Face Mask Use and Physical Distancing before and after Mandatory Masking: No Evidence on Risk Compensation in Public Waiting Lines

IntroductionConcerns have been raised about the potential for risk compensation in the context of mask mandates for mitigating the spread of COVID-19. However, the debate about the presence or absence of risk compensation for universal mandatory mask-wearing rules—especially in the context of COVID-19—is not settled yet.MethodsMobility is used as a proxy for risky behaviour before and after the mask mandates. Two sets of regressions are estimated to decipher (any) risk-compensating effect of mask mandate in Bangladesh. These include: (1) intervention regression analysis of daily activities at six types of locations, using pre-mask-mandate and post-mandate data; and (2) multiple regression analysis of daily new COVID-19 cases on daily mobility (lagged) to establish mobility as a valid proxy.Results(1) Statistically, mobility increased at all five non-residential locations, while home stays decreased after the mask mandate was issued; (2) daily mobility had a statistically significant association on daily new cases (with around 10 days of lag). Both significances were calculated at 95% confidence level.ConclusionCommunity mobility had increased (and stay at home decreased) after the mandatory mask-wearing rule, and given mobility is associated with increases in new COVID-19 cases, there is evidence of risk compensation effect of the mask mandate—at least partially—in Bangladesh.

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Face Mask Use and Physical Distancing before and after Mandatory Masking: Evidence from Public Waiting Lines

SSRN Electronic Journal ◽

10.2139/ssrn.3641367 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Gyula Seres ◽

Anna Helen Balleyer ◽

Nicola Cerutti ◽

Jana Friedrichsen ◽

Müge Süer

Keyword(s):

Face Mask ◽

Before And After ◽

Waiting Lines

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Risk compensation and face mask mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-82574-w ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Youpei Yan ◽

Jude Bayham ◽

Aaron Richter ◽

Eli P. Fenichel

Keyword(s):

Face Mask ◽

Risk Compensation ◽

Smart Device ◽

Protective Behavior ◽

Natural Experiments ◽

Public Places ◽

Location Data ◽

Compensation Behavior ◽

Before And After ◽

At Home

AbstractFace masks are an important component in controlling COVID-19, and policy orders to wear masks are common. However, behavioral responses are seldom additive, and exchanging one protective behavior for another could undermine the COVID-19 policy response. We use SafeGraph smart device location data and variation in the date that US states and counties issued face mask mandates as a set of natural experiments to investigate risk compensation behavior. We compare time at home and the number of visits to public locations before and after face mask orders conditional on multiple statistical controls. We find that face mask orders lead to risk compensation behavior. Americans subject to the mask orders spend 11–24 fewer minutes at home on average and increase visits to some commercial locations—most notably restaurants, which are a high-risk location. It is unclear if this would lead to a net increase or decrease in transmission. However, it is clear that mask orders would be an important part of an economic recovery if people otherwise overestimate the risk of visiting public places.

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Face Mask Use Conditionally Decreases Compliance With Physical Distancing Rules Against COVID-19: Gender Differences in Risk Compensation Pattern

Annals of Behavioral Medicine ◽

10.1093/abm/kaab072 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Martin Aranguren

Keyword(s):

Social Status ◽

Face Mask ◽

Risk Compensation ◽

High Status ◽

Compensatory Behavior ◽

Traffic Lights ◽

Time Period ◽

The Face ◽

The One ◽

Lower Adherence

Abstract Background In the context of the COVID-19 emergency, the concern has been raised that people may compensate the reduction in risk ensured by mask use with an increase in risk induced by lower adherence to physical distancing rules. Purpose The paper investigates if people compensate risk in this manner when their interaction partner wears a face mask, examining if risk compensation further depends on gender, signaled social status and perceived race. Methods An experiment was conducted in two waves (June, n = 1396 and September 2020, n = 1326) in front of the traffic lights of four busy roads in Paris. A confederate asked a randomly selected pedestrian for directions following a script and keeping the recommended distance. Confederates were locally recognizable as Blacks or Whites and alternatively presented themselves with a costume indicative of high or low social status. An observer recorded whether the pedestrian kept the recommended distance. Results Both in June and September, men are less likely to comply with the distancing rule when the confederate wears the face mask, and particularly so when the confederate signals high status. When the confederate wears the mask, female pedestrians observe less the one-meter rule in September than in June. Conclusions Men’s risk compensatory behavior is constant over time. In contrast, women’s depends on the time period.

