Compliance with Barrier Gestures during COVID-19 Pandemic as a Function of the Context: A Longitudinal Observational Survey at the University of Liège.
[en] During the COVID-19 pandemic, barrier gestures such as mask wearing, physical distancing, greetings without contact, one-way circulation flow, and hand sanitization were major strategies to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2, but they were only useful if consistently applied. This survey was a follow-up of the first survey performed in 2020 at the University of Liège. We aim to evaluate the compliance with these gestures on campuses and examine differences in the extent of the compliance observed in different educational activities and contexts. During 3.5 months, the counting of compliant and non-compliant behaviors was performed each week in randomly selected rooms. Using data collected during both surveys (2020 and 2021), binomial negative regression models of compliance depending on periods (teaching periods and exam sessions), type of rooms, and campuses were conducted to evaluate prevalence ratios of compliance. The percentage of compliance in this second survey was the highest for mask wearing and physical distancing during educational activities (90% and 88%, respectively) and lowest for physical distancing outside educational activities and hand sanitization (45% and 52%, respectively). Multivariate analyses revealed that the compliance with most gestures was significantly higher in teaching rooms than in hallways and restaurants and during exam sessions. The compliance with physical distancing was significantly higher (from 66%) in auditoriums, where students had to remain seated, than during practical works that allowed or required free movement. Therefore, the compliance with barrier gestures was associated with contextual settings, which should be considered when communicating and managing barrier gestures. Further studies should specify and confirm the determining contextual characteristics regarding the compliance with barrier gestures in times of pandemic.
Disciplines :
Public health, health care sciences & services
Author, co-author :
Parisi, Gianni ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Fundamental and Applied Research for Animals and Health (FARAH) > FARAH: Santé publique vétérinaire ; Research Unit in Epidemiology and Risk Analysis Applied to Veterinary Sciences
Renault, Véronique ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des maladies infectieuses et parasitaires (DMI) > Epidémiologie et analyse des risques appliqués aux sciences vétérinaires ; Research Unit in Epidemiology and Risk Analysis Applied to Veterinary Sciences ; Vétérinaires et Agronomes Sans Frontières, 69007 Lyon, France.
Humblet, Marie-France ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des maladies infectieuses et parasitaires (DMI) ; Unit of Biosafety, Biosecurity Unit and Environmental Licenses, Department of
Ochelen, Nicolas ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Clinique vétérinaire universitaire (CVU) > CVU : pôle ruminants-porcs
Diep, Anh Nguyet ; Biostatistics Unit, Liège University, 4000 Liège, Belgium.
Guillaume, Michèle ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences de la santé publique > Santé publique : aspects spécifiques
Donneau, Anne-Françoise ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences de la santé publique
Bureau, Fabrice ; Université de Liège - ULiège > GIGA > GIGA Inflammation, Infection & Immunity ; Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Immunology, GIGA Institute, Liège
Gillet, Laurent ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des maladies infectieuses et parasitaires (DMI) > Vaccinologie vétérinaire ; Fundamental and Applied Research for Animal and Health (FARAH) Center, Liège
Lange, Anne-Catherine ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de mathématique > Probabilités et statistique mathématique ; Récolte et Analyse des Données et Information d'Utilité Stratégique (RADIUS),
Michel, Fabienne ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'économie > UER Economie : Economie sociale et systèmes économiques ; Récolte et Analyse des Données et Information d'Utilité Stratégique (RADIUS),
Fontaine, Sébastien ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences sociales ; Institute for Research in Social Sciences (IRSS), Faculty of Social Sciences,
Saegerman, Claude ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des maladies infectieuses et parasitaires (DMI) > Epidémiologie et analyse des risques appliqués aux sciences vétérinaires ; Research Unit in Epidemiology and Risk Analysis Applied to Veterinary Sciences
Compliance with Barrier Gestures during COVID-19 Pandemic as a Function of the Context: A Longitudinal Observational Survey at the University of Liège.
