Non-compliance to social distancing during COVID-19 pandemic: A comparative cross-sectional study between the developed and developing countries
Background: Despite mass vaccination campaigns, the world has seen a steady rise in the number of SARS-CoV-2 cases, with 178,765,626 cases and 3,869,994 COVID-19 related deaths by June 19th, 2021. Therefore, it is important to enforce social distancing to control its spread. With the variation obser...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SAGE Publishing
2021-10-01
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| Series: | Journal of Public Health Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.jphres.org/index.php/jphres/article/view/2614 |
| _version_ | 1828077582669578240 |
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| author | Faiqa Binte Aamir Syeda Maria Ahmad Zaidi Saadia Abbas Syed Roohan Aamir Syed Nauman Ahmad Zaidi Karishma Kanhya Lal Syeda Sadia Fatima |
| author_facet | Faiqa Binte Aamir Syeda Maria Ahmad Zaidi Saadia Abbas Syed Roohan Aamir Syed Nauman Ahmad Zaidi Karishma Kanhya Lal Syeda Sadia Fatima |
| author_sort | Faiqa Binte Aamir |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Despite mass vaccination campaigns, the world has seen a steady rise in the number of SARS-CoV-2 cases, with 178,765,626 cases and 3,869,994 COVID-19 related deaths by June 19th, 2021. Therefore, it is important to enforce social distancing to control its spread. With the variation observed in the severity of the pandemic in different countries, it is also imperative to study the social distancing behaviors amongst the population in developed and developing countries.
Design and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 384 participants from 14 different countries were surveyed via an online REDCap form.
Results: In this study, it was highlighted that despite adequate knowledge, the overall compliance to COVID-19 related preventive measures remains poor, the lowest being in the senior age group (≥ 65 years), and the highest being in adults aged between 25-64 years (p-value =0.003). Population from the developing countries were more compliant to all preventative measures against COVID-19 spread, except for handwashing, where the difference between the two populations remained insignificant (p-value = 0.038, <0.001, 0.016). Socioeconomic status, prior history of COVID-19 infection, or presence of comorbidities did not significantly affect compliance rates, however, participants with no prior history of this infection were found to be more compliant to donning a mask in public as compared to those with a positive history (p-value = 0.044).
Conclusions: Since compliance remains subpar in both the developing and the developed countries, mass campaigns about COVID-19 related preventive measures remain essential in controlling the disease spread. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T02:32:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cec57370047640709ac89efc751f1fba |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2279-9028 2279-9036 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T02:32:46Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Public Health Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-cec57370047640709ac89efc751f1fba2023-01-02T21:09:58ZengSAGE PublishingJournal of Public Health Research2279-90282279-90362021-10-0110.4081/jphr.2021.2614Non-compliance to social distancing during COVID-19 pandemic: A comparative cross-sectional study between the developed and developing countriesFaiqa Binte Aamir0Syeda Maria Ahmad Zaidi1Saadia Abbas2Syed Roohan Aamir3Syed Nauman Ahmad Zaidi4Karishma Kanhya Lal5Syeda Sadia Fatima6Medical College, Aga Khan University, KarachiMedical College, Aga Khan University, KarachiMedical College, Aga Khan University, KarachiMedical College, Aga Khan University, KarachiMedical College, United Medical and Dental College, KarachiMedical College, Aga Khan University, KarachiBiological and Biomedical Sciences, Aga Khan University, KarachiBackground: Despite mass vaccination campaigns, the world has seen a steady rise in the number of SARS-CoV-2 cases, with 178,765,626 cases and 3,869,994 COVID-19 related deaths by June 19th, 2021. Therefore, it is important to enforce social distancing to control its spread. With the variation observed in the severity of the pandemic in different countries, it is also imperative to study the social distancing behaviors amongst the population in developed and developing countries. Design and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 384 participants from 14 different countries were surveyed via an online REDCap form. Results: In this study, it was highlighted that despite adequate knowledge, the overall compliance to COVID-19 related preventive measures remains poor, the lowest being in the senior age group (≥ 65 years), and the highest being in adults aged between 25-64 years (p-value =0.003). Population from the developing countries were more compliant to all preventative measures against COVID-19 spread, except for handwashing, where the difference between the two populations remained insignificant (p-value = 0.038, <0.001, 0.016). Socioeconomic status, prior history of COVID-19 infection, or presence of comorbidities did not significantly affect compliance rates, however, participants with no prior history of this infection were found to be more compliant to donning a mask in public as compared to those with a positive history (p-value = 0.044). Conclusions: Since compliance remains subpar in both the developing and the developed countries, mass campaigns about COVID-19 related preventive measures remain essential in controlling the disease spread.https://www.jphres.org/index.php/jphres/article/view/2614non-complianceCOVID-19social distancingsocio-economic |
| spellingShingle | Faiqa Binte Aamir Syeda Maria Ahmad Zaidi Saadia Abbas Syed Roohan Aamir Syed Nauman Ahmad Zaidi Karishma Kanhya Lal Syeda Sadia Fatima Non-compliance to social distancing during COVID-19 pandemic: A comparative cross-sectional study between the developed and developing countries Journal of Public Health Research non-compliance COVID-19 social distancing socio-economic |
| title | Non-compliance to social distancing during COVID-19 pandemic: A comparative cross-sectional study between the developed and developing countries |
| title_full | Non-compliance to social distancing during COVID-19 pandemic: A comparative cross-sectional study between the developed and developing countries |
| title_fullStr | Non-compliance to social distancing during COVID-19 pandemic: A comparative cross-sectional study between the developed and developing countries |
| title_full_unstemmed | Non-compliance to social distancing during COVID-19 pandemic: A comparative cross-sectional study between the developed and developing countries |
| title_short | Non-compliance to social distancing during COVID-19 pandemic: A comparative cross-sectional study between the developed and developing countries |
| title_sort | non compliance to social distancing during covid 19 pandemic a comparative cross sectional study between the developed and developing countries |
| topic | non-compliance COVID-19 social distancing socio-economic |
| url | https://www.jphres.org/index.php/jphres/article/view/2614 |
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