A Citizen Science Facemask Experiment and Educational Modules to Improve Coronavirus Safety in Communities and Schools

Frontiers in Medicine

article

Sarah E. Eichler¹  Austin P. Hopperton²  Juan José Alava³  Antonio Pereira, Jr.⁴  Rukhsana Ahmed⁵  Zisis Kozlakidis⁶  Sanja Ilic⁷  Alexander Rodriguez-Palacios² 

[1] Department of Biological Sciences, Kent State University at Salem, United States;Division of Gastroenterology and Liver Disease, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, United States;Institute for Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia;Institute of Technology, Federal University of Pará;Department of Communication, University at Albany, United States;International Agency for Research on Cancer, World Health Organization;Department of Human Sciences, The Ohio State University, United States;University Hospitals Research and Education Institute, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, United States

关键词: COVID-19;    mass media;    health communication;    prevention;    intervention;    social behavioral changes;    facemask;    school education;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fmed.2020.00486

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

According to the UNICEF, children between 0–14 years represent ∼26% of the total global population (∼45% in Africa; 22% in USA, of which 90% attend school; ranging from 85–100% across countries) (1). With high case-fatality ratios between 4.5–7.5% (Germany/Iran/USA/Brazil/Canada) and 11.9–16.4% (Spain/Italy/UK/France/Belgium) (2), there is a critical need to empower citizens, especially children (often asymptomatic carriers), with education strategies to control COVID-19. Especially, there is need to support facemask citizen science and experiential education among children and families as the globe exits from the current lockdown, and teachers and students desire and seek for safe strategies to return to denselyattended schools. COVID-19 is a pandemic respiratory disease that disseminates as infectious respiratory or saliva droplets are released into the environment as people talk, sneeze, and cough (3– 5). Currently the most publicized methods to prevent local transmission of COVID-19 and promote “droplet safety” in hospitals and communities include hand washing, social distancing, and stayat-home strategies. In contrast to established benefits for medical masks in hospitals, the benefits of wearing masks or face covers/coverings (hereafter, “facemask”) in the community have been inconsistently debated by the media, creating confusion, and misinformation (6). Furthermore, high-profile political leaders in countries heavily affected by the pandemic have given misleading signs regarding containment measures associated with COVID-19 (7–11) increasingly polarizing local communities around arguments on the value of facemasks in promoting public health, which is critically important to incentivize during the emergence of citizens from their lockdowns and during the phase of reopening local economies.

【 授权许可】

CC BY