Collective health behavior and face mask utilization during the COVID-19 pandemic in Oklahoma, USA
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Date
2020-04-04Author
Bray, Laura A.
Porter, Olivia
Kim, Andrew
Jervis, Lori L.
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Background Face mask use offers an important public health tool for reducing the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), yet the politicization of COVID-19 has resulted in uneven adherence. This study assesses the effects of setting characteristics and the sociodemographic composition of crowds on group-level masking rates. Methods We conducted 123 site observations of masking behavior at public locations across Oklahoma (USA) between June and September 2020. We used analyses of variance and t-tests to examine variation in masking and ordinary least squares regression to model the effect of setting and sociodemographic characteristics on site-level masking rates. Results The masking rate across all sites averaged 34% but varied widely. Site-level masking rates were higher at metropolitan sites and sites with a store or municipal masking mandate. The masking rate at sites where women or older adults (60+) were the predominant group did not differ significantly from other sites. Ethnically diverse sites exhibited significantly higher masking rates compared with predominantly white sites. Findings indicate that setting characteristics explained a greater amount of variation in collective masking rates than sociodemographic differences. Conclusions This study underscores the importance of place and policy for mask adherence. In the absence of state-level mandates, masking policies at a more local level may be effective.
Citation
Laura A Bray, Olivia Porter, Andrew Kim, Lori L Jervis, Collective health behavior and face mask utilization during the COVID-19 pandemic in Oklahoma, USA, Journal of Public Health, 2022;, fdac007, https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdac007
Sponsorship
This work was supported by a University of Oklahoma Vice President for Research and Partnerships COVID-19 Rapid Response Seed Grant.
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