Preventive Behaviors and Information Sources during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study in Japan

Manae Uchibori; Cyrus Ghaznavi; Michio Murakami; Akifumi Eguchi; Hiroyuki Kunishima; Satoshi Kaneko; Keiko Maruyama-Sakurai; Hiroaki Miyata; Shuhei Nomura

doi:10.3390/ijerph192114511

Preventive Behaviors and Information Sources during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study in Japan

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Nov 4;19(21):14511. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192114511.

Authors

Manae Uchibori^{1

2}, Cyrus Ghaznavi^{1

3}, Michio Murakami⁴, Akifumi Eguchi^{1

5

6}, Hiroyuki Kunishima⁷, Satoshi Kaneko⁸, Keiko Maruyama-Sakurai¹, Hiroaki Miyata^{1

2}, Shuhei Nomura^{1

2

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Medicine, Keio University, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjyuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan.
² The Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research, 3-2-1 Roppongi, Tokyo 106-6234, Japan.
³ Medical Education Program, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S Euclid Ave, Saint Louis, MO 63110, USA.
⁴ Division of Scientific Information and Public Policy, Center for Infectious Disease Education and Research, Osaka University, 2-8 Yamadaoka, Suita City 565-0871, Japan.
⁵ Department of Global Health Policy, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8654, Japan.
⁶ Center for Preventive Medical Sciences, Department of Sustainable Health Science, Chiba University, 1-33 Yayoi-cho, Inage-ku, Chiba 263-8522, Japan.
⁷ Department of Infectious Diseases, St. Marianna University School of Medicine, 2-16-1 Sugao, Miyamae-ku, Kawasaki 216-8511, Japan.
⁸ Department of Ecoepidemiology, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan.

Abstract

Background: individual preventive behaviors are one of the key measures needed to prevent the spread of COVID-19. This study sought to identify the factors associated with the adoption of COVID-19 preventive measures, focusing specifically on information sources.

Methods: we conducted a nationally representative cross-sectional survey of 30,053 Japanese adults in February 2021. The survey asked about socioeconomic, health-related, and psychological characteristics, attitudes toward immunization, and the use of information sources regarding COVID-19. We have constructed multivariable logistic regression to estimate the factors associated with the adoption of three preventive measures: 3Cs avoidance, hand hygiene and respiratory hygiene.

Results: socioeconomic variables, psychological variables, and the use of information sources are significantly associated with the adoption of preventive measures. The more information sources one uses, the more likely one is to adopt preventive measures. Trust in healthcare professionals is positively associated with adopting preventive measures. On the other hand, negative correlations between trust in social media and preventive behaviors were observed.

Conclusions: encouraging access to multiple information sources, utilizing communication channels, and modifying messaging according to target groups are essential to promote COVID-19 preventive measures.

Keywords: COVID-19; information sources; preventive behaviors; social media.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
COVID-19* / epidemiology
COVID-19* / prevention & control
Cross-Sectional Studies
Humans
Japan / epidemiology
Pandemics / prevention & control
Social Media*
Surveys and Questionnaires

Grants and funding

This work was partly funded by research grants from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan (H29-Gantaisaku-ippan-009), and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (21H03203).