Feasibility, Utility, and Limitations of a Rapid Community Behavioral Diagnosis for Social Distancing During the 2020 Coronavirus Pandemic.

Abstract

To evaluate the feasibility, utility, and limitations of a rapid community behavioral diagnosis (RCBD) for social distancing behaviors to prevent coronavirus transmission during a global coronavirus pandemic. Using social media for recruitment, we partnered with a local community task force to administer a brief online survey. Residential urban community. Eighty-four community members, the majority of whom were white, female, college educated completed the survey. Theory of planned behavior constructs: behavioral intentions, attitudes, perceived norms, and perceived behavioral control for 3 social distancing behaviors: maintaining a 6-foot distance, avoiding places people congregate, and staying home as much as possible. Path analyses were conducted to understand significant determinants of intentions for each behavior to guide the development of locally tailored health promotion messages. The RCBD was implemented, and results were communicated to the community within 1 week. Intentions were high across the 3 behaviors but lowest for staying home as much as possible. Younger participants had lower intentions of maintaining a 6-foot distance than older participants. For each behavior, specific recommendations for health promotion messaging emerged based on how attitudes, norms, and perceived behavioral control related to intentions. In a situation where local community action is paramount for reducing coronavirus transmission, this RCBD process is feasible and useful for informing local health promotion.