Gender Differences in Health Protective Behaviors During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Taiwan: An Empirical Study

Abstract

Introduction Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection produces more severe symptoms and a higher mortality in men than in women. The role of biological sex in the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 is believed to explain this sex disparity. However, the contribution of gender factors that influence health protective behaviors and therefore health outcomes, remains poorly explored. Methods We assessed the contributions of gender in attitudes towards the COVID-19 pandemic, using a hypothetical influenza pandemic data from the 2014 Taiwan Social Change Survey. Participants were selected through a stratified, three-stage probability proportional-to-size sampling from across the nation, to fill in questionnaires that asked about their perception of the hypothetical pandemic, and intention to adopt health protective behaviors. Results A total of 1,990 participants (median age 45.92 years, 49% women) were included. Significant gender disparities (p<0.001) were observed. The risk perception of pandemic (OR=1.28, 95% CI=1.21-1.35, p<0.001), older age (1.06, 95%=1.05-1.07, p<0.001), female gender (OR = 1.18, 95% CI = 1.09‐1.27, p<0.001), higher education (OR=1.10, 95% CI=1.06-1.13, p<0.001), and larger family size (OR=1.09, 95% CI=1.06-1.15, p<0.001) were positively associated with health protective behaviors. The risk perception of pandemic (OR=1.25, 95% CI=1.15-1.36), higher education (OR=1.07, 95% CI=1.02-1.13, p<0.05), being married (OR=1.17, 95% CI=1.01-1.36, p<0.05), and larger family size (OR=1.33, 95% CI=1.25-1.42, p<0.001), were positively associated with intention to receive a vaccine. However, female gender was negatively associated with intention to receive a vaccine (OR=0.85, 95% CI=0.75-0.90, p<0.01) and to comply with contact-tracing (OR=0.95, 95% CI=0.90-1.00, p<0.05) compared to men. Living with children was also negatively associated with intention to receive vaccines (OR=0.77, 95% CI=0.66-0.90, p<0.001). Conclusion This study unveils gender differences in risk perception, health protective behaviors, vaccine hesitancy, and compliance with contact-tracing using a hypothetical viral pandemic. Gender-specific health education raising awareness of health protective behaviors may be beneficial to prevent future pandemics.

Factors Affecting Health Care Professionals’ Adherence to COVID-19 Precautionary Measures

“…Unlike a few previous studies that showed females having better preventive behavior, 27 , 28 we did not find any difference between males and females in this regard.…”

Construction and Validation of a Brief Pandemic Fatigue Scale in the Context of the Coronavirus-19 Public Health Crisis

“…Thus, the feeling of exhaustion suffered by women leaves them with a similar general boredom and demotivation regarding COVID-19-related information overload as with men; nevertheless, these feelings of pandemic exhaustion and the chronic nature of strict prevention measures leave men with higher demotivation to follow the PB than for women. These results are congruent with previous studies that women adopt more PB related to COVID-19 prevention [22][23][24], and thus they support the external validity of the PFS. This gender difference in the COVID-19 PB could be explained by the differential socialization experienced by men and women, in which women are usually socialized to be more self-protection oriented [25] and more obedient and disciplined [34].…”

“…Thus, analyzing the differential gender impact on psychological adjustment to the pandemic situation seems to be essential, as is studying the gender differences in PF in the face of the different phases of the pandemic. Other studies have found that women usually adopt more PB oriented to preventing SARS-CoV-2 transmission [22][23][24], probably because women usually assign more relevance to health issues than do men [25]. In this sense, we expect that women will present lower levels of the neglect dimension of PF.…”

So Far, So Close: Identification with Proximal and Distal Groups as a Resource in Dealing with the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Women experienced higher levels of negative emotions and showed higher levels of concern about their social life and the economy compared to men. In alignment with the recent literature (e.g., [ 57 ]), women also showed higher compliance with containment rules and greater engagement in online actions and prosocial behaviors than men.…”