Adherence to Social-Distancing and Personal Hygiene Behavior Guidelines and Risk of COVID-19 Diagnosis: Evidence From the Understanding America Study

2022 ◽  
Vol 112 (1) ◽  
pp. 169-178
Author(s):  
Theresa Andrasfay ◽  
Qiao Wu ◽  
Haena Lee ◽  
Eileen M. Crimmins

Objectives. To assess the association between individual-level adherence to social-distancing and personal hygiene behaviors recommended by public health experts and subsequent risk of COVID-19 diagnosis in the United States. Methods. Data are from waves 7 through 26 (June 10, 2020–April 26, 2021) of the Understanding America Study COVID-19 survey. We used Cox models to assess the relationship between engaging in behaviors considered high risk and risk of COVID-19 diagnosis. Results. Individuals engaging in behaviors indicating lack of adherence to social-distancing guidelines, especially those related to large gatherings or public interactions, had a significantly higher risk of COVID-19 diagnosis than did those who did not engage in these behaviors. Each additional risk behavior was associated with a 9% higher risk of COVID-19 diagnosis (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.09; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.05, 1.13). Results were similar after adjustment for sociodemographic characteristics and local infection rates. Conclusions. Personal mitigation behaviors appear to influence the risk of COVID-19, even in the presence of social factors related to infection risk. Public Health Implications. Our findings emphasize the importance of individual behaviors for preventing COVID-19, which may be relevant in contexts with low vaccination. (Am J Public Health. 2022;112(1):169–178. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306565 )

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerardo Chowell ◽  
Sushma Dahal ◽  
Raquel Bono ◽  
Kenji Mizumoto

AbstractTo ensure the safe operation of schools, workplaces, nursing homes, and other businesses during COVID-19 pandemic there is an urgent need to develop cost-effective public health strategies. Here we focus on the cruise industry which was hit early by the COVID-19 pandemic, with more than 40 cruise ships reporting COVID-19 infections. We apply mathematical modeling to assess the impact of testing strategies together with social distancing protocols on the spread of the novel coronavirus during ocean cruises using an individual-level stochastic model of the transmission dynamics of COVID-19. We model the contact network, the potential importation of cases arising during shore excursions, the temporal course of infectivity at the individual level, the effects of social distancing strategies, different testing scenarios characterized by the test’s sensitivity profile, and testing frequency. Our findings indicate that PCR testing at embarkation and daily testing of all individuals aboard, together with increased social distancing and other public health measures, should allow for rapid detection and isolation of COVID-19 infections and dramatically reducing the probability of onboard COVID-19 community spread. In contrast, relying only on PCR testing at embarkation would not be sufficient to avert outbreaks, even when implementing substantial levels of social distancing measures.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ting Ai ◽  
Glenn Adams ◽  
Xian Zhao

Why do people comply with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) public health guidance? This study considers cultural-psychological foundations of variation in beliefs about motivations for such compliance. Specifically, we focused on beliefs about two sources of prosocial motivation: desire to protect others and obligation to society. Across two studies, we observed that the relative emphasis on the desire to protect others (vs. the obligation to the community) as an explanation for compliance was greater in the United States settings associated with cultural ecologies of abstracted independence than in Chinese settings associated with cultural ecologies of embedded interdependence. We observed these patterns for explanations of psychological experience of both others (Study 1) and self (Study 2), and for compliance with mandates for both social distancing and face masks (Study 2). Discussion of results considers both practical implications for motivating compliance with public health guidance and theoretical implications for denaturalizing prevailing accounts of prosocial motivation.


Author(s):  
Sewon Hur ◽  
Michael Jenuwine

The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a dual public health and economic crisis. Many economic studies in the past few months have explored the relationship between the spread of disease and economic activity, the role for government intervention in the crisis, and the effectiveness of testing and containment policies. This Commentary summarizes the methods and findings of a number of these studies. The economic research conducted to date shows that adequate testing and selective containment measures can be effective in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, and in the absence of adequate testing capabilities, optimal interventions involve social distancing and other lockdown measures.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Farid Zulkhair Damanik ◽  
Hemma Yulfi

Introduction. Scabies is often found in Indonesia, which is due to its tropical climate. Data showed that the prevalence of scabies Indonesia in 2013 was 6%. Poor personal hygiene, low socioeconomic status, and non-supporting health behavior are also some of the risk factors. Objectives. To identify the relationship between personal hygiene behavior with scabies in Pondok Pesantren Modern Darul Hikmah Kota Medan. Methods. This is an analytical study using cross sectional design. The sample was all the students from grade 7-12. The data was taken cardinal signs of scabies and microscopic examination towards the scrapped skin. The risk factors on personal behavior was taken thru questionnaire and direct observation on the research site. Results. The incidence of scabies in Pondok Pesantren Modern Darul Hikmah Kota Medan is 81 out of 220 respondent (36,8%). There is a strong correlation between personal hygiene behavior with incidence of scabies in Pondok Pesantren Modern Darul Hikmah Kota Medan (p=0,001). The environmental sanitation is categorized poor according to 3 aspects including clean water availability, occupant density, and personal storage availability. Conclusion. There is a strong correlation between personal hygiene behavior with the incidence of scabies in Pondok Pesantren Modern Darul Hikmah Kota Medan.


