Achieving Universal Wearing of Face Masks During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Practical Solution from Shanghai, China

Analysis of factors influencing public attention to masks during the COVID-19 epidemic-Data from Sina Weibo

As we all know, vaccination still does not protect people from novel coronavirus infections, and wearing masks remains essential. Research on mask attention is helpful to understand the public's cognition and willingness to wear masks, but there are few studies on mask attention in the existing literature. The health belief model used to study disease prevention behaviors is rarely applied to the research on mask attention, and the research on health belief models basically entails the use of a questionnaire survey. This study was purposed to establish a health belief model affecting mask attention to explore the relationship between perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, self-efficacy, perceived impairment, action cues and mask attention. On the basis of the establishment of the hypothesis model, the Baidu index of epidemic and mask attention, the number of likes and comments on Weibo, and the historical weather temperature data were retrieved by using software. Keyword extraction and manual screening were carried out for Weibo comments, and then the independent variables and dependent variables were coded. Finally, through binomial logistic regression analysis, it was concluded that perceived susceptibility, perceived severity and action cues have significant influences on mask attention, and that the accuracy rate for predicting low attention is 93.4%, and the global accuracy is 84.3%. These conclusions can also help suppliers make production decisions.

What shapes people's willingness to wear a face mask at the beginning of a public health disaster? A qualitative study based on COVID-19 in China

COVID-19 should not be the world's last public health disaster, so there is an urgent need to learn from COVID-19 to prepare better for the next public health disaster. This study aims to understand the factors that make people wear a face mask at the beginning of an outbreak of public health disaster. Semi-structured interviews were conducted during April 2020 in China, one month after the COVID-19 was declared a pandemic. The respondents were members of the public living in China, covering two age groups: young adults and older adults. They were recruited using a convenient sample and snowball sampling strategy. The results were analysed using content analysis. Seventeen subjects were recruited, among which nine were young adults (average age = 26.4; SD = 10.5), and eight were older adults (average age = 60.4; SD = 12.1). This study found that environmental factors, personal factors, factors concerning wearing masks, specific circumstances, and development of the pandemic were the common factors considered by both young adults and older adults. This study should help the authority formulate prevention policies better to reduce the risk of an outbreak if there is a new virus outbreak in the future, unfortunately.

The Dilemma of Masks During the COVID-19 Outbreak

Background

Many people have experienced novel coronavirus pneumonia since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan, China. The Chinese government has encouraged people to wear face masks in public places; however, due to the large population, there may be a series of problems related to this recommendation, including shortages of masks and lack of an optimal disposal method for used masks.

Objective

The purpose of this study is to understand the current status of mask shortages and used masks in China.

Methods

A questionnaire survey was designed to assess the current status of mask shortages and used masks. The differences among groups were analyzed with chi-square tests.

Results

The constituent ratio of those who reuse masks was 61%. Obtaining masks from the drugstore was reported to be very difficult due to high demand and short supply, and approximately 1/3 of the respondents purchased expensive masks. Most people know how to properly handle used masks, and only 7% of them casually discard masks. However, 50% of respondents have seen others throw away used masks at will. A further subgroup analysis showed that respondents in Central China tended to use masks repeatedly, as did medical personnel. Females, people living in the central region, and medical personnel may find it more difficult to purchase masks in drugstores. Non-medical personnel may be more likely to buy expensive masks. Females, people living in the western region, and medical personnel may be more likely to know how to properly handle used masks and not to discard used masks at will. Medical personnel may be more likely to observe others discarding used masks at will.

Conclusion

In response to COVID-19, the public should be encouraged to use face masks and are advised not to reuse or throw away masks at will due to safety concerns.