Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: May 11, 2020
Date Accepted: Jul 26, 2020
Date Submitted to PubMed: Jul 27, 2020
Chinese public’s engagement in preventive and intervening health behaviors during early breakout of COVID-19: a cross-sectional study
ABSTRACT
Background:
Since January 2020, COVID-19 swept over China and then the world, causing a global public health crisis. People’s adoption of preventive and intervening behaviors is critical in curbing the spread of the virus.
Objective:
To evaluate Chinese people’s adoption of health behaviors in responding to COVID-19 and to identify key determinants for their engagement.
Methods:
An anonymous online questionnaire was distributed in early February 2020 among Mainland Chinese (18 years or older) to examine their engagement in preventive behaviors (e.g., frequent handwashing) and intervening behaviors (e.g., advising family to wash hands frequently), and to explore potential determinants for their adoption of these health behaviors.
Results:
Out of 2949 participants, 55.3% reported frequent engagement in preventive health behaviors, and over 84% performed at least one intervening health behavior. Greater engagement in preventive behaviors was found among participants who received higher education, being married, felt less desperate, reported fewer barriers and greater benefits of engagement, had higher functional health literacy and eHealth literacy, and greater social media and traditional media use for COVID-19 news. Besides, greater engagement in intervening behaviors was observed among participants who were married, had lower income, evaluated greater benefits of health measures, had higher health literacy, and greater social media and traditional media use for COVID-19 news.
Conclusions:
Participants’ engagement in coronavirus-related preventive and intervening behaviors was overall high and the associations varied across demographic and psychosocial variables. Hence, customized health interventions that address the determinants for health behaviors are needed to improve people’s adherence to coronavirus-related behavior guidelines.
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