Publication date :
13 September 2022
Journal title :
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
ISSN :
1660-4601
eISSN :
1661-7827
Publisher :
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI), Basel, Ch
Zhou P. Yang X.L. Wang X.G. Hu B. Zhang L. Zhang W. Si H.R. Zhu Y. Li B. Huang C.L. et al. A pneumonia outbreak associated with a new coronavirus of probable bat origin Nature 2020 579 270 273 10.1038/s41586-020-2012-7 32015507
Sah P. Fitzpatrick M.C. Zimmer C.F. Abdollahi E. Juden-Kelly L. Moghadas S.M. Singer B.H. Galvani A.P. Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection: A systematic review and meta-analysis Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2021 118 e2109229118 10.1073/pnas.2109229118 34376550
WHO WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard Available online: https://covid19.who.int/ (accessed on 12 August 2022)
AFMPS COVID-19—Vaccins Available online: https://www.afmps.be/fr/humain/medicaments/medicaments/covid_19/vaccins (accessed on 12 August 2022)
Polack F.P. Thomas S.J. Kitchin N. Absalon J. Gurtman A. Lockhart S. Perez J.L. Marc G.P. Moreira E.D. Zerbini C. et al. Safety and Efficacy of the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine N. Engl. J. Med. 2020 383 2603 2615 10.1056/NEJMoa2034577 33301246
Voysey M. Clemens S.A.C. Madhi S.A. Weckx L.Y. Folegatti P.M. Aley P.K. Angus B. Baillie V.L. Barnabas S.L. Bhorat Q.E. et al. Safety and efficacy of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine (AZD1222) against SARS-CoV-2: An interim analysis of four randomised controlled trials in Brazil, South Africa, and the UK Lancet 2021 397 99 111 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)32661-1
Zhou M. Long P. Kong N. Campy K.S. Characterizing Wuhan residents’ mask-wearing intention at early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic Patient Educ. Couns. 2021 104 1868 1877 Available online: https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0738399120306844 (accessed on 1 August 2022) 10.1016/j.pec.2020.12.020
Venkatesh V. Thong J.Y. Xu X. Consumer Acceptance and Use of Information Technology: Extending the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology MIS Q 2012 36 157 Available online: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/41410412 (accessed on 1 August 2022) 10.2307/41410412
Twardawski M. Steindorf L. Thielmann I. Three pillars of physical distancing: Anxiety, prosociality, and rule compliance during the COVID-19 pandemic Collabra Psychol. 2021 7 1 17 10.1525/collabra.22511
Van Alboom M. Baert F. Wauters A. Beeckman M. Maes S. Kissi A. Veirman E. Van Ryckeghem D.M. De Paepe A. Poppe L. When, why, and how do people deviate from physical distancing measures during the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed-methods study Psychol. Belg. 2021 61 262 273 10.5334/pb.1089
Renault V. Fontaine S. Mpouam S.E. Saegerman C. Main determinants of the acceptance of COVID-19 control measures by the population: A first pilot survey at the University of Liege, Belgium Transbound. Emerg. Dis. 2021 69 1 14 10.1111/tbed.14410
Bir C. Widmar N.O. Social pressure, altruism, free-riding, and non-compliance in mask wearing by U.S. residents in response to COVID-19 pandemic Soc. Sci. Humanit. Open 2021 4 100229 10.1016/j.ssaho.2021.100229
Barrett C. Cheung K.L. Knowledge, socio-cognitive perceptions and the practice of hand hygiene and social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study of UK university students BMC Public Health. 2021 21 426 Available online: https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-021-10461-0 (accessed on 1 August 2022) 10.1186/s12889-021-10461-0
Blake H. Knight H. Jia R. Corner J. Morling J.R. Denning C. Ball J.K. Bolton K. Figueredo G. Morris D.E. et al. Students’ views towards SARS-CoV-2 mass asymptomatic testing, social distancing and self-isolation in a university setting during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative study Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021 18 4182 10.3390/ijerph18084182
McCarthy M. Murphy K. Sargeant E. Williamson H. Policing COVID-19 physical distancing measures: Managing defiance and fostering compliance among individuals least likely to comply Polic. Soc. 2021 31 601 620 10.1080/10439463.2020.1869235
Cohen D.A. Talarowski M. Awomolo O. Han B. Williamson S. McKenzie T.L. Systematic observation of mask adherence and distancing (SOMAD): Findings from Philadelphia Prev. Med. Rep. 2021 23 101449 10.1016/j.pmedr.2021.101449
Haischer M.H. Beilfuss R. Hart M.R. Opielinski L. Wrucke D. Zirgaitis G. Uhrich T.D. Hunter S.K. Who is wearing a mask? Gender-, age-, and location-related differences during the COVID-19 pandemic PLoS ONE 2020 15 e0240785 10.1371/journal.pone.0240785
Seres G. Balleyer A.H. Cerutti N. Danilov A. Friedrichsen J. Liu Y. Süer M. Face masks increase compliance with physical distancing recommendations during the COVID-19 pandemic J. Econ. Sci. Assoc. 2021 7 139 158 10.1007/s40881-021-00108-6
Freidin E. Acera Martini L. Senci C.M. Duarte C. Carballo F. Field observations and survey evidence to assess predictors of mask wearing across different outdoor activities in an Argentine city during the COVID-19 pandemic Appl. Psychol. Health Well Being 2022 14 81 100 10.1111/aphw.12292
