Query: Risk Perception of the COVID‐19 pandemic

title: Risk Perception Through the Lens of Politics in the Time of the Covid 19 Pandemic
abstract: Even when, objectively speaking, death is on the line, partisan bias still colors beliefs about facts. We show that a higher share of Trump voters in a county is associated with lower perceptions of risk during the COVID 19 pandemic. As Trump voter share rises, individuals search less for information on the virus, and engage in less social distancing behavior, as measured by smartphone location patterns. These patterns persist in the face of state level mandates to close schools and businesses or to "stay home," and reverse only when conservative politicians are exposed and the White House releases federal social distancing guidelines.

title: Changes in risk perception and self reported protective behaviour during the first week of the COVID 19 pandemic in the United States
abstract: Efforts to change behaviour are critical in minimizing the spread of highly transmissible pandemics such as COVID 19. However, it is unclear whether individuals are aware of disease risk and alter their behaviour early in the pandemic. We investigated risk perception and self reported engagement in protective behaviours in 1591 United States based individuals cross sectionally and longitudinally over the first week of the pandemic. Subjects demonstrated growing awareness of risk and reported engaging in protective behaviours with increasing frequency but underestimated their risk of infection relative to the average person in the country. Social distancing and hand washing were most strongly predicted by the perceived probability of personally being infected. However, a subgroup of individuals perceived low risk and did not engage in these behaviours. Our results highlight the importance of risk perception in early interventions during large scale pandemics.

title: Risk Perception Through the Lens of Politics in the Time of the COVID 19 Pandemic
abstract: Even when N objectively speaking N death is on the line, partisan bias still colors beliefs about facts. We use data on internet searches as well as proprietary data on county level average daily travel distance and visits to non essential businesses from a large sample of U.S. smartphones at the daily level and show that the higher the percentage of Trump voters in a county, holding all else equal, the lower the perception of risk associated with the COVID 19 virus and the lower the level of social distancing behavior exhibited. As Trump vote share rises, individuals search less for information on the virus, they search less for information about unemployment benefits, and they exhibit lower reductions in both their daily distance traveled and their visits to non essential businesses. Risk perceptions in areas with high Trump vote shares increase in these areas only after 3/9/20, when it was announced that COVID 19 had struck the Conservative Political Action Committee meetings and conservative politicians were self quarantined, suggesting that their risk perceptions are affected not by changes in fundamental underlying risk, but rather by political related interpretations of the risk. These patterns persist even in the face of state level mandates to close schools and non essential businesses and to Ostay home work safe,O and reverse only when the White House releases federal social distancing guidelines on March 16th. This differential is present even in the face of similar levels of ability to telework and in the presence of higher levels of older population at risk. Our results suggest that political partisanship may play a role in determining risk perceptions in a pandemic, with potentially significant externalities for public health outcomes. Relying solely on compliance with voluntary suggested measures in the presence of different political views on the crisis may have limited effectiveness; instead, enforcement may be required to successfully flatten the curve.

title: Personality Traits, Risk Perception, and Protective Behaviors of Arab Residents of Qatar During the COVID 19 Pandemic
abstract: During the 2020 COVID 19 pandemic, people in Qatar similar to most countries globally were instructed by health authorities to adopt protective behaviors to avoid infection. One of these behaviors is social distancing, which is influenced by diverse variables. Using data from an online survey with 405 responses, this study performed multiple regression analysis to explore effects of personality, risk perception, and personal hygiene practices on social distancing among residents of Qatar. The results showed that 87.3% of participants reported that they preferred to stay at home and not go outside unless necessary, 60.3% said that they maintain an adequate distance when communicating with others, 68.6% reported that they do not allow relatives and friends to visit them at home, 73.5% believed that COVID 19 is a dangerous disease, and 95.8% reported that they embrace personal hygiene practices and washing hands. Furthermore, multiple regression analysis showed that conscientiousness, neuroticism, risk perception, and personal hygiene practices predicted social distancing, with moderate effect sizes. Gender differences were also found in social distancing practices, indicating that women reported higher engagement in social distancing practices than men. These results highlighted the importance of individual differences in reacting to the COVID 19 pandemic and provide important information about the predictors of social distancing practices.

title: Traveling into the Abyss: Risk Perception of German Travelers at the Onset of the COVID 19 Pandemic
abstract: The emergence and international spread of SARS CoV 2 led to unprecedented challenges for international travelers including health related concerns and international travel restrictions. Remarkably, overseas travelers consulted at our travel clinic during the first quarter of 2020 were apparently not disconcerted by the evolving pandemic with a continuously high rate of consultations at our center; 85% of travelers did not actively inquire about COVID 19 during the pretravel consultation including individuals with clinically significant immunosuppression constituting a high risk group for COVID 19 related adverse health outcome. This experience demonstrates the societal responsibility of travel medicine practitioners to proactively provide unbiased information about the health related and travel related impact of newly emerging infections.

