Prevalence of COVID-19 Mitigation Behaviors in US Adults (August-December 2020): Nationwide Household Probability Survey
BackgroundCOVID-19 mitigation behaviors, such as wearing masks, maintaining social distancing, and practicing hand hygiene, have been and will remain vital to slowing the pandemic. ObjectiveThis study aims to describe the period prevalence of consistent mask-weari...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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JMIR Publications
2023-12-01
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| Series: | JMIR Public Health and Surveillance |
| Online Access: | https://publichealth.jmir.org/2023/1/e37102 |
| _version_ | 1797402843094712320 |
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| author | Travis Sanchez Eric Hall Aaron J Siegler Radhika Prakash-Asrani Heather Bradley Mansour Fahimi Benjamin Lopman Nicole Luisi Kristin N Nelson Charles Sailey Kayoko Shioda Mariah Valentine-Graves Patrick S Sullivan |
| author_facet | Travis Sanchez Eric Hall Aaron J Siegler Radhika Prakash-Asrani Heather Bradley Mansour Fahimi Benjamin Lopman Nicole Luisi Kristin N Nelson Charles Sailey Kayoko Shioda Mariah Valentine-Graves Patrick S Sullivan |
| author_sort | Travis Sanchez |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
BackgroundCOVID-19 mitigation behaviors, such as wearing masks, maintaining social distancing, and practicing hand hygiene, have been and will remain vital to slowing the pandemic.
ObjectiveThis study aims to describe the period prevalence of consistent mask-wearing, social distancing, and hand hygiene practices during the peak of COVID-19 incidence (August-December 2020) and just before COVID-19 vaccine availability, overall and in demographic subgroups.
MethodsWe used baseline survey data from a nationwide household probability sample to generate weighted estimates of mitigation behaviors: wearing masks, maintaining social distancing, and practicing hand hygiene. Weighted logistic regression explored differences in mitigation behaviors by demographics. Latent class analysis (LCA) identified patterns in mitigation behaviors.
ResultsAmong 4654 participants, most (n=2727, 58.6%) were female, were non-Hispanic White (n=3063, 65.8%), were aged 55 years or older (n=2099, 45.1%), lived in the South (n=2275, 48.9%), lived in metropolitan areas (n=4186, 89.9%), had at least a bachelor’s degree (n=2547, 54.7%), had an income of US $50,000-$99,000 (n=1445, 31%), and were privately insured (n=2734, 58.7%). The period prevalence of consistent mask wearing was 71.1% (sample-weighted 95% CI 68.8-73.3); consistent social distancing, 42.9% (95% CI 40.5-45.3); frequent handwashing, 55.0% (95% CI 52.3-57.7); and frequent hand sanitizing, 21.5% (95% CI 19.4-23.8). Mitigation behaviors were more prevalent among women, older persons, Black or Hispanic persons, those who were not college graduates, and service-oriented workers. LCA identified an optimal-mitigation class that consistently practiced all behaviors (n=2656, 67% of US adults), a low-mitigation class that inconsistently practiced all behaviors (n=771, 20.6%), and a class that had optimal masking and social distancing but a high frequency of hand hygiene (n=463, 12.4%).
