scholarly journals Lockdown impact on age-specific contact patterns and behaviours, France, April 2020

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (48) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo Bosetti ◽  
Bich-Tram Huynh ◽  
Armiya Youssouf Abdou ◽  
Marie Sanchez ◽  
Catherine Eisenhauer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Online Survey ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Professional Activity ◽  
Population Mixing ◽  
Epidemic Dynamics ◽  
Contact Patterns ◽  
Rapid Spread ◽  
Specific Contact ◽  
Transmission Reduction ◽  
The Impact

Background Many countries implemented national lockdowns to contain the rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2 and avoid overburdening healthcare capacity. Aim We aimed to quantify how the French lockdown impacted population mixing, contact patterns and behaviours. Methods We conducted an online survey using convenience sampling and collected information from participants aged 18 years and older between 10 April and 28 April 2020. Result Among the 42,036 survey participants, 72% normally worked outside their home, and of these, 68% changed to telework during lockdown and 17% reported being unemployed during lockdown. A decrease in public transport use was reported from 37% to 2%. Participants reported increased frequency of hand washing and changes in greeting behaviour. Wearing masks in public was generally limited. A total of 138,934 contacts were reported, with an average of 3.3 contacts per individual per day; 1.7 in the participants aged 65 years and older compared with 3.6 for younger age groups. This represented a 70% reduction compared with previous surveys, consistent with SARS-CoV2 transmission reduction measured during the lockdown. For those who maintained a professional activity outside home, the frequency of contacts at work dropped by 79%. Conclusion The lockdown affected the population's behaviour, work, risk perception and contact patterns. The frequency and heterogeneity of contacts, both of which are critical factors in determining how viruses spread, were affected. Such surveys are essential to evaluate the impact of lockdowns more accurately and anticipate epidemic dynamics in these conditions.

scholarly journals Lockdown impact on age-specific contact patterns and behaviours in France

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo Bosetti ◽  
Bich-Tram Huynh ◽  
Armiya Youssouf Abdou ◽  
Marie Sanchez ◽  
Catherine Eisenhauer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Online Survey ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Social Contact ◽  
First Trimester ◽  
Professional Activity ◽  
Epidemic Dynamics ◽  
Contact Patterns ◽  
Specific Contact ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The Impact

AbstractIn the first trimester 2020, a significant number of countries implemented general lockdowns of their populations to contain the quickly expanding SARS-CoV-2 epidemic and avoid major saturation of health care capacity. Understanding how these unprecedented measures impacted population behaviour and contact patterns is key to predict more accurately the health, social and economic impacts of such extreme actions if they were to be applied to future outbreaks. We set up an online survey to measure how the lockdown affected social contact patterns in France, and collected information from 42,036 participants aged 18 years and over between April 10 and April 28, 2020. Among the participants who normally worked outside home prior to the lockdown (72% of the survey population), 68% reported that they had moved to working from home and 17% reported being unemployed during the lockdown.Only 2% of participants used public transport during lockdown, as opposed to 37% before it. Participants reported increased frequency of washing hands, switch in greeting behaviour, but generally limited use of masks outside home. 138,934 contacts were reported, with an average 3.3 contacts per individual per day (1.7 for individuals aged >65 years old compared to 3.6 for younger age-groups). This represented a 70% reduction compared with previous surveys, consistent with reductions in transmission rates measured during the lockdown. Contacts in workplaces, shops, and transports on the previous day were respectively reported in only 11%, 31% and 0.5% of the participants. For those who maintained a professional activity outside home, the frequency of contacts at work dropped by 79%. This study shows that the lockdown dramatically affected population’s behavior, work, risk perception and contact patterns. Both frequency and heterogeneity of contacts were affected, impacting potential important features of virus dissemination. Such surveys are essential to evaluate more accurately the impact of past or future lockdowns and anticipate epidemic dynamics in these conditions.

scholarly journals Analysing the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on everyday travel behaviour in Germany and potential implications for future travel patterns

