The effects of policy changes and human mobility on the COVID-19 epidemic in the Dominican Republic, 2020–2021

Recent advances in technology can be leveraged to enhance public health research and practice. This study aimed to assess the effects of mobility and policy changes on COVID-19 case growth and the effects of policy changes on mobility using data from Google Mobility Reports, information on public he...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Patrick Maloney, Lyudmyla Kompaniyets, Hussain Yusuf, Luis Bonilla, Carmen Figueroa, Macarena Garcia
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2023-12-01
Series:Preventive Medicine Reports
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335523003509
Description
Summary:Recent advances in technology can be leveraged to enhance public health research and practice. This study aimed to assess the effects of mobility and policy changes on COVID-19 case growth and the effects of policy changes on mobility using data from Google Mobility Reports, information on public health policy, and COVID-19 testing results. Multiple bivariate regression analyses were conducted to address the study objectives. Policies designed to limit mobility led to decreases in mobility in public areas. These policies also decreased COVID-19 case growth. Conversely, policies that did not restrict mobility led to increases in mobility in public areas and led to increases in COVID-19 case growth. Mobility increases in public areas corresponded to increases in COVID-19 case growth, while concentration of mobility in residential areas corresponded to decreases in COVID-19 case growth. Overall, restrictive policies were effective in decreasing COVID-19 incidence in the Dominican Republic, while permissive policies led to increases in COVID-19 incidence.
ISSN:2211-3355