Adherence to behavioral Covid-19 mitigation measures strongly predicts mortality.
In the absence of vaccines or causal therapies, behavioral measures such as wearing face masks and maintaining social distance are central to fighting Covid-19. Yet, their benefits are often questioned by the population and the level of adherence to the measures is variable. We examined in represent...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2021-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0249392 |
| _version_ | 1818722842141786112 |
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| author | Jürgen Margraf Julia Brailovskaia Silvia Schneider |
| author_facet | Jürgen Margraf Julia Brailovskaia Silvia Schneider |
| author_sort | Jürgen Margraf |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In the absence of vaccines or causal therapies, behavioral measures such as wearing face masks and maintaining social distance are central to fighting Covid-19. Yet, their benefits are often questioned by the population and the level of adherence to the measures is variable. We examined in representative samples across eight countries (N = 7,568) whether adherence reported around June 1, 2020 predicted the increase in Covid-19 mortality by August 31, 2020. Mortality increased 81.3% in low adherence countries (United States, Sweden, Poland, Russia), 8.4% in high adherence countries (Germany, France, Spain, United Kingdom). Across countries adherence and subsequent mortality increases correlated with r = -0.91. No African or South American countries were included in the present study, which limits the generalizability of the findings. While reported Covid-19 mortality is likely to be influenced by other factors, the almost tenfold difference in additional mortality is significant, and may inform decisions when choosing whether to prioritize individual liberty rights or health-protective measures. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-17T21:01:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f6e7fc350ead4a90890281ad48655194 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-17T21:01:03Z |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-f6e7fc350ead4a90890281ad486551942022-12-21T21:32:43ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032021-01-01163e024939210.1371/journal.pone.0249392Adherence to behavioral Covid-19 mitigation measures strongly predicts mortality.Jürgen MargrafJulia BrailovskaiaSilvia SchneiderIn the absence of vaccines or causal therapies, behavioral measures such as wearing face masks and maintaining social distance are central to fighting Covid-19. Yet, their benefits are often questioned by the population and the level of adherence to the measures is variable. We examined in representative samples across eight countries (N = 7,568) whether adherence reported around June 1, 2020 predicted the increase in Covid-19 mortality by August 31, 2020. Mortality increased 81.3% in low adherence countries (United States, Sweden, Poland, Russia), 8.4% in high adherence countries (Germany, France, Spain, United Kingdom). Across countries adherence and subsequent mortality increases correlated with r = -0.91. No African or South American countries were included in the present study, which limits the generalizability of the findings. While reported Covid-19 mortality is likely to be influenced by other factors, the almost tenfold difference in additional mortality is significant, and may inform decisions when choosing whether to prioritize individual liberty rights or health-protective measures.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0249392 |
| spellingShingle | Jürgen Margraf Julia Brailovskaia Silvia Schneider Adherence to behavioral Covid-19 mitigation measures strongly predicts mortality. PLoS ONE |
| title | Adherence to behavioral Covid-19 mitigation measures strongly predicts mortality. |
| title_full | Adherence to behavioral Covid-19 mitigation measures strongly predicts mortality. |
| title_fullStr | Adherence to behavioral Covid-19 mitigation measures strongly predicts mortality. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Adherence to behavioral Covid-19 mitigation measures strongly predicts mortality. |
| title_short | Adherence to behavioral Covid-19 mitigation measures strongly predicts mortality. |
| title_sort | adherence to behavioral covid 19 mitigation measures strongly predicts mortality |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0249392 |
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