Using social and behavioural science to support COVID-19 pandemic response

Bavel, Jay Joseph Van; Baicker, Katherine; Boggio, Paulo S.; Capraro, Valerio; Cichocka, Aleksandra; Cikara, Mina; Crockett, Molly J.; Crum, Alia J.; Douglas, Karen M.; Druckman, James N.; Drury, John; Dube, Oeindrila; Ellemers, Naomi; Finkel, Eli J.; Fowler, James H.; Gelfand, Michele J.; Han, Shihui; Haslam, S. Alexander; Jetten, Jolanda; Kitayama, Shinobu; Mobbs, Dean; Napper, Lucy E.; Packer, Dominic J.; Pennycook, Gordon; Peters, Ellen; Petty, Richard E.; Rand, David G.; Reicher, Stephen; Schnall, Simone; Shariff, Azim; Skitka, Linda J.; Smith, Sandra Susan; Sunstein, Cass R.; Tabri, Nassim; Tucker, Joshua A.; Linden, Sander van der; Lange, Paul A. M. Van; Weeden, Kim A.; Wohl, Michael J. A.; Zaki, Jamil; Zion, Sean R.; Willer, Robb

doi:10.1038/s41562-020-0884-z

Cited by 4,110 publications

(4,192 citation statements)

References 236 publications

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“…Such health literacy is vital in the maintenance of public health, however, social determinants of health literacy can signi cantly disadvantage particular sections of the population (14) which can exacerbate existing health inequalities (15). Moreover, economic uncertainty and social isolation may increase anxiety and stress (15) and in the present study, stress was found to be a signi cant driver of hesitancy and misunderstanding of public health advice. Public health o cials need to be cognizant of the unintended consequences of the messages designed to inform the public as the pandemic progresses and during future public health emergencies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 52%

“…Nevertheless, even clear and coherent messaging around the importance of hand-washing and maintaining physical distancing, coupled with the perception of the risk of COVID-19, requires the ability to obtain, understand and use this information to make informed decisions (13). Such health literacy is vital in the maintenance of public health, however, social determinants of health literacy can signi cantly disadvantage particular sections of the population (14) which can exacerbate existing health inequalities (15). Moreover, economic uncertainty and social isolation may increase anxiety and stress (15) and in the present study, stress was found to be a signi cant driver of hesitancy and misunderstanding of public health advice.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Understanding the Impact of Public Health Advice on Paediatric Healthcare Use During COVID-19: A Cross-sectional Survey of Parents

Nicholson

McDonnell

Conlon

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Background Hospital avoidance during the COVID-19 pandemic has been reported with a significant decrease in attendance at emergency departments among paediatric populations with potential increased morbidity and mortality outcomes. The present study sought to understand parents’ experiences of healthcare during the initial public health stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods A cross-sectional survey of parents of children under the age of 16 (N = 1044). The survey collected demographic information to profile parents and children, capture relevant health information such as pre-existing conditions and/or chronic illness or disability, and health service usage during the pandemic. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests and regression analyses were used to determine the factors that influenced avoidance and hesitancy. Results23% of parents stated that they were much more hesitant to access health services upon implementation of the initial public health restrictions. Parents with a higher perception of risk of their children contracting COVID-19 (χ2 (3) =33.8618, p< 0.000), and stronger levels of concern regarding the effects of COVID-19 (χ2 (3) =23.9189, p< 0.000) were more likely to be hesitant. Stress also appeared to be a factor in hesitancy with higher than normal stress levels significantly associated with hesitancy (RRR= 2.31, CI: 1.54 - 3.47), while those with severe/extremely severe stress were over three times more likely to be hesitant (RRR:3.37, CI:1.81 - 6.27). Approximately one third of the sample required healthcare for their children during the public health restrictions to delay the spread of COVID-19, however, one in five of these parents avoided accessing such healthcare when needed. Of those that required healthcare, parents who avoided were more likely to report that the services were needed more by others (χ2 (1) 20.3470, p<0.000). Those who felt that the government advice was to stay away from health services were 1.7 times more likely to be much more hesitant (RRR:1.71, CI; 1.10 – 2.67).ConclusionThe misinterpretation of government public health advice, stress and the perception of risk each contributed to parental avoidance of or hesitancy to utilize healthcare services during the public health measures imposed to combat COVID-19.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 52%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding the Impact of Public Health Advice on Paediatric Healthcare Use During COVID-19: A Cross-sectional Survey of Parents

Nicholson

McDonnell

Conlon

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Unfortunately, there is a dearth of studies on this. There are some suggestions on how best to promote adherence to social distancing, for example 5 . While a considerable amount of research has been undertaken on hand-hygiene in certain settings [24][25][26] , generalisability to community settings is limited.…”

Section: Understanding Behaviour and How To Change Itmentioning

confidence: 99%

Applying principles of behaviour change to reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission

et al. 2020

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“…In mere months, this novel coronavirus unleashed a global pandemic of COVID-19. The spread of the coronavirus is reshaping social life, and social psychology is at the forefront of studying these changes (e.g., Everett, Colombatto, Chituc, Brady, & Crockett, 2020;Van Bavel et al, 2020). Essential to this research is understanding-and measuring (Flake, Pek, & Hehman, 2017)-how people perceive the threat of the virus.…”

Section: Measuring Realistic and Symbolic Threats Of Covid-19 And Thementioning

confidence: 99%

Measuring Realistic and Symbolic Threats of COVID-19 and their Unique Impacts on Wellbeing and Adherence to Public Health Behaviors

Kachanoff¹,

Bigman²,

Kapsaskis³

2020

Preprint

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COVID-19 threatens lives, livelihoods, and civic institutions. Although restrictive public health behaviors such as social distancing help manage its impact, these behaviors can further sever our connections to people and institutions that affirm our identities. Three studies (N=1,195) validated a brief 10-item COVID-19 threat scale that assesses 1) realistic threats to physical or financial safety, and 2) symbolic threats to one’s sociocultural identity. Studies reveal that both realistic and symbolic threat predict higher distress and lower wellbeing, and demonstrate convergent validity with other measures of threat sensitivity. Importantly, the two kinds of threat diverge in their relationship to restrictive public health behaviors: Realistic threat predicted greater self-reported adherence, whereas symbolic threat predicted less self-reported adherence to social-disconnection behaviors. Symbolic threat also predicted using creative ways to affirm identity even in isolation. Our findings highlight how social psychological theory can be leveraged to understand and predict people’s behavior in pandemics.

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Using social and behavioural science to support COVID-19 pandemic response

Cited by 4,110 publications

References 236 publications

Understanding the Impact of Public Health Advice on Paediatric Healthcare Use During COVID-19: A Cross-sectional Survey of Parents

Understanding the Impact of Public Health Advice on Paediatric Healthcare Use During COVID-19: A Cross-sectional Survey of Parents

Applying principles of behaviour change to reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission

Measuring Realistic and Symbolic Threats of COVID-19 and their Unique Impacts on Wellbeing and Adherence to Public Health Behaviors

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