Gamillscheg Peter, Mayer Susanne, Pietrzak-Franger Monika, Hilmar Carina, Lange Alina, Simon Judit, Łaszewska Agata
Department of Health Economics, Center for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna, Kinderspitalgasse 15/1, Vienna, 1090, Austria.
Department of English and American Studies, University of Vienna, Spitalgasse 2, Hof 8.3 (Campus), Vienna, 1090, Austria.
BMC Public Health. 2024 Jun 12;24(1):1576. doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-19061-0.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, it was a key priority for governments globally to ensure agreement with, and subsequently adherence to, imposed public health measures, specifically non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs). Prior research in this regard highlighted the role of COVID-19 information sources as well as sociodemographic and other personal characteristics, however, there is only limited evidence including both. To bridge this gap, this study investigated the associations of COVID-19 information sources such as social media and participant characteristics with agreement with and adherence to NPIs during the first lockdown in Austria.
An online survey was conducted in May 2020 among adult Austrian residents asking about their experiences during the first lockdown. Collected data included sociodemographic characteristics, main COVID-19-related information sources, agreement with/adherence to three NPIs (no physical contact to family members not living in the same household, leisurely walks restricted to members of the same household, mandatory face masks) and information about perceived social support using the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), anxiety/depression levels using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), whether participants felt well advised by the government, and whether participants perceived the pandemic to threaten their income. Ordered and multinomial logistic regression models were employed to achieve the research aims.
The cross-sectional sample consisted of 559 Austrian residents. Using social media as main COVID-19 information source was consistently associated with lower agreement with NPIs. A positive association with agreement with measures was found for higher educational backgrounds and higher anxiety levels. By contrast, higher levels of depression, not feeling well advised by the government, and perceiving the pandemic as an economic threat were negatively associated with agreement with measures. Moreover, the use of social media as main COVID-19 information source and not feeling well advised by the government were associated with lower adherence to NPIs. By contrast, higher levels of education were associated with higher adherence.
This comprehensive analysis emphasizes the associations of COVID-19 information sources as well as sociodemographic and other participant characteristics with agreement with and adherence to NPIs, bearing important implications for future public health crisis communication strategies.
在整个新冠疫情期间，全球各国政府的一项关键优先事项是确保民众认同并随后遵守所实施的公共卫生措施，特别是非药物干预措施（NPIs）。此前在这方面的研究强调了新冠疫情信息来源以及社会人口统计学和其他个人特征的作用，然而，同时包含这两者的证据有限。为了填补这一空白，本研究调查了在奥地利首次封锁期间，社交媒体等新冠疫情信息来源与参与者特征和对非药物干预措施的认同及遵守之间的关联。
2020年5月对奥地利成年居民进行了一项在线调查，询问他们在首次封锁期间的经历。收集的数据包括社会人口统计学特征、主要的新冠疫情相关信息来源、对三项非药物干预措施（与不住在同一家庭的家庭成员无身体接触、休闲散步仅限于同一家庭的成员、强制佩戴口罩）的认同/遵守情况，以及使用多维感知社会支持量表（MSPSS）获取的关于感知社会支持的信息、使用医院焦虑抑郁量表（HADS）获取的焦虑/抑郁水平、参与者是否认为政府提供了充分建议，以及参与者是否认为疫情威胁到他们的收入。采用有序和多项逻辑回归模型来实现研究目标。
横断面样本包括559名奥地利居民。将社交媒体作为主要的新冠疫情信息来源与对非药物干预措施的较低认同始终相关。较高的教育背景和较高的焦虑水平与对措施的认同呈正相关。相比之下，较高的抑郁水平、认为政府没有提供充分建议以及将疫情视为经济威胁与对措施的认同呈负相关。此外，将社交媒体作为主要的新冠疫情信息来源以及认为政府没有提供充分建议与对非药物干预措施的较低遵守相关。相比之下，较高的教育水平与较高的遵守程度相关。
这项综合分析强调了新冠疫情信息来源以及社会人口统计学和其他参与者特征与对非药物干预措施的认同及遵守之间的关联，对未来的公共卫生危机沟通策略具有重要意义。
