Department of Health, Medicine, and Caring Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.
Department of Health, Medicine, and Caring Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden; Department of Anthropology, Ball State University, Muncie, IN.
Ann Epidemiol. 2021 Jul;59:1-4. doi: 10.1016/j.annepidem.2021.03.012. Epub 2021 Apr 6.
During public emergencies, a door can open on the fundamental elements upon which a society's social order is built. The Covid-19 pandemic has opened such a door in societies worldwide. We outline in this commentary some of these social elements and how they may have influenced face mask use during the early stages of the pandemic. The purpose is to expand the perspective on mechanisms that are relevant to consider in pandemic response planning. Our look at these fundamental elements showed that latent aspects of the dominant culture and various symbolic meanings of behaviors can reduce adherence with public health recommendations if they are overlooked in the strategic health plans. We conclude that when policymakers decide non-pharmacological interventions during pandemics, they should take into account fundamental attitudes and beliefs that may influence population behavior. This will require paying attention to variations in things like culture and symbolic meanings of behavior.
在公共紧急事件中，一扇门可以打开，揭示社会秩序构建的基本要素。新冠疫情在世界范围内为社会打开了这样一扇门。在这篇评论中，我们概述了其中的一些社会要素，以及它们如何可能影响疫情早期的口罩使用。目的是扩大对与大流行应对规划相关的机制的看法。我们对这些基本要素的研究表明，如果在战略卫生计划中忽视主导文化的潜在方面和行为的各种象征意义，它们可能会降低对公共卫生建议的遵守程度。我们的结论是，当政策制定者在大流行期间决定非药物干预措施时，他们应该考虑可能影响人口行为的基本态度和信念。这将需要关注文化和行为象征意义等方面的差异。
