Promoting social distancing in a pandemic: Beyond good intentions

Do reminders to promote social distancing achieve the desired effects on behavior? Much of the existing literature analyses impacts on people’s intentions to comply. We run a randomised controlled trial in Denmark to test different versions of a reminder to stay home at the beginning of the crisis. Using a two-stage design, we follow up with recipients and analyse their subsequent self-reported behaviour. We find that the reminder increases ex-ante intentions to comply when it emphasises the consequences of non-compliance for the subjects themselves and their families, while it has no effect when the emphasis is on other people or the country as a whole. We also find, however, that impacts on intentions do not translate into equivalent impacts on actions. Only people in poor health react to the reminder by staying home significantly more. Our results shed light on important gaps between people’s intentions and their actions in responding to the recommendations of health authorities.

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Promoting social distancing in a pandemic: Beyond the good intentions

10.31219/osf.io/a2nys ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Paolo Falco ◽

Sarah Zaccagni

Keyword(s):

Randomised Controlled Trial ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Two Stage ◽

Stage Design ◽

Social Distancing ◽

Health Authorities ◽

Ex Ante ◽

Randomised Controlled ◽

Shed Light

Do reminders to promote social distancing achieve the desired effects? Much of the existing literature analyses impacts on people's intentions to comply. We run a randomised controlled trial in Denmark to test different versions of a reminder to stay home at the beginning of the crisis. Using a two-stage design, we follow up with recipients and analyse their subsequent behaviour. We find that the reminder increases ex-ante intentions to comply when it emphasises the consequences of non-compliance for the subjects themselves and their families, while it has no effect when the emphasis is on other people or the country as a whole. We also find, however, that impacts on intentions do not translate into equivalent impacts on actions. This is despite the possibility that respondents may tend to over-report compliance. Only people in poor health react to the reminder by staying home more. Our results shed light on important gaps between people's intentions and their actions in responding to the recommendations of health authorities.

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Long-term outcomes of two-stage, immediate and delayed breast reconstruction with polyurethane-covered versus textured implants: protocol of a prospective, multicentre randomised controlled trial (TIPI trial)

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2020-044219 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (5) ◽

pp. e044219

Author(s):

J X Harmeling ◽

Kevin Peter Cinca ◽

Eleni-Rosalina Andrinopoulou ◽

Eveline M L Corten ◽

M A Mureau

Keyword(s):

Randomised Controlled Trial ◽

Breast Reconstruction ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Capsular Contracture ◽

Tissue Expander ◽

Complication Rates ◽

Two Stage ◽

Randomised Controlled

IntroductionTwo-stage implant-based breast reconstruction is the most commonly performed postmastectomy reconstructive technique. During the first stage, a tissue expander creates a sufficiently large pocket for the definite breast implant placed in the second stage. Capsular contracture is a common long-term complication associated with implant-based breast reconstruction, causing functional complaints and often requiring reoperation. The exact aetiology is still unknown, but a relationship between the outer surface of the implant and the probability of developing capsular contracture has been suggested. The purpose of this study is to determine whether polyurethane-covered implants result in a different capsular contracture rate than textured implants.Methods and analysisThe Textured Implants versus Polyurethane-covered Implants (TIPI) trial is a multicentre randomised controlled trial with a 1:1 allocation rate and a follow-up of 10 years. A total of 321 breasts of female adults undergoing a two-stage breast reconstruction will be enrolled. The primary outcome is capsular contracture at 10-year follow-up which is graded with the modified Baker classification. It is analysed with survival analysis using a frailty model for clustered interval-censored data, with both an intention-to-treat and per-protocol approach. Secondary outcomes are other complication rates, surgical revision rate, patient satisfaction and quality of life and user-friendliness. Outcomes are measured 2 weeks, 6 months, 1, 2, 3, 5 and 10 years postoperatively. Interim analysis is performed when 1-year, 3-year and 5-year follow-up is completed.Ethics and disseminationThe trial has been reviewed and approved by the Medical Research Ethics Committee of the Erasmus MC, University Medical Centre Rotterdam (MEC-2018-126) and locally by each participating centre. Written informed consent will be obtained from each study participant. The results will be disseminated by publication in peer-reviewed journals.Trial registrationNTR7265.

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