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Polarization and public health: Partisan differences in social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic.

ABSTRACT: We study partisan differences in Americans' response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Political leaders and media outlets on the right and left have sent divergent messages about the severity of the crisis, which could impact the extent to which Republicans and Democrats engage in social distancing and other efforts to reduce disease transmission. We develop a simple model of a pandemic response with heterogeneous agents that clarifies the causes and consequences of heterogeneous responses. We use location data from a large sample of smartphones to show that areas with more Republicans engaged in less social distancing, controlling for other factors including public policies, population density, and local COVID cases and deaths. We then present new survey evidence of significant gaps at the individual level between Republicans and Democrats in self-reported social distancing, beliefs about personal COVID risk, and beliefs about the future severity of the pandemic.

SUBMITTER: Allcott H

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7409721 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Polarization and public health: Partisan differences in social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic.

Allcott Hunt H Boxell Levi L Conway Jacob J Gentzkow Matthew M Thaler Michael M Yang David D

Journal of public economics 20200806

We study partisan differences in Americans' response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Political leaders and media outlets on the right and left have sent divergent messages about the severity of the crisis, which could impact the extent to which Republicans and Democrats engage in social distancing and other efforts to reduce disease transmission. We develop a simple model of a pandemic response with heterogeneous agents that clarifies the causes and consequences of heterogeneous responses. We use loca ...[more]

PMID: 32836504

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Project description:At least 60 min of moderate-intensity physical activity per day is recommended for physical and mental health of adolescents. Schools are one of the most suitable places for promoting students' health as it is a place where vigorous physical activity occurs. However, the physical activity of students is threatened because schools are closed worldwide owing to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in 2019. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the physical fitness changes in 27,782 Korean adolescents during the pandemic and present alternative education and health policies to the school. We included 29,882 middle school students (age: 13-15 years; males: 14,941, females: 12,841) in Korea from 2019 to 2021 . Participants' physical fitness at school was measured using the physical activity promotion system (PAPS) manual developed to measure students' physical fitness. Physical fitness variables included body mass index (BMI), 20 m shuttle run, handgrip strength, sit-and-reach, and 50 m run. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on the BMI and cardiorespiratory endurance of Korean middle school students. Specifically, male students' BMI increased, while body composition, cardiorespiratory endurance, and grip strength decreased significantly. Female students showed significant decreases in BMI and sit-and-reach test scores. It is clear that the physical fitness level of adolescents decreased by a greater degree after the COVID-19 pandemic than before, and the decrease in the physical fitness level of male students was noticeable. Therefore, a lesson strategy should be prepared that considers the contents and methods of physical education classes to improve the physical fitness level of male and female adolescents. Fitness-based classes suitable for online methods should be urgently added as alternative physical education classes to prepare for the second COVID-19 outbreak. In addition, it is necessary to create an environment in which physical activity is a possibility in physical education classes, in any situation using artificial intelligence and virtual reality.

Project description:BackgroundImplementing and lifting social distancing (LSD) is an urgent global issue during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly when the travel ban is lifted to revive international businesses and economies. However, when and whether LSD can be considered is subject to the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the recovery rate, and the case-fatality rate. It is imperative to provide real-time assessment of three factors to guide LSD.ObjectiveA simple LSD index was developed for health decision makers to do real-time assessment of COVID-19 at the global, country, region, and community level.MethodsData on the retrospective cohort of 186 countries with three factors were retrieved from a publicly available repository from January to early July. A simple index for guiding LSD was measured by the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases and recoveries, and the case-fatality rate was envisaged. If the LSD index was less than 1, LSD can be considered. The dynamic changes of the COVID-19 pandemic were evaluated to assess whether and when health decision makers allowed for LSD and when to reimplement social distancing after resurgences of the epidemic.ResultsAfter large-scale outbreaks in a few countries before mid-March (prepandemic phase), the global weekly LSD index peaked at 4.27 in March and lasted until mid-June (pandemic phase), during which most countries were affected and needed to take various social distancing measures. Since, the value of LSD has gradually declined to 0.99 on July 5 (postpandemic phase), at which 64.7% (120/186) of countries and regions had an LSD<1 with the decile between 0 and 1 to refine risk stratification by countries. The LSD index decreased to 1 in about 115 days. In addition, we present the results of dynamic changes of the LSD index for the world and for each country and region with different time windows from January to July 5. The results of the LSD index on the resurgence of the COVID-19 epidemic in certain regions and validation by other emerging infectious diseases are presented.ConclusionsThis simple LSD index provides a quantitative assessment of whether and when to ease or implement social distancing to provide advice for health decision makers and travelers.

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Polarization and public health: Partisan differences in social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic.

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Polarization and public health: Partisan differences in social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic.

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