Characteristics of mask adherence in low and medium-income countries and high-income countries: Results from round II of the global COVIDiSTRESS survey

Abstract

Many studies have connected mask-wearing during the coronavirus pandemic to various characteristics and beliefs; yet much of this research has been conducted in wealthy countries in the Global North. Performing a secondary analysis of the COVIDiSTRESS survey, conducted online in 137 countries between May 28th and August 29th of 2021, we find that there are important differences in the characteristics related to mask adherence in places the World Bank classifies as low and medium-income countries (LMICs) and high-income countries (HICs). Our findings suggest that: (1) identifying as a woman has a stronger impact on the likelihood of mask adherence in HICs than LMICs; (2) an increase in age only has a positive impact on mask adherence in LMICs; (3) SES (especially higher levels of education) has a much stronger positive impact on mask adherence in LMICs than HICs; (4) while a belief in conspiracy theories has a stronger negative impact in HICs than LMICs, this result is not statistically significant; and (5) acquiring of scientific information on COVID-19 is only positively correlated with an increased likelihood of mask adherence in LMICs. If there is another pandemic, we argue that this shows that research on mask adherence conducted in the Global North should not simply be applied to countries in the Global South.