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Viktoriya Kolarova ◽  
Christine Eisenmann ◽  
Claudia Nobis ◽  
Christian Winkler ◽  
Barbara Lenz
Keyword(s):  
Public Transport ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Adult Population ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Travel Behaviour ◽  
German Population ◽  
Travel Patterns ◽  
Home Office ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Introduction The global Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is having a great impact on all areas of the everyday life, including travel behaviour. Various measures that focus on restricting social contacts have been implemented in order to reduce the spread of the virus. Understanding how daily activities and travel behaviour change during such global crisis and the reasons behind is crucial for developing suitable strategies for similar future events and analysing potential mid- and long-term impacts. Methods In order to provide empirical insights into changes in travel behaviour during the first Coronavirus-related lockdown in 2020 for Germany, an online survey with a relative representative sample for the German population was conducted a week after the start of the nationwide contact ban. The data was analysed performing descriptive and inferential statistical analyses. Results and Discussion The results suggest in general an increase in car use and decrease in public transport use as well as more negative perception of public transport as a transport alternative during the pandemic. Regarding activity-related travel patterns, the findings show firstly, that the majority of people go less frequent shopping; simultaneously, an increase in online shopping can be seen and characteristics of this group were analysed. Secondly, half of the adult population still left their home for leisure or to run errands; young adults were more active than all other age groups. Thirdly, the majority of the working population still went to work; one out of four people worked in home-office. Lastly, potential implications for travel behaviour and activity patterns as well as policy measures are discussed.

scholarly journals Relaxing lockdown measures in epidemic outbreaks using selective socio-economic containment with uncertainty

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giacomo Albi ◽  
Lorenzo Pareschi ◽  
Mattia Zanella
Keyword(s):  
Uncertain Data ◽  
The United States ◽  
Difficult Problem ◽  
Feedback Controls ◽  
Contact Patterns ◽  
Specific Contact ◽  
Containment Measures ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Impact

After an initial phase characterized by the introduction of timely and drastic containment measures aimed at stopping the epidemic contagion from SARS-CoV2, many governments are preparing to relax such measures in the face of a severe economic crisis caused by lockdowns. Assessing the impact of such openings in relation to the risk of a resumption of the spread of the disease is an extremely difficult problem due to the many unknowns concerning the actual number of people infected, the actual reproduction number and infection fatality rate of the disease. In this work, starting from a compartmental model with a social structure, we derive models with multiple feedback controls depending on the social activities that allow to assess the impact of a selective relaxation of the containment measures in the presence of uncertain data. Specific contact patterns in the home, work, school and other locations for all countries considered have been used. Results from different scenarios in some of the major countries where the epidemic is ongoing, including Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States, are presented and discussed.

scholarly journals Smart Home Adoption: The Impact of User Characteristics and Differences in Perception of Benefits

Buildings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 393
Author(s):  
Soojung Chang ◽  
Kyeongsook Nam
Keyword(s):  
Smart Home ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Environmental Control ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Smart Homes ◽  
User Characteristics ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Home Service ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Impact

Despite the various benefits offered by smart homes, they have not yet been widely adopted by mainstream users. This study was designed to identify user perceptions in the association between smart home service preference and adoption and to identify factors affecting the adoption and service preferences of smart homes. In order to achieve the goal of the study, an online survey was conducted among 400 potential users in the Republic of Korea. The main findings are as follows: First, there were considerable needs for the services that can support the independent lives of residents, such as safety and convenience services, among all age groups. Second, the study findings suggested that those who preferred environmental control service most were more likely to become relatively active adopters. Third, a significant association between the preference for smart home services and the intention to use was identified. Finally, the study findings suggested that the number of service preferences and adoption was not directly proportional. The findings reported in this study can improve the overall understanding of the process of adopting smart homes, and can provide important insights into user-centered strategies to promote the adoption of smart home services.

scholarly journals Contact surveys reveal heterogeneities in age-group contributions to SARS-CoV-2 dynamics in the United States

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taylor Chin ◽  
Dennis M. Feehan ◽  
Caroline O. Buckee ◽  
Ayesha S. Mahmud
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
The United States ◽  
Contact Rate ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Contact Rates ◽  
Contact Patterns ◽  
Age Structured ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Over Time

SARS-CoV-2 is spread primarily through person-to-person contacts. Quantifying population contact rates is important for understanding the impact of physical distancing policies and for modeling COVID-19, but contact patterns have changed substantially over time due to shifting policies and behaviors. There are surprisingly few empirical estimates of age-structured contact rates in the United States both before and throughout the COVID-19 pandemic that capture these changes. Here, we use data from six waves of the Berkeley Interpersonal Contact Survey (BICS), which collected detailed contact data between March 22, 2020 and February 15, 2021 across six metropolitan designated market areas (DMA) in the United States. Contact rates were low across all six DMAs at the start of the pandemic. We find steady increases in the mean and median number of contacts across these localities over time, as well as a greater proportion of respondents reporting a high number of contacts. We also find that young adults between ages 18 and 34 reported more contacts on average compared to other age groups. The 65 and older age group consistently reported low levels of contact throughout the study period. To understand the impact of these changing contact patterns, we simulate COVID-19 dynamics in each DMA using an age-structured mechanistic model. We compare results from models that use BICS contact rate estimates versus commonly used alternative contact rate sources. We find that simulations parameterized with BICS estimates give insight into time-varying changes in relative incidence by age group that are not captured in the absence of these frequently updated estimates. We also find that simulation results based on BICS estimates closely match observed data on the age distribution of cases, and changes in these distributions over time. Together these findings highlight the role of different age groups in driving and sustaining SARS-CoV-2 transmission in the U.S. We also show the utility of repeated contact surveys in revealing heterogeneities in the epidemiology of COVID-19 across localities in the United States.

