Objectives: Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, behavioural interventions to reduce disease transmission have been central to public health policy worldwide. Sustaining individual protective behaviour is especially important in low-income and middle-income settings, where health systems have fewer resources and access to vaccination is limited. This study seeks to assess time trends in COVID-19 protective behaviour in India.

Design: Nationally representative, panel-based, longitudinal study.

Setting: We conducted a panel survey of Indian households to understand how the adoption of COVID-19 protective behaviours has changed over time. Our data span peaks and valleys of disease transmission over May-December 2020.

Participants: Respondents included 3719 adults from 1766 Indian households enrolled in the Harmonised Diagnostic Assessment of Dementia for the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India.

Analysis: We used ordinary least squares regression analysis to quantify time trends in protective behaviours.

Results: We find a 30.6 percentage point (95% CI (26.7 to 34.5); p<0.01) decline in protective behaviours related to social distancing over the observation period. Mask wearing and handwashing, in contrast, decreased by only 4.3 percentage points (95% CI (0.97 to 7.6); p<0.05) from a high base. Our conclusions are unchanged after adjusting for recorded COVID-19 caseload and nationwide COVID-19 containment policy; we also observe significant declines across socioeconomic strata spanning age, gender, education and urbanicity.

Conclusion: We argue that these changes reflect, at least in part, 'COVID-19 fatigue,' where adherence to social distancing becomes more difficult over time irrespective of the surrounding disease environment.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8808317PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-058065DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

covid-19 protective
12
protective behaviours
8
nationally representative
8
disease transmission
8
protective behaviour
8
time trends
8
indian households
8
protective
5
adherence covid-19
4
behaviours india
4

Similar Publications

The survival of B cells is compromised in kidney disease.

Nat Commun

December 2024

Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.

Antibody-mediated protection against pathogens is crucial to a healthy life. However, the recent SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has shown that pre-existing comorbid conditions including kidney disease account for compromised humoral immunity to infections. Individuals with kidney disease are not only susceptible to infections but also exhibit poor vaccine-induced antibody response.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Trivalent recombinant protein vaccine induces cross-neutralization against XBB lineage and JN.1 subvariants: preclinical and phase 1 clinical trials.

Nat Commun

December 2024

Laboratory of Aging Research and Cancer Drug Target, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.

The immune escape capacities of XBB variants necessitate the authorization of vaccines with these antigens. In this study, we produce three recombinant trimeric proteins from the RBD sequences of Delta, BA.5, and XBB.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Vaccination plays an important role in fighting against COVID-19. However, it is unclear about the association among vaccination, mental health, and bullying behaviors in China.

Method: This online survey was conducted to investigate the association among vaccination status, mental health problems and bullying behaviors in students from December 14, 2022 to February 28, 2023 in Sichuan, China.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant changes in our daily lives, including the widespread use of face masks. Face masks have been reported to reduce the transmission of viral infections by droplets; however, improper use and/or treatment of these masks can cause them to be contaminated, thereby reducing their efficacy. Moreover, regular replacement of face masks is essential to maintaining their effectiveness, which can be challenging in resource-limited healthcare settings.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Dozens of vaccines have been approved or authorized internationally in response to the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, covering a range of modalities and routes of delivery. For example, mucosal delivery of vaccines via the intranasal (i.n.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!