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First name
Edmond
Middle name
Pui Hang
Last name
Choi
    Description
    Scientific peer-reviewed publication
    Description/abstract

    The success of public health measures for controlling the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic relies on population compliance. We analyzed compliance with social distancing and its associations with mental health. The Hong Kong COVID-19 Health Information Survey was conducted from 9–23 April 2020 on 1501 adults randomly sampled for landline telephone interviews (n = 500) and online surveys (n = 1001). Compliance with social distancing and staying-at-home, stress (Perceived Stress Scale-4), anxiety (General Anxiety Disorders-2), and depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire-2) were collected. The associations between mental health symptoms and compliance were examined by multivariable regression models. Of the 1501 respondents (52.5% female, 72.3% aged 18–59 years), 74.2%, 72.7%, and 59.7% reported avoiding going out, going to crowded places, and attending social gatherings of more than four people, respectively. Most respondents had stayed-at-home for at least four of the past seven days (58.4%; mean 4.12, Standard Deviation 2.05). Adoption, perceived effectiveness, and perceived compliance with social distancing were associated with lower stress levels and less anxiety and depressive symptoms (all p < 0.01). However, more days stayed-at-home were associated with more depressive symptoms (adjusted Odds Ratio 1.09; 95%Confidence Interval 1.00, 1.18). The long-term psychological impact in relation to social distancing and staying-at-home requires further investigation.

    Publication Language
    English
    Free Keywords
    Policy measures
    Topics
    Health status » Morbidity/disability » Communicable diseases » Covid-19;
    Policy » Adherence/ compliance to measure
    ISSN Number
    1660-4601
    Access rights to the publication
    Closed access
    Country(ies)
    Country outside Europe
    Journal
    International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
    Publisher
    MDPI AG
    Year of Publication
    2020
    Volume
    17
    Issue
    18
    Pages
    6692
    Corresponding author
    Man Ping Wang
    Contact e-mail
    mpwang@hku.hk
    Call Number
    +852-391-76-636
    Contact info (address)

    School of Nursing, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China