Table 1.
Compliance with the five most relevant measures for citizens’ containment.
| % People Affected by a Measure | Average Compliance (Lowest, Highest per Country 1, %) |
Bivariate Associations: Factors Making People More (↑) or Less (↓) Compliant with the Measure | Multivariable Associations: Significant Factors Improving (↑) or Reducing (↓) Compliance When Factor Increased by 10% | Message for Policymakers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 78% affected by “Keep at least 1–2 m away from other people (social distancing)” |
73 (NL 53, IN 86) | Perceived restrictiveness (↓) Perceived effectiveness (↑) Following more pandemic news (↑) Older (↑) Higher education (↑) Trusting hospitals and government more (↑) More extreme government response (↓) More truthful government (↑) More stressed about the pandemic (↑) More afraid of getting infected (↑) Female gender (↑) Health conditions, comorbidities (↑) Medical staff (↑) Covid-19 infection in the family (↑) Job Loss without payment (↓) |
Fear of getting infected (↑ 10.5%) Stressed by the outbreak (↑ 5%) Perceived effectiveness (↑ 5%) Trust in government (↑ 4%) Females (↑ 3.5%) than males Older compared to person 1 year younger (↑ 1%) More extreme government response (↓ 6%) Higher level of restrictiveness (↓ 1%) |
To increase the rate of compliance with social distancing, policymakers should focus their efforts on increasing trust in Government, avoid extreme governmental policies, and convince citizens that social distancing is an effective strategy for preventing the infection, targeting mainly male and younger citizens. |
| 73% affected by “Cancellation of all mass gatherings and events (cultural, sport, scientific or religious)” |
81 (NL 68, IN 90) | Perceived restrictiveness (↓) Perceived effectiveness (↑) Following more pandemic news (↑) Older (↑) Higher education (↑) Trusting hospitals and government more (↑) More extreme government response (↓) More truthful government (↑) More stressed about the pandemic (↑) More afraid of getting infected (↑) Female gender (↑) Health conditions, comorbidities (↑) Medical staff (↑) Covid-19 infection in the family (↑) Job Loss without payment (↓) |
Fear of getting infected (↑ 9.5%) Stressed by the outbreak (↑ 7%) Trust in government (↑ 7%) Perceived effectiveness (↑ 4%) Females (↑ 3.4%) than males Higher education (↑ 1.1%) Perceived restrictiveness (↑ 0.2%) More extreme government response (↓ 6%) |
To increase the rate of compliance with not attending mass gatherings, policymakers should focus their efforts on distributing more information of how mass gatherings have the potential to amplify disease transmission, on increasing trust in the national Government, and avoiding extreme reactions by the Government. |
| 66% affected by “Recommendation on washing hands more frequently” |
87 (NL 65, RO 92) | Perceived restrictiveness (↓) Perceived effectiveness (↑) Following more pandemic news (↑) Older (↑) Higher education (↑) Trusting hospitals and government more (↑) More extreme government response (↓) More truthful government (↑) More stressed about the pandemic (↑) More afraid of getting infected (↑) Female gender (↑) Health conditions, comorbidities (↑) Medical staff (↑) Covid-19 infection in the family (↑) No Job Loss (↑) |
Fear of getting infected (↑ 11%) Stressed by the outbreak (↑ 5%) Trust in government (↑ 5%) Perceived effectiveness (↑ 3%) Females (↑ 2.2%) than males With risky health conditions (↑ 1.2%) than no conditions More extreme government response (↓ 7%) Higher level of restrictiveness (↓ 1%) |
To increase the rate of compliance with washing hands, the policymakers should focus their efforts on distributing more information of how effective this measure is in stopping the transmission of Covid-19 infection, to increase trust in the Government and avoid extreme government responses and the implementation of highly restrictive containment measures. |
| 65% affected by “Keeping respiratory hygiene by mandatory wearing of a mask in public places” |
73 (NL 41, IN 89) | Perceived restrictiveness (↓) Perceived effectiveness (↑) Following more pandemic news (↑) Younger (↑) Higher education (↑) Trusting hospitals and government more (↑) More extreme government response (↓) More truthful government (↑) More stressed about the pandemic (↑) More afraid of getting infected (↑) Female gender (↑) Health conditions, comorbidities (↑) Medical staff (↑) Covid-19 infection in the family (↑) No Job Loss (↑) |
Fear of getting infected (↑ 11.5%) Trust in government (↑ 11%) Perceived effectiveness (↑ 4%) Females (↑ 4.8%) than males Stressed by the outbreak (↑ 2%) More extreme government response (↓ 13%) Higher level of restrictiveness (↓ 1%) |
To increase the rate of compliance with wearing masks, the policymakers should focus their efforts on the following: increase public awareness of the health risks related to Covid-19 infections, increase the trust in the Government, avoid extreme reaction of the Government and highly restrictive measures, and provide evidence to citizens that masks are effective in cutting down transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. |
| 59% affected by “Mandatory stay-at-home, except for essential journeys” |
76 (NL 64, IN 90) | Perceived restrictiveness (↓) Perceived effectiveness (↑) Following more pandemic news (↑) Older (↑) Higher education (↑) Trusting hospitals and government more (↑) More extreme government response (↓) More truthful government (↑) More stressed about the pandemic (↑) More afraid of getting infected (↑) Female gender (↑) Health conditions, comorbidities (↑) Medical staff (↑) Covid-19 infection in the family (↑) Job Loss without payment (↓) |
Fear of getting infected (↑ 11.5%) Stressed by the outbreak (↑ 7%) Trust in government (↑ 7%) Higher education (↑ 7%) Perceived effectiveness (↑ 4%) Females (↑ 4.9%) than males Nonessential staff (↑ 2.4%) than medical and other essential staff Older compared to person 1 year younger (↑ 1%) More extreme government response (↓ 6%) |
To increase the rate of compliance with the mandatory stay-at-home requirement, the policymakers should focus their efforts on distributing more information of how effective this measure is in stopping the transmission of the virus, targeting mainly male, younger, and lower-educated citizens. They should also increase trust in the Government and avoid extreme governmental responses. |
1 ISO codes for the representation of names of countries: Belgium (BE), Netherlands (NL), Bulgaria (BG), Czech Republic (CZ), Finland (FI), India (IN), Latvia (LV), Poland (PL), Romania (RO), and Sweden (SE).