AI Article Synopsis
- A cluster-randomized trial in rural Bangladesh assessed the impact of community-level mask distribution and promotion on SARS-CoV-2 infections, involving 600 villages and over 342,000 adults from November 2020 to April 2021.
- The study showed a significant increase in proper mask-wearing from 13.3% in control villages to 42.3% in intervention areas, indicating effective promotion strategies.
- The intervention led to a reduction in symptomatic seroprevalence, particularly among adults over 60, demonstrating that distributing and promoting masks is a scalable and effective strategy to lower COVID-19 infections.
Article Abstract
We conducted a cluster-randomized trial to measure the effect of community-level mask distribution and promotion on symptomatic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections in rural Bangladesh from November 2020 to April 2021 ( = 600 villages, = 342,183 adults). We cross-randomized mask type (cloth versus surgical) and promotion strategies at the village and household level. Proper mask-wearing increased from 13.3% in the control group to 42.3% in the intervention arm (adjusted percentage point difference = 0.29; 95% confidence interval = [0.26, 0.31]). The intervention reduced symptomatic seroprevalence (adjusted prevalence ratio = 0.91 [0.82, 1.00]), especially among adults ≥60 years old in villages where surgical masks were distributed (adjusted prevalence ratio = 0.65 [0.45, 0.85]). Mask distribution with promotion was a scalable and effective method to reduce symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections.
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Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9036942 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.abi9069 | DOI Listing |
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