Author(s):  
Ronny Sutanto ◽  
Isramilda Isramilda

Background : One of the problems that must be considered by young women is their reproductive health. It is very important to inform young women about the menstrual process knowledge so that they will be able to maintain personal hygiene. Lack of knowledge about personal hygiene can increase the risk of infection. This study aims to determine the relationship between knowledge of young girls and personal hygiene behavior. Method : The research method used was an analytic survey with a cross sectional approach. Conducted at SMPN 036 Batam City, the study was conducted for 6 months, the population in this study were all 270 students of SMPN 036 class VIII, with a total sample of 162, the sampling technique was carried out by purposive sampling technique with research instruments using a questionnaire. Data analysis using Chi square. Result :The results of the study were obtained from 162 respondents, the majority of respondents had good knowledge of 110 people (68%), and good personal hygiene behavior as many as 152 people (94%). Chi-square statistical test obtained p-value = 0.008 <0.05, conclusion : that there is a significant relationship between the knowledge of uterine adolescents with personal hygiene behavior at SMPN 036 Batam City. Advice for teenagers to maintain personal hygiene behavior.


Author(s):  
Roy Schwartzman ◽  
Jenni M. Simon

The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States spawns a perplexing polemic. Intransigent coronavirus skeptics who defy public health recommendations often get cast as ideological zealots or as perniciously ignorant. Both characterizations overlook a more fundamental epistemic opposition. The authors recast the conflict between COVID-19 skeptics and public health advocates as the rhetorical incompatibility between the deliberative, scientifically grounded public health experts and the intuitive, emotion-driven mental heuristics of the non-compliant. This study examines the discourse of COVID-19 misinformation purveyors on broadcast media and online. Their main contentions rely on heuristics and biases that collectively not only undermine trust in particular medical experts, but also undercut trust in the institutions and reasoning processes of science itself. The findings suggest ways that public health campaigns can become more effective by leveraging some of the intuitive drivers of attitudes and behaviors that scientists and argumentation theorists routinely dismiss as fallacious.


Author(s):  
Sydne DiGiacomo ◽  
Mohammad-Ali Jazayeri ◽  
Rajat Barua ◽  
John Ambrose

Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and its sequelae are among the largest economic and healthcare burdens in the United States and worldwide. The relationship between active smoking and atherosclerosis is well-described in the literature. However, the specific mechanisms by which ETS influences atherosclerosis are incompletely understood. In this paper, we highlight the definition and chemical constituents of ETS, review the existing literature outlining the effects of ETS on atherogenesis and thrombosis in both animal and human models, and briefly outline the public health implications of ETS based on these data.


2014 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 110-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
James G. Hodge ◽  
Leila Barraza ◽  
Susan Russo ◽  
Kellie Nelson ◽  
Greg Measer

Obesity is the definitive epidemic of the modern era in the United States. Its well-documented public health impacts, especially related to children and adolescents, are horrific. Nearly one-third of American minors are overweight; over 50% of them are obese. Already, these kids suffer from multiple adverse physical and mental health conditions. Sadly, absent serious communal and individual interventions, their lives may be cut short compared to their own parents’ life expectancy. While recent surveillance suggests childhood obesity may be trending down slightly in some populations, public health experts remain concerned about the threat obesity poses to the health of America's youth.The concurrent travesty underlying childhood obesity is the relative societal failure to slow and reverse its spread.


2020 ◽  
pp. 194855062096723
Author(s):  
Alex C. Huynh ◽  
Igor Grossmann

We investigate the relationship between ethnic diversity and the rise of individualism in the United States during the 20th and 21st centuries. Tests of the historical rates of ethnic diversity alongside individualistic relational structures (e.g., adults living alone, single-/multi-child families) from the years 1950 to 2018 reveal that societal and regional rates of ethnic diversity accompanied individualistic relational structures. These effects hold above and beyond time-series trends in each variable. Further evidence from experimental studies ( N = 707) suggests that the presence of, and contact with, ethnically diverse others contributes to greater individualistic values (e.g., the importance of uniqueness and personal achievement). Converging evidence across societal-, regional-, and individual-level analyses suggests a systematic link between ethnic diversity and individualism. We discuss the implications of these findings for sociocultural livelihood in light of the rising rates of ethnic diversity across the globe.


2021 ◽  
pp. 136787792199745
Author(s):  
Mark Andrejevic ◽  
Hugh Davies ◽  
Ruth DeSouza ◽  
Larissa Hjorth ◽  
Ingrid Richardson

In this article we explore preliminary findings from the study COVIDSafe and Beyond: Perceptions and Practices conducted in Australia in 2020. The study involved a survey followed by interviews, and aimed to capture the dynamic ways in which members of the Australian public perceive the impact of Covid practices – especially public health measures like the introduction of physical and social distancing, compulsory mask wearing, and contact tracing. In the rescripting of public space, different notions of formal and informal surveillance, along with different textures of mediated and social care, appeared. In this article, we explore perceptions around divergent forms of surveillance across social, technological, governmental modes, and the relationship of surveillance to care in our media and cultural practices. What does it mean to care for self and others during a pandemic? How does care get enacted in, and through, media interfaces and public interaction?


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