Human mobility variations in response to restriction policies during the COVID-19 pandemic: An analysis from the Virus Watch community cohort in England, UK
ObjectiveSince the outbreak of COVID-19, public health and social measures to contain its transmission (e.g., social distancing and lockdowns) have dramatically changed people's lives in rural and urban areas globally. To facilitate future management of the pandemic, it is important to understa...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Public Health |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.999521/full |
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| author | Tao Cheng Tongxin Chen Yunzhe Liu Robert W. Aldridge Vincent Nguyen Andrew C. Hayward Susan Michie |
| author_facet | Tao Cheng Tongxin Chen Yunzhe Liu Robert W. Aldridge Vincent Nguyen Andrew C. Hayward Susan Michie |
| author_sort | Tao Cheng |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ObjectiveSince the outbreak of COVID-19, public health and social measures to contain its transmission (e.g., social distancing and lockdowns) have dramatically changed people's lives in rural and urban areas globally. To facilitate future management of the pandemic, it is important to understand how different socio-demographic groups adhere to such demands. This study aims to evaluate the influences of restriction policies on human mobility variations associated with socio-demographic groups in England, UK.MethodsUsing mobile phone global positioning system (GPS) trajectory data, we measured variations in human mobility across socio-demographic groups during different restriction periods from Oct 14, 2020 to Sep 15, 2021. The six restriction periods which varied in degree of mobility restriction policies, denoted as “Three-tier Restriction,” “Second National Lockdown,” “Four-tier Restriction,” “Third National Lockdown,” “Steps out of Lockdown,” and “Post-restriction,” respectively. Individual human mobility was measured with respect to the time period people stayed at home, visited places outside the home, and traveled long distances. We compared these indicators across the six restriction periods and across socio-demographic groups.ResultsAll human mobility indicators significantly differed across the six restriction periods, and the influences of restriction policies on individual mobility behaviors are correlated with socio-demographic groups. In particular, influences relating to mobility behaviors are stronger in younger and low-income groups in the second and third national lockdowns.ConclusionsThis study enhances our understanding of the influences of COVID-19 pandemic restriction policies on human mobility behaviors within different social groups in England. The findings can be usefully extended to support policy-making by investigating human mobility and differences in policy effects across not only age and income groups, but also across geographical regions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T16:19:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3e532ba9e61740ada957bc49cec64250 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-2565 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T16:19:03Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-3e532ba9e61740ada957bc49cec642502022-12-22T03:25:38ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Public Health2296-25652022-10-011010.3389/fpubh.2022.999521999521Human mobility variations in response to restriction policies during the COVID-19 pandemic: An analysis from the Virus Watch community cohort in England, UKTao Cheng0Tongxin Chen1Yunzhe Liu2Robert W. Aldridge3Vincent Nguyen4Andrew C. Hayward5Susan Michie6SpaceTimeLab for Big Data Analytics, Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, University College London, London, United KingdomSpaceTimeLab for Big Data Analytics, Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, University College London, London, United KingdomSpaceTimeLab for Big Data Analytics, Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, University College London, London, United KingdomInstitute of Health Informatics, University College London, London, United KingdomInstitute of Health Informatics, University College London, London, United KingdomInstitute of Epidemiology and Health Care, University College London, London, United KingdomCentre for Behaviour Change, University College London, London, United KingdomObjectiveSince the outbreak of COVID-19, public health and social measures to contain its transmission (e.g., social distancing and lockdowns) have dramatically changed people's lives in rural and urban areas globally. To facilitate future management of the pandemic, it is important to understand how different socio-demographic groups adhere to such demands. This study aims to evaluate the influences of restriction policies on human mobility variations associated with socio-demographic groups in England, UK.MethodsUsing mobile phone global positioning system (GPS) trajectory data, we measured variations in human mobility across socio-demographic groups during different restriction periods from Oct 14, 2020 to Sep 15, 2021. The six restriction periods which varied in degree of mobility restriction policies, denoted as “Three-tier Restriction,” “Second National Lockdown,” “Four-tier Restriction,” “Third National Lockdown,” “Steps out of Lockdown,” and “Post-restriction,” respectively. Individual human mobility was measured with respect to the time period people stayed at home, visited places outside the home, and traveled long distances. We compared these indicators across the six restriction periods and across socio-demographic groups.ResultsAll human mobility indicators significantly differed across the six restriction periods, and the influences of restriction policies on individual mobility behaviors are correlated with socio-demographic groups. In particular, influences relating to mobility behaviors are stronger in younger and low-income groups in the second and third national lockdowns.ConclusionsThis study enhances our understanding of the influences of COVID-19 pandemic restriction policies on human mobility behaviors within different social groups in England. The findings can be usefully extended to support policy-making by investigating human mobility and differences in policy effects across not only age and income groups, but also across geographical regions.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.999521/fullCOVID-19GPS data analysispandemicphysical activityhuman mobilitymobility inequality |
| spellingShingle | Tao Cheng Tongxin Chen Yunzhe Liu Robert W. Aldridge Vincent Nguyen Andrew C. Hayward Susan Michie Human mobility variations in response to restriction policies during the COVID-19 pandemic: An analysis from the Virus Watch community cohort in England, UK Frontiers in Public Health COVID-19 GPS data analysis pandemic physical activity human mobility mobility inequality |
| title | Human mobility variations in response to restriction policies during the COVID-19 pandemic: An analysis from the Virus Watch community cohort in England, UK |
| title_full | Human mobility variations in response to restriction policies during the COVID-19 pandemic: An analysis from the Virus Watch community cohort in England, UK |
| title_fullStr | Human mobility variations in response to restriction policies during the COVID-19 pandemic: An analysis from the Virus Watch community cohort in England, UK |
| title_full_unstemmed | Human mobility variations in response to restriction policies during the COVID-19 pandemic: An analysis from the Virus Watch community cohort in England, UK |
| title_short | Human mobility variations in response to restriction policies during the COVID-19 pandemic: An analysis from the Virus Watch community cohort in England, UK |
| title_sort | human mobility variations in response to restriction policies during the covid 19 pandemic an analysis from the virus watch community cohort in england uk |
| topic | COVID-19 GPS data analysis pandemic physical activity human mobility mobility inequality |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.999521/full |
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