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The impact of a heat and moisture exchange mask on respiratory symptoms and airway response to exercise in asthma

ERJ Open Research ◽

10.1183/23120541.00271-2019 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

pp. 00271-2019

Author(s):

Anna R. Jackson ◽

J.H. Hull ◽

James G. Hopker ◽

Hannah Fletcher ◽

William Gowers ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Repeated Measures ◽

Respiratory Symptoms ◽

Face Mask ◽

Forced Expiratory Volume ◽

Peak Power Output ◽

Post Exercise ◽

Before And After ◽

Exercise Induced ◽

Heat And Moisture ◽

The Impact

Respiratory symptoms, including cough, are prevalent in individuals with asthma when exercising. This study investigates whether a heat and moisture exchanger (HME) face mask is effective in modulating exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) and post-exercise cough in a cold, dry environment in individuals with asthma.Twenty-six participants diagnosed with asthma (20 males, 6 females) completed three cycling exercise challenges at 8°C and 24% relative humidity in a randomised order. Participants wore either an HME mask (MASK), sham mask (SHAM), or no mask (CONT). Following a 3-min warm-up, participants completed 6-min cycling at 80% peak power output. Before and after exercise, maximal flow-volume loops were recorded. Post-exercise cough was monitored with a Leicester Cough Monitor (LCM) for 24 h. Results were analysed using repeated-measures ANOVA and Friedman's tests and data were presented as the mean±sd or median (interquartile range (IQR)).Eleven participants failed to demonstrate EIB (i.e. >10% fall in forced expiratory volume in 1 s after exercise) and were removed from analysis. The percentage fall in forced expiratory volume in 1 s following exercise in CONT was greater than MASK (MASK: −6% (7%), SHAM: −11% (11%), CONT: −13% (9%); p<0.01). No difference was found between exercise in cough count per hour over the 24-h monitoring period or the number of coughs in the first hour after exercise.HME masks can attenuate EIB when exercising in cold, dry environments. The SHAM mask may not have been entirely inert, demonstrating the challenges of running randomised control trials utilising control and sham conditions.

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Bacterial contamination of the surgical mask and forehead in aerosol-producing conservative-preventive dental treatment

10.21203/rs.3.rs-365600/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Madline Gund ◽

Gabor Boros ◽

Matthias Hannig ◽

Sigrid Thieme-Ruffing ◽

Barbara Gärtner ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bacterial Contamination ◽

Dental Treatment ◽

Face Mask ◽

Oral Bacteria ◽

Dental Practitioners ◽

Skin Flora ◽

Before And After ◽

Preventive Dental ◽

Skin Samples ◽

Dental Professionals

Abstract Background Microbial contamination of dental professionals’ facial protective equipment and skin from aerosols and droplets generated during dental treatment has not been studied in all aspects so far. Our aim was therefore to investigate and compare treatment-related bacterial contamination of the forehead skin and surgical mask of dental practitioners. Methods We analyzed samples from 67 consecutive aerosol-producing conservative-preventive dental treatments. Sterile nylon swabs were used to collect samples from the forehead skin before and after performing treatment. Contact samples were obtained from the used surgical face masks. Samples were cultivated on agar under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Bacteria were classified by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. The frequency of detection of obligate and facultative oral bacteria, as well as an increase in bacterial abundance, were examined (bacterial scoring: 0: no growth on agar; 1: <102 colonies; 2: >102 colonies; 3: dense bacterial growth). Results Bacteria were detected in 95% of the skin swabs and 76% of mask samples. Median bacterial scores were 2 for the forehead skin samples before and after treatment, and 1 for samples obtained from masks. Obligate and facultative oral bacteria were more frequent (6% and 30%) in samples from forehead skin after treatment. Samples taken from the forehead skin after treatment showed increased scores for these bacteria (28%). Five percent of samples were positive for methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA). Obligate anaerobes were present in 3% of samples. Conclusions Although exposed during treatment, the forehead skin was significantly less contaminated with obligate oral bacteria than expected based on the surgical face mask findings. Forehead skin samples showed an increase in bacteria in the after treatment, which can be attributed to aerosol-producing procedures. We hypothesize that the forehead’s physiological skin flora may offer some protection against contamination with other microorganisms.

