Political stringency, infection rates, and higher education students' adherence to government measures in the Nordic countries and the UK during the first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak

Berg-Beckhoff, G. and Bask, M. and Jervelund, S.S. and Guldager, J.D. and Quickfall, A. and Rabiee-Khan, Fatemeh and Oddsson, G. and van der Wel, K.A. and Sarasjärvi, K.K. and Olafsdottir, S. and Buffel, V. and Skalická, V. and Van de Velde, S. (2022) Political stringency, infection rates, and higher education students' adherence to government measures in the Nordic countries and the UK during the first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak. Preventive Medicine, 164. p. 107245. ISSN 0091-7435

Preview

Text adherence_COVID19_ Nordic countries 2022.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (706kB)

Abstract

Understanding predictors of adherence to governmental measures to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 is fundamental to guide health communication. This study examined whether political stringency and infection rates during the first wave of the pandemic were associated with higher education students' adherence to COVID-19 government measures in the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway, Iceland, and Sweden) and the United Kingdom.

Both individual- and country-level data were used in present study. An international cross-sectional subsample (n = 10,345) of higher-education students was conducted in May–June 2020 to collect individual-level information on socio-demographics, study information, living arrangements, health behaviors, stress, and COVID-19-related concerns, including adherence to government measures. Country-level data on political stringency from the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker and national infection rates were added to individual-level data. Multiple linear regression analyses stratified by country were conducted.

Around 66% of students reported adhering to government measures, with the highest adherence in the UK (73%) followed by Iceland (72%), Denmark (69%), Norway (67%), Finland (64%) and Sweden (49%). Main predictors for higher adherence were older age, being female and being worried about getting infected with COVID-19 (individual-level), an increase in number of days since lockdown, political stringency, and information about COVID-19 mortality rates (country-level). However, incidence rate was an inconsistent predictor, which may be explained by imperfect data quality during the onset of the pandemic.

We conclude that shorter lockdown periods and political stringency are associated with adherence to government measures among higher education students at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Item Type:	Article
Identification Number:	10.1016/j.ypmed.2022.107245
Dates:	Date Event 2 September 2022 Accepted 6 September 2022 Published Online
Uncontrolled Keywords:	COVID-19, First wave pandemic, Government measures, Higher-education students, Adherence
Subjects:	CAH01 - medicine and dentistry > CAH01-01 - medicine and dentistry > CAH01-01-02 - medicine (non-specific) CAH02 - subjects allied to medicine > CAH02-06 - allied health > CAH02-06-01 - health sciences (non-specific)
Divisions:	Faculty of Health, Education and Life Sciences > College of Health and Care Professions
Depositing User:	Fatemeh Rabiee-Khan
Date Deposited:	21 Sep 2022 11:27
Last Modified:	21 Sep 2022 11:27
URI:	https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/13581

Actions (login required)

View Item