OBJECTIVES: To understand COVID-19 worries and how they influence COVID-19 mitigation behaviours, especially in communities prior to case surges, in Nepal. METHODS: Data related to COVID-19 impacts on life disruptions were collected from households in the Chitwan Valley Family Study, a 25-year community panel study, during February-April 2021. COVID-19 worry was measured by the extent of respondent concern for themselves or household members getting COVID-19 in the prior 2 weeks. 11 items examined COVID-19 mitigation behaviours. Logistic regression models assessed associations between socio-demographic characteristics and COVID-19 worry and then the influence of worry on any mitigation behaviour and behaviour type adjusting for age, education, sex, ethnicity and COVID-19 exposure, accounting for neighbourhood clustering. RESULTS: Of 2,678 households with a responding adult, ages 18-88, 394 (14.7%) reported moderate-to-extreme COVID-19 worry and 1,214 (45.3%) engaged in three or more mitigation behaviours. Prevalence of mitigation behaviours was higher among those with COVID-19 worry (e.g. avoided crowds: 62.7% versus 40.5% in those with minimal worry). Respondents self-reporting COVID-19 had higher odds of worry (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 2.73, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.13, 6.57). Odds of any mitigation behaviour were higher among those with COVID-19 worry compared to those with minimal worry (aOR: 6.19, 95% CI = 1.88, 20.35). CONCLUSIONS: COVID-19 mitigation behaviours were more common in people with COVID-19 worry. To address current and potential future waves of the pandemic, public health efforts should include informational campaigns about mitigation behaviours particularly for those unconcerned with COVID-19 risks.
OBJECTIVES: To understand COVID-19 worries and how they influence COVID-19 mitigation behaviours, especially in communities prior to case surges, in Nepal. METHODS: Data related to COVID-19 impacts on life disruptions were collected from households in the Chitwan Valley Family Study, a 25-year community panel study, during February-April 2021. COVID-19 worry was measured by the extent of respondent concern for themselves or household members getting COVID-19 in the prior 2 weeks. 11 items examined COVID-19 mitigation behaviours. Logistic regression models assessed associations between socio-demographic characteristics and COVID-19 worry and then the influence of worry on any mitigation behaviour and behaviour type adjusting for age, education, sex, ethnicity and COVID-19 exposure, accounting for neighbourhood clustering. RESULTS: Of 2,678 households with a responding adult, ages 18-88, 394 (14.7%) reported moderate-to-extreme COVID-19 worry and 1,214 (45.3%) engaged in three or more mitigation behaviours. Prevalence of mitigation behaviours was higher among those with COVID-19 worry (e.g. avoided crowds: 62.7% versus 40.5% in those with minimal worry). Respondents self-reporting COVID-19 had higher odds of worry (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 2.73, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.13, 6.57). Odds of any mitigation behaviour were higher among those with COVID-19 worry compared to those with minimal worry (aOR: 6.19, 95% CI = 1.88, 20.35). CONCLUSIONS: COVID-19 mitigation behaviours were more common in people with COVID-19 worry. To address current and potential future waves of the pandemic, public health efforts should include informational campaigns about mitigation behaviours particularly for those unconcerned with COVID-19 risks.
Authors: Jeremy Howard; Austin Huang; Zhiyuan Li; Zeynep Tufekci; Vladimir Zdimal; Helene-Mari van der Westhuizen; Arne von Delft; Amy Price; Lex Fridman; Lei-Han Tang; Viola Tang; Gregory L Watson; Christina E Bax; Reshama Shaikh; Frederik Questier; Danny Hernandez; Larry F Chu; Christina M Ramirez; Anne W Rimoin Journal: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A Date: 2021-01-26 Impact factor: 12.779
Authors: Nicholas W Papageorge; Matthew V Zahn; Michèle Belot; Eline van den Broek-Altenburg; Syngjoo Choi; Julian C Jamison; Egon Tripodi Journal: J Popul Econ Date: 2021-01-14
Authors: Dian Kusuma; Rajendra Pradeepa; Khadija I Khawaja; Mehedi Hasan; Samreen Siddiqui; Sara Mahmood; Syed Mohsin Ali Shah; Chamini K De Silva; Laksara de Silva; Manoja Gamage; Menka Loomba; Vindya P Rajakaruna; Abu Am Hanif; Rajan Babu Kamalesh; Balachandran Kumarendran; Marie Loh; Archa Misra; Asma Tassawar; Akansha Tyagi; Swati Waghdhare; Saira Burney; Sajjad Ahmad; Viswanathan Mohan; Malabika Sarker; Ian Y Goon; Anuradhani Kasturiratne; Jaspal S Kooner; Prasad Katulanda; Sujeet Jha; Ranjit Mohan Anjana; Malay K Mridha; Franco Sassi; John C Chambers Journal: SSM Popul Health Date: 2021-02-13