scholarly journals Before and After the Pandemic: Alcohol Consumption and Related Problems in Argentina

2021 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. e1444
Author(s):  
Karina Conde ◽  
Paula Victoria Gimenez ◽  
Tomás Salomón ◽  
Raquel Inés Peltzer ◽  
Sebastián Laspiur ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Heavy Episodic Drinking ◽  
Alcoholic Beverages ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Impact ◽  
New Evidence ◽  
Alcohol Related Problems

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and isolation measures on alcohol consumption remains unknown among Latin-American countries. This paper characterizes differences in alcohol consumption and related problems before and after the pandemic among Argentinians from different genders, age groups, income levels, and behaviors regarding the acquisition of alcoholic beverages. Through an online survey 1446 participants were assessed regarding four alcohol consumption dimensions (frequency, quantity, heavy episodic drinking -HED- and alcohol-related problems) three months prior and after the first cases in the country and subsequent lockdown measures. Overall, participants reported small reductions for usual consumption and moderate ones for HED and related problems. As expected, very high reductions were found for those underage (14 to 18 years), and young adults (19 to 24 years). Those who had an increase in income after the pandemic did not report changes in consumption, while those whose income remained equal or lowered reported reductions. Those who did not report special behaviors to acquire alcohol (e.g. pre-stocking) informed decreases in consumption compared to those who did. This study provides new evidence on the impact of environmental factors in public health, suggesting restricted access to alcohol generates a significant decrease in alcohol consumption and related problems.

scholarly journals Digital Proximity Tracing in the COVID-19 Pandemic on Empirical Contact Networks

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giulia Cencetti ◽  
Gabriele Santin ◽  
Antonio Longa ◽  
Emanuele Pigani ◽  
Alain Barrat ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Reproductive Number ◽  
Modeling Framework ◽  
Effective Measure ◽  
Epidemic Dynamics ◽  
Contact Patterns ◽  
Contact Data ◽  
High Level ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Digital contact tracing is increasingly considered as a tool to control infectious disease outbreaks. As part of a broader test, trace, isolate, and quarantine strategy, digital contract tracing apps have been proposed to alleviate lock-downs, and to return societies to a more normal situation in the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Early work evaluating digital contact tracing did not consider important features and heterogeneities present in real-world contact patterns which impact epidemic dynamics. Here, we fill this gap by considering a modeling framework informed by empirical high-resolution contact data to analyze the impact of digital contact tracing apps in the COVID-19 pandemic. We investigate how well contact tracing apps, coupled with the quarantine of identified contacts, can mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in realistic scenarios such as a university campus, a workplace, or a high school. We find that restrictive policies are more effective in confining the epidemics but come at the cost of quarantining a large part of the population. It is possible to avoid this effect by considering less strict policies, which only consider contacts with longer exposure and at shorter distance to be at risk. Our results also show that isolation and tracing can help keep re-emerging outbreaks under control provided that hygiene and social distancing measures limit the reproductive number to 1.5. Moreover, we confirm that a high level of app adoption is crucial to make digital contact tracing an effective measure. Our results may inform app-based contact tracing efforts currently being implemented across several countries worldwide.

