A longitudinal study of COVID-19 preventive behavior fatigue in Hong Kong: a city with previous pandemic experience.
Kim JH., Kwok KO., Huang Z., Poon PK-M., Hung KKC., Wong SYS., Chan EYY.
BackgroundIn addition to high vaccination levels, COVID-19 control requires uptake and continued adherence to personal hygiene and social distancing behaviors. It is unclear whether residents of a city with successive experience in worldwide pandemics such as SARS, would quickly adopt and maintain preventive behaviors.MethodsA population-based, longitudinal telephone survey was conducted between in first local wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (April 2020) and third local wave (December 2020) (n = 403). The study examined factors associated with personal hygiene and social distancing behavior fatigue, as measured by reduced adherence.ResultsOver 9 months, face mask use increased (96.5-100%, p ConclusionEven in regions with past pandemic experience, maintaining social distancing behaviors during a protracted pandemic remains a major public health challenge.