School of Psychology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK.
Scaled Insights, Nexus, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
Perspect Public Health. 2022 May;142(3):167-174. doi: 10.1177/1757913920979332. Epub 2021 Jan 21.
The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (COVID-19) is a global pandemic that has had substantial impact across societies. An attempt to reduce infection and spread of the disease, for most nations, has led to a lockdown period, where people's movement has been restricted resulting in a consequential impact on employment, lifestyle behaviours and wellbeing. As such, this study aimed to explore adults' thoughts and behaviours in response to the outbreak and resulting lockdown measures.
Using an online survey, 1126 adults responded to invitations to participate in the study. Participants, all aged 18 years or older, were recruited using social media, email distribution lists, website advertisement and word of mouth. Sentiment and personality features extracted from free-text responses using Artificial Intelligence methods were used to cluster participants.
Findings demonstrated that there was varied knowledge of the symptoms of COVID-19 and high concern about infection, severe illness and death, spread to others, the impact on the health service and on the economy. Higher concerns about infection, illness and death were reported by people identified at high risk of severe illness from COVID-19. Behavioural clusters, identified using Artificial Intelligence methods, differed significantly in sentiment and personality traits, as well as concerns about COVID-19, actions, lifestyle behaviours and wellbeing during the COVID-19 lockdown.
This time-sensitive study provides important insights into adults' perceptions and behaviours in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdown. The use of Artificial Intelligence has identified that there are two behavioural clusters that can predict people's responses during the COVID-19 pandemic, which goes beyond simple demographic groupings. Considering these insights may improve the effectiveness of communication, actions to reduce the direct and indirect impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and to support community recovery.
严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒 2（COVID-19）的爆发是一场全球性大流行，对社会产生了重大影响。大多数国家都试图减少这种疾病的感染和传播，这导致了封锁期，人们的行动受到限制，从而对就业、生活方式行为和幸福感产生了相应的影响。因此，本研究旨在探讨成年人对疫情爆发和由此产生的封锁措施的想法和行为。
使用在线调查，1126 名成年人对参与研究的邀请做出了回应。所有参与者年龄均在 18 岁或以上，通过社交媒体、电子邮件分发列表、网站广告和口碑招募。使用人工智能方法从自由文本回复中提取的情绪和个性特征用于聚类参与者。
研究结果表明，人们对 COVID-19 的症状有不同程度的了解，并高度关注感染、严重疾病和死亡、传播给他人、对卫生服务和经济的影响。那些被认为有 COVID-19 严重疾病高风险的人报告了更高的感染、疾病和死亡的担忧。使用人工智能方法确定的行为聚类在情绪和个性特征以及对 COVID-19 的担忧、行动、生活方式行为和封锁期间的幸福感方面存在显著差异。
这项时间敏感的研究提供了关于成年人对 COVID-19 大流行及其相关封锁的看法和行为的重要见解。人工智能的使用已确定有两个行为聚类可以预测人们在 COVID-19 大流行期间的反应，这超出了简单的人口分组。考虑到这些见解，可能会提高沟通的有效性，采取行动减少 COVID-19 大流行的直接和间接影响，并支持社区恢复。
