TY - JOUR
T1 - Adoption of preventive measures during the very early phase of the COVID-19 outbreak in China
T2 - National cross-sectional survey study
AU - Lau, Joseph
AU - Yu, Yanqiu
AU - Xin, Meiqi
AU - She, Rui
AU - Luo, Sitong
AU - Li, Lijuan
AU - Wang, Suhua
AU - Ma, Le
AU - Tao, Fangbiao
AU - Zhang, Jianxin
AU - Zhao, Junfeng
AU - Hu, Dongsheng
AU - Li, Liping
AU - Zhang, Guohua
AU - Gu, Jing
AU - Lin, Danhua
AU - Wang, Hongmei
AU - Cai, Yong
AU - Wang, Zhaofen
AU - You, Hua
AU - Hu, Guoqing
AU - COVID-19 University Student Research Group
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was funded by the Centre for Health Behaviours Research of the Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (internal funding). We greatly appreciate the assistance of Huahua Hu, Jing Jia, Bishan Huang, Xi Chen, Shangrong Liu, Dejun Zhang, and Hong Zhang during the study. We would also like to thank all participants for their contributions.
Publisher Copyright:
© Joseph Lau, Yanqiu Yu, Meiqi Xin, Rui She, Sitong Luo, Lijuan Li, Suhua Wang, Le Ma, Fangbiao Tao, Jianxin Zhang, Junfeng Zhao, Dongsheng Hu, Liping Li, Guohua Zhang, Jing Gu, Danhua Lin, Hongmei Wang, Yong Cai, Zhaofen Wang, Hua You, Guoqing Hu, COVID-19 University Student Research Group.
PY - 2021/10/7
Y1 - 2021/10/7
N2 - Background: The outbreak of COVID-19 in China occurred around the Chinese New Year (January 25, 2020), and infections decreased continuously afterward. General adoption of preventive measures during the Chinese New Year period was crucial in driving the decline. It is imperative to investigate preventive behaviors among Chinese university students, who could have spread COVID-19 when travelling home during the Chinese New Year break. Objective: In this study, we investigated levels of COVID-19–related personal measures undertaken during the 7-day Chinese New Year holidays by university students in China, and associated COVID-19–related cognitive factors. Methods: A cross-sectional anonymous web-based survey was conducted during the period from February 1 to 10, 2020. Data from 23,863 students (from 26 universities, 16 cities, 13 provincial-level regions) about personal measures (frequent face-mask wearing, frequent handwashing, frequent home staying, and an indicator that combined the 3 behaviors) were analyzed (overall response rate 70%). Multilevel multiple logistic regression analysis was performed. Results: Only 28.0% of respondents (6684/23,863) had left home for >4 hours, and 49.3% (11,757/23,863) had never left home during the 7-day Chinese New Year period; 79.7% (19,026/23,863) always used face-masks in public areas. The frequency of handwashing with soap was relatively low (6424/23,863, 26.9% for >5 times/day); 72.4% (17,282/23,863) had frequently undertaken ≥2 of these 3 measures. COVID-19–related cognitive factors (perceptions on modes of transmission, permanent bodily damage, efficacy of personal or governmental preventive measures, nonavailability of vaccines and treatments) were significantly associated with preventive measures. Associations with frequent face-mask wearing were stronger than those with frequent home staying. Conclusions: University students had strong behavioral responses during the very early phase of the COVID-19 outbreak. Levels of personal prevention, especially frequent home staying and face-mask wearing, were high. Health promotion may modify cognitive factors. Some structural factors (eg, social distancing policy) might explain why the frequency of home staying was higher than that of handwashing. Other populations might have behaved similarly; however, such data were not available to us.
AB - Background: The outbreak of COVID-19 in China occurred around the Chinese New Year (January 25, 2020), and infections decreased continuously afterward. General adoption of preventive measures during the Chinese New Year period was crucial in driving the decline. It is imperative to investigate preventive behaviors among Chinese university students, who could have spread COVID-19 when travelling home during the Chinese New Year break. Objective: In this study, we investigated levels of COVID-19–related personal measures undertaken during the 7-day Chinese New Year holidays by university students in China, and associated COVID-19–related cognitive factors. Methods: A cross-sectional anonymous web-based survey was conducted during the period from February 1 to 10, 2020. Data from 23,863 students (from 26 universities, 16 cities, 13 provincial-level regions) about personal measures (frequent face-mask wearing, frequent handwashing, frequent home staying, and an indicator that combined the 3 behaviors) were analyzed (overall response rate 70%). Multilevel multiple logistic regression analysis was performed. Results: Only 28.0% of respondents (6684/23,863) had left home for >4 hours, and 49.3% (11,757/23,863) had never left home during the 7-day Chinese New Year period; 79.7% (19,026/23,863) always used face-masks in public areas. The frequency of handwashing with soap was relatively low (6424/23,863, 26.9% for >5 times/day); 72.4% (17,282/23,863) had frequently undertaken ≥2 of these 3 measures. COVID-19–related cognitive factors (perceptions on modes of transmission, permanent bodily damage, efficacy of personal or governmental preventive measures, nonavailability of vaccines and treatments) were significantly associated with preventive measures. Associations with frequent face-mask wearing were stronger than those with frequent home staying. Conclusions: University students had strong behavioral responses during the very early phase of the COVID-19 outbreak. Levels of personal prevention, especially frequent home staying and face-mask wearing, were high. Health promotion may modify cognitive factors. Some structural factors (eg, social distancing policy) might explain why the frequency of home staying was higher than that of handwashing. Other populations might have behaved similarly; however, such data were not available to us.
KW - Behavior
KW - China
KW - Cognition
KW - Control
KW - COVID-19
KW - Cross-sectional
KW - Face mask
KW - Hand hygiene
KW - Health behavior
KW - Infectious disease
KW - Interpersonal contacts
KW - Prevention
KW - Protection
KW - Public health
KW - Survey
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85117216401&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.2196/26840
DO - 10.2196/26840
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 34479184
AN - SCOPUS:85117216401
SN - 2369-2960
VL - 7
JO - JMIR Public Health and Surveillance
JF - JMIR Public Health and Surveillance
IS - 10
M1 - e26840
ER -
