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Community psychological and behavioural responses to coronavirus disease 2019 over one year of the pandemic in 2020 in Hong Kong

ABSTRACT: Monitoring community psychological and behavioural responses to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is important for informing policy making and risk communication to sustain public compliance with challenging precautionary behaviours and mitigating the psychological impacts. Monthly telephone-based cross-sectional surveys in January–April 2020 and then weekly surveys from May through December 2020 were conducted to monitor changes in public risk perception of COVID-19, personal efficacy in self-protection, confidence in government’s ability to control the pandemic, precautionary behaviours, perceived impact of precautionary behaviours, psychological fatigue and distress in Hong Kong, and examine their inter-relationships. While worry about contracting COVID-19 increased, personal efficacy and confidence in government declined as the community incidence of COVID-19 increased. The public maintained high compliance with most precautionary behaviours throughout but relaxed behaviours that were more challenging when disease incidence declined. Public confidence in government was persistently low throughout, of which, a lower level was associated with more psychological fatigue, lower compliance with precautionary behaviours and greater psychological distress. Perceived greater negative impact of precautionary behaviours was also associated with more psychological fatigue which in turn was associated with relaxation of precautionary behaviours. Female, younger and unemployed individuals reported greater psychological distress throughout different stages of the pandemic. Risk communication should focus on promoting confidence in self-protection and pandemic control to avoid helplessness to act when the pandemic resurges. Policy making should prioritize building public trust, enhancing support for sustaining precautionary behaviours, and helping vulnerable groups to adapt to the stress during the pandemic.

SUBMITTER: Liao Q

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8602294 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:We have recently described the discovery of a novel coronavirus, coronavirus HKU1 (CoV-HKU1), associated with community-acquired pneumonia. However, the clinical spectrum of disease and the epidemiology of CoV-HKU1 infections in relation to infections with other respiratory viruses are unknown. In this 12-month prospective study, 4,181 nasopharyngeal aspirates from patients with acute respiratory tract infections were subjected to reverse transcription-PCRs specific for CoV-HKU1 and human coronaviruses NL63 (HCoV-NL63), OC43 (HCoV-OC43), and 229E (HCoV-229E). Coronaviruses were detected in 87 (2.1%) patients, with 13 (0.3%) positive for CoV-HKU1, 17 (0.4%) positive for HCoV-NL63, 53 (1.3%) positive for HCoV-OC43, and 4 (0.1%) positive for HCoV-229E. Of the 13 patients with CoV-HKU1 infections, 11 were children and 8 had underlying diseases. Similar to the case for other coronaviruses, upper respiratory infection was the most common presentation of CoV-HKU1 infections, although pneumonia, acute bronchiolitis, and asthmatic exacerbation also occurred. Despite a shorter duration of fever (mean, 1.7 days) and no difference in maximum temperature in children with CoV-HKU1 infections compared to patients with most other respiratory virus infections, a high incidence of febrile seizures (50%) was noted, which was significantly higher than those for HCoV-OC43 (14%), adenovirus (9%), human parainfluenza virus 1 (0%), and respiratory syncytial virus (8%) infections. CoV-HKU1 and HCoV-OC43 infections peaked in winter, although cases of the former also occurred in spring to early summer. This is in contrast to HCoV-NL63 infections, which mainly occurred in early summer and autumn but were absent in winter. Two genotypes of CoV-HKU1 cocirculated during the study period. Continuous studies over a longer period are warranted to ascertain the seasonal variation and relative importance of the different coronaviruses. Similar studies in other countries are required to better determine the epidemiology and genetic diversity of CoV-HKU1.

Project description:BackgroundA range of public health measures have been implemented to suppress local transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Hong Kong. We examined the effect of these interventions and behavioural changes of the public on the incidence of COVID-19, as well as on influenza virus infections, which might share some aspects of transmission dynamics with COVID-19.MethodsWe analysed data on laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases, influenza surveillance data in outpatients of all ages, and influenza hospitalisations in children. We estimated the daily effective reproduction number (Rt) for COVID-19 and influenza A H1N1 to estimate changes in transmissibility over time. Attitudes towards COVID-19 and changes in population behaviours were reviewed through three telephone surveys done on Jan 20-23, Feb 11-14, and March 10-13, 2020.FindingsCOVID-19 transmissibility measured by Rt has remained at approximately 1 for 8 weeks in Hong Kong. Influenza transmission declined substantially after the implementation of social distancing measures and changes in population behaviours in late January, with a 44% (95% CI 34-53%) reduction in transmissibility in the community, from an estimated Rt of 1·28 (95% CI 1·26-1·30) before the start of the school closures to 0·72 (0·70-0·74) during the closure weeks. Similarly, a 33% (24-43%) reduction in transmissibility was seen based on paediatric hospitalisation rates, from an Rt of 1·10 (1·06-1·12) before the start of the school closures to 0·73 (0·68-0·77) after school closures. Among respondents to the surveys, 74·5%, 97·5%, and 98·8% reported wearing masks when going out, and 61·3%, 90·2%, and 85·1% reported avoiding crowded places in surveys 1 (n=1008), 2 (n=1000), and 3 (n=1005), respectively.InterpretationOur study shows that non-pharmaceutical interventions (including border restrictions, quarantine and isolation, distancing, and changes in population behaviour) were associated with reduced transmission of COVID-19 in Hong Kong, and are also likely to have substantially reduced influenza transmission in early February, 2020.FundingHealth and Medical Research Fund, Hong Kong.

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Community psychological and behavioural responses to coronavirus disease 2019 over one year of the pandemic in 2020 in Hong Kong

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