ConclusionsDespite a high prevalence of COVID-19 mitigation behaviors, there were likely millions who did not consistently practice these behaviors during the time of the highest COVID-19 incidence. In future infectious disease outbreak responses, public health authorities should also consider addressing disparities in mitigation practices through more targeted prevention messaging. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T02:31:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e342ea7f404e4f30b27eb97c7bc6d4cd |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2369-2960 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T02:31:02Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | JMIR Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | JMIR Public Health and Surveillance |
| spelling | doaj.art-e342ea7f404e4f30b27eb97c7bc6d4cd2023-12-06T15:15:39ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR Public Health and Surveillance2369-29602023-12-019e3710210.2196/37102Prevalence of COVID-19 Mitigation Behaviors in US Adults (August-December 2020): Nationwide Household Probability SurveyTravis Sanchezhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-1133-4762Eric Hallhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-0244-7458Aaron J Sieglerhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-5553-7540Radhika Prakash-Asranihttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-3848-6099Heather Bradleyhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-7667-4197Mansour Fahimihttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-4979-2155Benjamin Lopmanhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-9238-0068Nicole Luisihttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-4466-7141Kristin N Nelsonhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-4728-2909Charles Saileyhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-7866-4224Kayoko Shiodahttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-8057-8448Mariah Valentine-Graveshttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-2834-8602Patrick S Sullivanhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-7728-0587 BackgroundCOVID-19 mitigation behaviors, such as wearing masks, maintaining social distancing, and practicing hand hygiene, have been and will remain vital to slowing the pandemic. ObjectiveThis study aims to describe the period prevalence of consistent mask-wearing, social distancing, and hand hygiene practices during the peak of COVID-19 incidence (August-December 2020) and just before COVID-19 vaccine availability, overall and in demographic subgroups. MethodsWe used baseline survey data from a nationwide household probability sample to generate weighted estimates of mitigation behaviors: wearing masks, maintaining social distancing, and practicing hand hygiene. Weighted logistic regression explored differences in mitigation behaviors by demographics. Latent class analysis (LCA) identified patterns in mitigation behaviors. ResultsAmong 4654 participants, most (n=2727, 58.6%) were female, were non-Hispanic White (n=3063, 65.8%), were aged 55 years or older (n=2099, 45.1%), lived in the South (n=2275, 48.9%), lived in metropolitan areas (n=4186, 89.9%), had at least a bachelor’s degree (n=2547, 54.7%), had an income of US $50,000-$99,000 (n=1445, 31%), and were privately insured (n=2734, 58.7%). The period prevalence of consistent mask wearing was 71.1% (sample-weighted 95% CI 68.8-73.3); consistent social distancing, 42.9% (95% CI 40.5-45.3); frequent handwashing, 55.0% (95% CI 52.3-57.7); and frequent hand sanitizing, 21.5% (95% CI 19.4-23.8). Mitigation behaviors were more prevalent among women, older persons, Black or Hispanic persons, those who were not college graduates, and service-oriented workers. LCA identified an optimal-mitigation class that consistently practiced all behaviors (n=2656, 67% of US adults), a low-mitigation class that inconsistently practiced all behaviors (n=771, 20.6%), and a class that had optimal masking and social distancing but a high frequency of hand hygiene (n=463, 12.4%). ConclusionsDespite a high prevalence of COVID-19 mitigation behaviors, there were likely millions who did not consistently practice these behaviors during the time of the highest COVID-19 incidence. In future infectious disease outbreak responses, public health authorities should also consider addressing disparities in mitigation practices through more targeted prevention messaging.https://publichealth.jmir.org/2023/1/e37102 |
| spellingShingle | Travis Sanchez Eric Hall Aaron J Siegler Radhika Prakash-Asrani Heather Bradley Mansour Fahimi Benjamin Lopman Nicole Luisi Kristin N Nelson Charles Sailey Kayoko Shioda Mariah Valentine-Graves Patrick S Sullivan Prevalence of COVID-19 Mitigation Behaviors in US Adults (August-December 2020): Nationwide Household Probability Survey JMIR Public Health and Surveillance |
| title | Prevalence of COVID-19 Mitigation Behaviors in US Adults (August-December 2020): Nationwide Household Probability Survey |
| title_full | Prevalence of COVID-19 Mitigation Behaviors in US Adults (August-December 2020): Nationwide Household Probability Survey |
| title_fullStr | Prevalence of COVID-19 Mitigation Behaviors in US Adults (August-December 2020): Nationwide Household Probability Survey |
| title_full_unstemmed | Prevalence of COVID-19 Mitigation Behaviors in US Adults (August-December 2020): Nationwide Household Probability Survey |
| title_short | Prevalence of COVID-19 Mitigation Behaviors in US Adults (August-December 2020): Nationwide Household Probability Survey |
| title_sort | prevalence of covid 19 mitigation behaviors in us adults august december 2020 nationwide household probability survey |
| url | https://publichealth.jmir.org/2023/1/e37102 |
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