Citizens’
adherence to COVID-19 social distancing measures depends on government
By Meghan Azralon,
University of Colorado Communications
A new study conducted by a team of
researchers, including University of Colorado
Denver Business School associate professor Jiban Khuntia,
PhD, found while social distancing is an effective preventative
measure in the fight against COVID-19, there are significant variations
being observed in how and why individuals follow the
restrictions.
The reasons ascribed in the study are:
(1) citizen’s
perception that government is doing good by responding to COVID situation,
(2) citizen’s perception of government business reopening
efforts are good,
(3) messages sent to citizens through different
information sources,
(4) specific social media use and
(5) levels of knowledge
around COVID.
Looking at three different
countries—the United States, Kuwait, and South Korea—researchers found government response efforts
to COVID-19 heavily influenced self-adherence to social
distancing measures.
According to data
collected, overall, people believe they are following
social distancing recommendations, but when asked if others adhering, the
numbers decrease, as shown in the table below.
According to researchers, governments who instilled fear instead of providing important, knowledgeable information, are less likely to be trusted. This fear can lead to panic and limited adherence to policies implemented later.
For example, in the United States, some citizens
are hesitant to follow masks orders because they believe it will take away
their freedom. Khuntia believes governments should have stated
early-on that mask-wearing does not infringe on your freedom, but rather saves lives.
“The sole argument of this research
is that the government should have given citizens a much better informative
story, channelized through ‘more personal’ broadcasting and media sources than
it was handled,” says Khuntia.
“Rather than focus on political ramifications, and
media-driven ‘sensational breaking stories’, a positive,
well put-together message should have been formed.”
When comparing the different
countries’ responses to government mandates, the United States and
Kuwait expect the government to provide enough information and rationale as to
why they are taking away certain freedoms (staying inside, limiting
gatherings, etc.).
On the other hand, looking at South Korea,
respondents are more willing to give up individual freedoms during a national
crisis, regardless of the in-depth rationale provided by government
officials.
“Countries have different
institutional and cultural patterns involving trust, belief, and
convictions on governance,” says Khuntia.
When it comes to shaping
decisions based on knowledge, Khuntia notes that higher
knowledge level is influential in shaping the decisions on self-adherence for
the US, whereas it raises a skepticism on others’ adherence decisions for
Kuwait.
“A possible reason may be due
to differences in the cultural norm as well as the information surrounding
the culture or community—i.e., health promotion behavior across cultures,”
says Khuntia.
After looking at all data and
findings, researchers suggest policymakers explore four ideas to
better COVID-19 social distancing adherence:
Tell citizens
more precisely and directly what individuals need to do for
themselves
Express what individuals should
expect from others and what others need to do when dealing with other
individuals
Messages from policymakers to
citizens must be done through social media and similar channels, and
not only through press and TV
With no current cure
for COVID-19 and with no vaccine available, governments will have to
continue to implement social distancing measures. They must keep
in mind that there is a feeling of uneasiness and frustration with
the economic downturn and loss of certain freedoms.
Researchers from this
study conclude that public opinions must be
considered while implementing new d to provide knowledge about the
disease along with information that should calm the citizens, and messages
should nudge citizens on what others in their community are doing in terms of
health-prom COVID policies, in addition to medical research.