Abstract
ObjectiveWe explored public perceptions about the COVID-19 pandemic to learn how those attitudes may affect compliance with health behaviors.MethodsParticipants were Central Pennsylvania adults from diverse backgrounds purposively sampled (based on race, gender, educational attainment, and healthcare worker status) who responded to a mixed methods survey, completed between March 25–31, 2020. Four open-ended questions were analyzed, including: “What worries you most about the COVID-19 pandemic?” We applied a pragmatic, inductive coding process to conduct a qualitative, descriptive content analysis of responses.ResultsOf the 5,948 respondents, 538 were sampled for this qualitative analysis. Participants were 58% female, 56% with ≥ bachelor’s degree, and 50% from minority racial backgrounds. Qualitative descriptive analysis revealed four themes related to respondents’ health and societal concerns: lack of faith in others; fears of illness or death; frustration at perceived slow societal response; and a desire for transparency in communicating local COVID-19 information. An “us-versus-them” subtext emerged; participants attributed non-compliance with COVID-19 behaviors to other groups, setting themselves apart from those Others.ConclusionOur study uncovered Othering undertones in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, occurring between groups of like-minded individuals with behavioral differences in ‘compliance’ versus ‘non-compliance’ with public health recommendations. Addressing the ‘us-versus-them’ mentality may be important for boosting compliance with recommended health behaviors.
Highlights
The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed modern society and unearthed substantial societal flaws
Issues related to compliance with public health recommendations, including social distancing, vaccination, and masking have been hotly debated across the nation
In March 2020, during the immediate period when the country was thrust into the era of social distancing [7,8], we conducted a mixed methods survey to evaluate public perceptions and intent to comply with early public health recommendations during the COVID-19 pandemic
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed modern society and unearthed substantial societal flaws. Issues related to compliance with public health recommendations, including social distancing, vaccination, and masking have been hotly debated across the nation. The polarization of viewpoints and politicization of issues related to public health recommendations has become commonplace. In March 2020, during the immediate period when the country was thrust into the era of social distancing [7,8], we conducted a mixed methods survey to evaluate public perceptions and intent to comply with early public health recommendations during the COVID-19 pandemic. During analysis of qualitative data related to public health behaviors, we were surprised by the pervasive political and social undertones that emerged in the qualitative, freetext responses to the survey, since our survey was conducted very early in the pandemic and was intentionally absent of political questions. Masks were not yet recommended and vaccines were at the earliest stage of development
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