April 1, 2021

Association Between Actual and Perceived U.S. COVID-19 Policies and Preventive Behavior

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions

Keywords (Tags): non-pharm interventions, public health policy

• Perception about the existence of state mask mandate was 91% accurate in states with a mandate but only 46% accurate in states without one, according to a nationally representative cross-sectional survey (n=1,073) conducted in July 2020. The survey also measured participants’ mask-wearing and physical distancing behaviors and found that perceived existence of a mask mandate better predicted preventive behaviors than an actual mask mandate. In contrast, participants’ perception of state reopening did not correlate with actual state reopening policies.

Li and Colby. (Mar 31, 2021). Association Between Actual and Perceived U.S. COVID-19 Policies and Preventive Behavior. Annals of Behavioral Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1093/abm/kaab021