. Study designCross-sectional questionnaire of behaviour on campus compared to direct observation on one day without, and one day with, additional signage. MethodsWe circulated an email inviting all staff and students at our university to complete a questionnaire asking how often they wear a mark or practice hand hygiene when entering campus buildings, and how often they practiced social distancing within campus buildings. We observed all entrants to the main building on one campus on a baseline day and on a day after installing a large sign reminding people that these behaviours were mandatory. ResultsIn our survey, 172 out of 252 respondents (68%) reported always cleaning their hands, 225 out of 251 (90%) reported always wearing a face covering, and 124 out of 252 (49%) reported always maintaining social distancing. On the baseline day of observation, 50 out of 311 people (16.1%) cleaned their hands and 256 (82.3%) wore a face covering correctly. Out of 119 people whom we could assess, 9 (7%) maintained social distance from others. The signage was associated with significant improvements for cleaning hands (104 / 375 people 27.7%), wearing a face covering (374 / 375; 99.8%) and maintaining social distance (79 / 144; 54.8%). ConclusionsGreater use of observational methods will provide a more accurate measure of behaviour than the current reliance on self-report and allow interventions to be robustly tested.
cc_by
Full text:
Available
Collection:
Preprints
Database:
medRxiv
Type of study:
Experimental_studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Language:
English
Year:
2021
Document type:
Preprint