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INFLUENCE OF GROWTH IN TREATED CLASS III GROWING PATIENTS WITH FACE MASK THERAPY AND UNTREATED PATIENTS

Knowledge International Journal ◽

10.35120/kij3104883c ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 31 (4) ◽

pp. 883-888

Author(s):

Sofija Carceva Shalja ◽

Sandra Atanasova

Keyword(s):

Negative Impact ◽

Face Mask ◽

Treated Group ◽

Control Group ◽

Class Iii ◽

Class Iii Malocclusion ◽

Maxillary Protraction ◽

Before And After ◽

Maxillary Deficiency ◽

Observation Period

Developing Class III Malocclusion in most of the cases affects dentofacial appearance. The goal of this study is to investigate the changes in the facial appearances in treated patients withFace mask orthopedic treatment and untreated Class III patients. The sample consisted 49 patients (boys and girls),with average age of 9 years, who had a Class III Malocclusion with an anterior crossbite and a component of maxillary deficiency. 28 of them were treated with protraction Face mask- Delair mask (petit tipe), and the other 21 were presenting the control group consisted of untreated Class III Patients.In treated group pretreatment and posttreatment cephalometric radiographs from 28 patients(15 males and 13 females) were analyzed and compared with the results of cephalometric analyzes in untreated group(observation period of 1 year). Results from these study showed forward displacement of maxilla(SNA p<0.05),increasing of maxillary length(Co-A p<0.05)correction of maxillary-mandibular relationship(ANB p<0.05) in treated group while in untreated groupvalues for the parameters in the upper jaw and inter jaw relationship before and after the observation period of 1 yearshowed no statistically significant changes pointing to the negative impact of incorrect skeletal terms in Class III growing patients.Based on our findings we can concluded that in Class III patients there is a big motivation for orthodontic treatment because their dentofacial appearance deviates from sociocultural norms.Therefore, an important objective of accepting maxillary protraction treatment in Class III malocclusion is providing nonsurgical alternative in the treatment and improving the physico-social wellbeing and appearance of the patients, especially during their teenage years.

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Supplemental Material for Risk Compensation During COVID-19: The Impact of Face Mask Usage on Social Distancing

Journal of Experimental Psychology Applied ◽

10.1037/xap0000382.supp ◽

2021 ◽

Keyword(s):

Face Mask ◽

Risk Compensation ◽

Social Distancing ◽

The Impact

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Does the introduction of a mandatory policy on face mask use elicit risk-compensation? Evidence from Denmark during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic using an instrumental variable approach

10.31234/osf.io/2aycn ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Frederik Juhl Jørgensen ◽

Marie Fly Lindholt ◽

Alexander Bor ◽

Michael Bang Petersen

Keyword(s):

Public Transportation ◽

Instrumental Variable ◽

Face Mask ◽

Risk Compensation ◽

Variable Approach ◽

Compensation Methods ◽

Additional Protection ◽

Nationally Representative ◽

Mandatory Policy ◽

Instrumental Variable Approach

Background: Public use of face masks has been widely adopted to halter the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic but a key concern has been whether the effectiveness of face mask use is limited due to elicitation of false feelings of security that decrease the observance of other protective behaviors, so-called risk-compensation. Methods: We take an instrumental variable approach to assess whether public use of face masks elicit risk-compensation by decreasing attention to distancing and hygiene. In particular, we use the onset of a mandatory policy to wear face masks in public transportation in Denmark as an instrument for actual face mask use in daily nationally representative surveys (N = 32,504). Findings: The use of face mask does not influence people's attention to hygiene or the number of close contacts but does decrease people's attention to distancing and, specifically, their attention to avoiding places and activities involving many people.Interpretations: Face masks elicit a narrow form of risk-compensation such that people are more likely to seek out those specific settings in which face masks offer additional protection. To increase the effectiveness of face masks, the onset of mandatory face mask policies should be combined with clear health communication to counter this form of risk-compensation. Funding: This research was funded by the Carlsberg Foundation.

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