Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Ageing and Independent Living Research Centre, School of Primary and Allied Health Care, Monash University, Frankston, Victoria, Australia.
Health and Social Care Unit, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Frankston, Victoria, Australia.
Health Expect. 2024 Oct;27(5):e70025. doi: 10.1111/hex.70025.
Public health strategies have focused on preventing and slowing the transmission of COVID-19 by promoting the uptake of mitigation strategies. However, little is known about the uptake of these strategies in the presence of underlying health conditions.
To describe the attitudes and behaviours of a sample of Australians towards COVID-19 mitigation strategies, and determine if uptake of these strategies differed across different health conditions.
Cross-sectional study.
National survey of Australian residents over 18 years.
A purpose-built survey was used to collect participants' attitudes and behaviours towards COVID-19 mitigation strategies.
Over half (53%) of the 2867 participants (99% completion rate) reported having one or more comorbidities. The most commonly self-reported health condition was cardiometabolic conditions (28%). Most participants disagreed that masks were no longer needed (74%) and wanted the 5-day isolation mandate (66%). More than one-third would like masks to be mandated for indoor spaces (38%) and 25% avoided going to hospitals. Participants with allergies (OR 1.37; 95% CI 1.14, 1.65), cardiometabolic (OR 1.49; 95% CI 1.23, 1.79), respiratory (OR 1.32; 95% CI 1.07, 1.62) and neurological (OR 1.62; 95% CI 1.12, 2.32) conditions were more likely to avoid using public transport compared to those without. In contrast, participants with underlying mental health conditions were less likely to use N95/P2 facemasks in public spaces (OR 0.46; 95% CI 0.25, 0.87) compared to those without.
A substantial proportion of Australians continued to adopt COVID-19 mitigation measures or expressed a desire for more mitigations, including mandatory isolation for COVID-19, despite the lack of mandates. People with an underlying health condition who represent more than half of all adults appear to be more careful with mitigations to avoid COVID-19.
Members of the public were invited to participate in a soft launch of the survey between 4th and 5th January 2023 to test flow and functionality, and to allow the final wording of survey questions to be refined as required.
公共卫生策略侧重于通过推广缓解策略来预防和减缓 COVID-19 的传播。然而，对于在存在潜在健康状况的情况下这些策略的采用情况知之甚少。
描述澳大利亚一部分人的对 COVID-19 缓解策略的态度和行为，并确定这些策略的采用是否因不同的健康状况而有所不同。
横断面研究。
对 18 岁以上的澳大利亚居民进行全国性调查。
使用专门设计的调查收集参与者对 COVID-19 缓解策略的态度和行为。
在 2867 名参与者中，超过一半（53%）报告有一个或多个合并症（完成率为 99%）。最常见的自我报告健康状况是心血管代谢疾病（28%）。大多数参与者不同意不再需要戴口罩（74%），并希望将 5 天的隔离期改为 5 天（66%）。超过三分之一的人希望在室内空间强制戴口罩（38%），25%的人避免去医院。过敏（OR 1.37；95%CI 1.14，1.65）、心血管代谢（OR 1.49；95%CI 1.23，1.79）、呼吸（OR 1.32；95%CI 1.07，1.62）和神经（OR 1.62；95%CI 1.12，2.32）疾病的参与者更有可能避免使用公共交通工具，而不是没有这些疾病的参与者。相比之下，与没有潜在心理健康状况的人相比，有潜在心理健康状况的参与者在公共场所使用 N95/P2 口罩的可能性更小（OR 0.46；95%CI 0.25，0.87）。
尽管没有强制要求，澳大利亚仍有相当一部分人继续采取 COVID-19 缓解措施，或表示希望采取更多缓解措施，包括对 COVID-19 实施强制性隔离。超过一半的成年人都有潜在的健康状况，他们在采取缓解措施以避免 COVID-19 方面似乎更加谨慎。
在 2023 年 1 月 4 日至 5 日期间，邀请公众参与调查的软启动，以测试流程和功能，并根据需要完善调查问题的最终措辞。