Renault V. Humblet M.F. Parisi G. Donneau A.F. Bureau F. Gillet L. Fontaine S. Saegerman C. The first random observational survey of barrier gestures against COVID-19 Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021 18 9972 10.3390/ijerph18199972
R Core Team R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing R Foundation for Statistical Computing Vienna, Austria 2021
Hosmer D.W. Lemeshow S. Sturdivant R.X. Applied Logistic Regression Wiley Series in Probability and Statistics Wiley Hoboken, NJ, USA 2013 Available online: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/9781118548387 (accessed on 1 August 2022)
Mateos Mazón M. Martínez Caballero C.M. Mateos Mazón J.J. de Carlos Negro L. Del Otero Sanz L. Estudio observacional de la adherencia al correcto uso de mascarillas por la población general en lugares públicos abiertos durante dos periodos de la pandemia por COVID-19 en 4 ciudades españolas Rev. Española Salud Pública 2022 96 1 12
Drury J. Stokoe E. The interactional production and breach of new norms in the time of COVID-19: Achieving physical distancing in public spaces Br. J. Soc. Psychol. 2021 61 1 20 10.1111/bjso.12513
Pilon Y. Turcitu R. Allard R. Compliance with COVID-19 preventive measures is high among university-level students in Québec, Canada Can. Commun. Dis. Rep. 2022 48 356 362 Available online: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/reports-publications/canada-communicable-disease-report-ccdr/monthly-issue/2022-48/issue-7-8-july-august-2022/compliance-covid-19-preventive-measures-high-university-level-students-quebec-canada.html (accessed on 1 August 2022) 10.14745/ccdr.v48i78a07
Sciensano Belgium COVID-19 Epidemiological Situation—Vaccination Available online: https://datastudio.google.com/embed/reporting/c14a5cfc-cab7-4812-848c-0369173148ab/page/p_j1f02pfnpc (accessed on 19 March 2022)
Sciensano Belgium COVID-19 Epidemiological Situation—Cases Available online: https://datastudio.google.com/embed/reporting/c14a5cfc-cab7-4812-848c-0369173148ab/page/tpRKB (accessed on 19 March 2022)
Wismans A.B. Letina S. Thurik R. Wennberg K. Baptista R. Barrientos Marín J. Block J. Burke A. Dejardin M. Janssen F. et al. Hygiene and social distancing as distinct public health related behaviours among university students during the COVID-19 pandemic Soc. Psychol. Bull. 2020 15 e4383 10.32872/spb.4383
Eyre D.W. Taylor D. Purver M. Chapman D. Fowler T. Pouwels K.B. Walker A.S. Peto T.E. Effect of COVID-19 Vaccination on Transmission of Alpha and Delta Variants N. Engl. J. Med. 2022 386 744 756 10.1056/NEJMoa2116597
Sciensano Evaluation de la Situation Epidémiologique RAG 30/03/2022 2022 1 9 Available online: https://covid-19.sciensano.be/sites/default/files/Covid19/20220330_RAG_Update%20%C3%A9pid%C3%A9miologique_FR.pdf (accessed on 1 August 2022)
Grabowski F. Lipniacki T. The spread of SARS-CoV-2 variant Omicron with a doubling time of 2.0–3.3 days can be explained by immune evasion Viruses 2022 14 294 10.3390/v14020294
Hoffmann M. Krüger N. Schulz S. Cossmann A. Rocha C. Kempf A. Nehlmeier I. Graichen L. Moldenhauer A.S. Winkler M.S. et al. The Omicron variant is highly resistant against antibody-mediated neutralization: Implications for control of the COVID-19 pandemic Cell 2022 185 447 456.e11 10.1016/j.cell.2021.12.032 35026151
Talic S. Shah S. Wild H. Gasevic D. Maharaj A. Ademi Z. Li X. Xu W. Mesa-Eguiagaray I. Rostron J. et al. Effectiveness of public health measures in reducing the incidence of COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2 transmission, and COVID-19 mortality: Systematic review and meta-analysis BMJ 2021 375 1 15 10.1136/bmj-2021-068302
Boutzoukas A.E. Zimmerman K.O. Inkelas M. Brookhart M.A. Benjamin D.K. Butteris S. Koval S. DeMuri G.P. Manuel V.G. Smith M.J. et al. School Masking Policies and Secondary SARS-CoV-2 Transmission Pediatrics 2022 149 e2022056687 10.1542/peds.2022-056687
Hemmer C.J. Hufert F. Siewert S. Reisinger E. Review Article Protection From COVID-19 The Efficacy of Face Masks Dtsch. Ärzteblatt Int. 2021 118 59 65
Allen J.G. Ibrahim A.M. Indoor Air Changes and Potential Implications for SARS-CoV-2 Transmission JAMA 2021 325 2112 Available online: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2779062 (accessed on 25 May 2021) 10.1001/jama.2021.5053
Li H. Yuan K. Sun Y.K. Zheng Y.B. Xu Y.Y. Su S.Z. Zhang Y.X. Zhong Y. Wang Y.J. Tian S.S. et al. Efficacy and practice of facemask use in general population: A systematic review and meta-analysis Transl. Psychiatry 2022 12 1 15 10.1038/s41398-022-01814-3
Chiu N.C. Chi H. Tai Y.L. Peng C.C. Tseng C.Y. Chen C.C. Tan B.F. Lin C.Y. Impact of wearing masks, hand hygiene, and social distancing on influenza, enterovirus, and all-cause pneumonia during the coronavirus pandemic: Retrospective national epidemiological surveillance study J. Med. Internet Res. 2020 22 e21257 10.2196/21257 32750008
Timmons S. McGinnity F. Belton C. Barjaková M. Lunn P. It depends on how you ask: Measuring bias in population surveys of compliance with COVID-19 public health guidance J. Epidemiol. Community Health 2021 75 387 389 10.1136/jech-2020-215256 33067252