scholarly journals The Impact of Age on Mobile Technology Use During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 1026-1026
Author(s):  
Yi Lin ◽  
Graham Rowles
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Technology ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
User Behavior ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
The United States ◽  
Human Contact ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Use Behavior ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic led to quarantines and mandatory spatial distancing; people of all ages were encouraged to use technologies instead of actual human contact as part of COVID-19 prevention. The promotion of mobile applications (apps) during the pandemic influenced mobile technology use behavior. This study explored age differences in mobile technology use during the COVID-19 pandemic. A pilot-tested survey was distributed using online survey software. Persons surveyed were 35 years of age or older, currently living in the United States of America with experience using mobile technology. Survey questions pertained to mobile technology use frequency and factors influencing the decision to use mobile technology. The nationwide response included 1212 individuals. The average age of participants is 56.12±12.26 years old (female: male = 1.24:1). Responses were categorized participants into three age groups, 35 to 49, 50 to 64, and 65 or older. Daily mobile technology use frequency increased significantly (p<0.01) for all groups during the COVID-19 pandemic, with participants 35 to 49 having a significantly higher (p<0.01) use frequency than other groups. Regarding factors influencing the decision to use mobile technology, 64.1% of respondents aged 50 to 64 identified the necessity of using this technology during the pandemic as a significant factor, and 64.0% of participants in age 65 or older reported that the availability of functions on mobile devices is critical. Overall, the COVID-19 pandemic led to a significant increase in mobile technology use with people in different age groups differentially valuing the factors that affected their user behavior.

Materialism and compulsive buying behaviour

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 1239-1258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debasis Pradhan ◽  
D. Israel ◽  
Amit Kumar Jena
Keyword(s):  
Credit Card ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Likelihood Estimation ◽  
Compulsive Buying ◽  
Measurement Model ◽  
Model Assessment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of materialism on credit card (CC) use and impulsive buying (IB) and compulsive buying (CB) behaviour. Furthermore, it assesses whether CC use and IB behaviour mediate the relationship between materialism and CB behaviour. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from adult consumers with CCs via an online survey. For model assessment, a two-step approach was followed. First, a measurement model was created and tested using maximum likelihood estimation and validity of the study constructs was assessed. This was followed by structural equation modelling to test the hypotheses. Findings Materialism influences CC use and increases the propensity for IB (IB), which then precipitates CB habits. Reduction in CC use can decrease both IB and CB. Out of the six hypotheses assessed, only the one linking CC use to CB was not supported, requiring further investigation. Mediation relationships were identified, where CC use and IB act as mediators between materialism and CB. Research limitations/implications The paper captured responses from adult consumers of India. Hence, the findings may not be generalised across geographies and age groups. The study contributes to the debate on the impulsive–CB paradigm by showing that impulsive and CB are not distinct constructs. In fact, the former could lead to the latter. Practical implications CC use in itself need not necessarily lead to CB. The only way CC could cause CB is through IB. Hence, firms must promote responsible buying habits, as there has been an increase in IB, which, if not controlled, could lead to debt trap resulting from CB. The findings of this paper will help both retailers and CC institutions to better understand the spending pattern of consumers. Those will also help the policymakers to chalk out ways to the curb indiscriminate issuance of CCs without educating users. Originality/value The findings confirm that IB and CB exist on two ends of a continuum, and not as two distinct theoretical constructs. IB acts as a mediator between CC use and CB as well as between materialism and CB.

Consumers impact on food quality under frozen conditions in Germany

2019 ◽  
Vol 122 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-47
Author(s):  
Beate Silvia Kölzer ◽  
Jasmin Geppert ◽  
Astrid Klingshirn ◽  
Harald Weber ◽  
Lilla Brugger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Online Survey ◽  
Consumer Behaviour ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Frozen Storage ◽  
Food Groups ◽  
Frozen Foods ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Frozen Food ◽  
The Impact

Purpose More than 50 per cent of all German households own a freezing appliance and so far the market of frozen foods is constantly increasing (1 per cent from 2017 to 2018). Despite frozen foods playing an important role in our everyday life, little is known about the consumer’s habits at home. The purpose of this paper is to uncover gaps in the knowledge about consumer behaviour when handling frozen food. Moreover, the impact of consumers on the quality of frozen products should be assessed. Design/methodology/approach A representative online survey was carried out to investigate different aspects of consumer behaviour concerning frozen foods. Respondents (n=2,053) were questioned about their general handling habits regarding eight different food groups: fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, bread, pastries, ready-to-eat meals and leftovers. The focus was on freezing, pre-handling, packaging and thawing – depending on the age of those questioned and combined with best practice advice regarding quality storage of frozen products. Findings Most Germans have the opportunity to freeze food and keep their freezers full or medium loaded. Older participants act more efficiently towards quality storage, but more education about freezing and frozen storage would be generally helpful to maintain quality of frozen foods and increase utilisation of freezers, using their full preservation potential. Research limitations/implications No open questions were asked due to the scope of more than 2,000 participants, which, in retrospect, would have been instructive. Originality/value Consumer handling of frozen food in Germany was investigated in a representative way for the first time, covering age groups from 18 to 69 and household sizes from 1 to >4 people, focussing on eight major food groups.

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