Environmental Risk Perception and Preventive Behavior during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Central Taiwan

Due to traffic and industrial and seasonal air pollution, wearing masks outside the home has long been a daily habit for many people in Taiwan. After the emergence of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), which has an incubation period of up to 14 days, wearing masks and maintaining social distancing wa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of environmental research and public health 2021-09, Vol.18 (18), p.9920
Main Authors: Hsu, Kuo-Wei, Chao, Jen-Chih, Hsu, Ching-Yi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Air pollution
Behavior
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
Disease control
Disease prevention
Disease transmission
Environmental risk
Epidemics
Female
Humans
Industrial pollution
Infections
Male
Masks
Medical research
Middle Aged
Older people
Open spaces
Pandemics
Perception
Perceptions
Population
Risk perception
Risk taking
Rural areas
SARS-CoV-2
Sex differences
Social distancing
Taiwan - epidemiology
Urban areas
Young Adult
Young adults
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Summary:Due to traffic and industrial and seasonal air pollution, wearing masks outside the home has long been a daily habit for many people in Taiwan. After the emergence of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), which has an incubation period of up to 14 days, wearing masks and maintaining social distancing was advised to reduce exposure to this new environmental risk. This study investigates open and semi-open spaces in three districts in central Taiwan, using a non-participant observation method, with the aim of understanding people's mask-wearing behavior. The results indicate that mask-wearing rates were higher in urban areas than in rural ones and among females than males. By age cohort, mask-wearing was most prevalent among young adults and middle-aged people and least prevalent among minors, with the elderly occupying a middle position. Masks were also more likely to be worn in semi-open spaces than in open ones. This study enriches our understanding of environmental risk perception of the pandemic and of public perceptions, which are vital to increasing the adoption of preventative measures.
ISSN:1660-4601
1661-7827
1660-4601
DOI:10.3390/ijerph18189920