Factors influencing social distancing to prevent the community spread of COVID-19 among Chinese adults

PREVENTIVE MEDICINE

卷:143

Article

Guo, Yuqi^1,2  Qin, Weidi³  Wang, Zhiyu⁴  Yang, Fan⁴ 

[1] Univ North Carolina Charlotte, Sch Social Work, Coll Hlth & Human Serv, Charlotte, NC USA

[2] Univ North Carolina Charlotte, Sch Data Sci, Charlotte, NC USA

[3] Case Western Reserve Univ, Jack Joseph & Morton Mandel Sch Appl Social Sci, Cleveland, OH 44106 USA

[4] Dongbei Univ Finance & Econ, Sch Publ Adm, Dalian, Peoples R China

关键词: COVID-19;    Social distancing;    Adult Chinese;    Mental health;    Media;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.ypmed.2020.106385

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

The global outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in 2020 has been an international public health threat. Early strong social distancing efforts is needed to stop transmission of the virus. The purpose of the present study is to identify individual and environmental factors related to individuals' compliance with the recommended social distancing, as well as the moderating role of social media in influencing individuals' implementation of social distancing. A total of 2130 Chinese adults were surveyed in March 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Logistic regression analyses were performed to ascertain the predictors of social distancing. Overall, the majority of respondents (95.6%) reported compliance with social distancing. Women were more likely to practice social distancing compared to men (odds ratio [OR] = 3.12, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.93-5.02). Psychological distress, depressive symptoms, and social media were significant predictors of social distancing after controlling for other individual and environmental factors. Social media moderated the effects of psychological distress on social distancing (OR = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.94-0.99). Findings from the study indicates that mental health status and social media are influential factors of social distancing, which have significant implications in enhancing the effectiveness of prevention strategies to contain the spread of COVID-19.

【 授权许可】

Free