title: Distress and risk perception in people living with multiple sclerosis during the early phase of the COVID 19 pandemic
abstract: People living with MS during COVID 19 are experiencing the disruptions of the pandemic and concerns that their health status may place them at greater risk for worse COVID 19 outcomes.  This study sought to understand how people living with MS in the United States experienced distress and perceived their COVID 19 related risk during the first surge of the pandemic.  This was a web based, self report survey of people with MS who were living in the United States during the early stage of COVID 19. Primary outcomes were depression, anxiety, and positive affect and well being. Participants (N 491) also provided data on demographics, MS related factors, COVID 19 factors, and psychological coping.  Psychological distress was associated with age, psychological coping strategies, and having had symptoms consistent with COVID 19, but not with MS disease related variables and COVID 19 risk factors. Perception of COVID 19 related risk was associated with age, MS disease severity, COVID 19 related factors, and anxiety.  This study demonstrated that even during COVID 19, distress and risk perception are primarily driven by psychological factors, experiencing symptoms consistent with COVID 19 and age, with minimal contribution from individual differences in health status, providing an impetus for continued efforts to optimize psychological interventions for people living with MS.

title: Mental health and risk perception among Italian healthcare workers during the second month of the Covid 19 pandemic
abstract: A multicentre cross sectional study was conducted to assess perceived risk and fear of contagion, as well as mental health outcomes among 650 Italian healthcare workers during the COVID 19 outbreak. A relevant proportion of the sample reported symptoms of anxiety, depression, and distress. Female sex, nursing profession, fear of being infected, as well as the time of exposure to the COVID 19 spread and the fact of directly attending infected patients were the main risk factors for developing mental health disturbances. Tailored interventions need to be implemented to reduce psychological burden in healthcare workers, with a particular attention to nurses.

title: Travel behavior changes during the COVID 19 pandemic in Japan: Analyzing the effects of risk perception and social influence on going out self restriction
abstract: This article analyzes factors affecting travel behavior changes at the individual level in light of the COVID 19 pandemic in Japan, in the context of non binding self restriction requests. In particular, this study focuses on the effects of risk perception and social influence. A panel web survey was conducted targeting residents of the Kanto Region, including the Tokyo Metropolis. In addition to describing the observed patterns in behavioral change, we modeled behavioral changes of four key, non work related activities: (i) grocery shopping, (ii) other types of shopping, (iii) eating out, and (iv) leisure. For eating out and leisure the distinction was made between going alone or in groups. Based on the observed distributions of these activities, regression models of going out frequency were estimated for shopping, while for eating out and leisure, which showed considerably smaller frequencies, a discrete choice approach was used. Findings showed that as a measure of social influence, the perception of degree of self restriction of others was associated with small reductions in shopping frequencies, and moderate yet non negligible increases in going out self restriction probability for eating out and leisure activities. Risk perception, measured as COVID 19 dread, was also associated with higher probabilities of going out self restriction for eating out and leisure. These findings suggest that in the context of non binding requests, soft measures such as campaigns to promote a reduction of non essential travel might be more effective if they (i) properly convey the severity of the threat posed by COVID 19 as well as its coping mechanisms, and (ii) appeal to the group, rather than the individual, emphasizing the behavior (or at least the perception of behavior) of others.

title: Awareness, Risk Perception, and Stress during the COVID 19 Pandemic in Communities of Tamil Nadu, India
abstract: The health and economic consequences of the COVID 19 pandemic is expected to disproportionately impact residents of lower middle income countries. Understanding the psychological impact of the pandemic is important to guide outreach interventions. In this study, we examined people's awareness of COVID 19 symptoms, risk perception, and changes in behaviors and stress levels during the lockdown in peri urban Tamil Nadu India. Field workers conducted phone call surveys (included n 2044) in 26 communities from 20 25 May 2020. The majority perceived no (60% or low (23% level of risk of personally contracting coronavirus. Common fears were related to health and economic concerns, including loss of income (62% inability to travel freely (46% and becoming sick (46% Residents were well aware of the common symptoms of COVID 19, such as fever (66% and dry cough (57% but not the asymptomatic transmission (24% The majority experienced increased stress about finance (79% and the lockdown (51% Our findings emphasize the need to develop context adequate education and communication programs to raise vigilance about asymptomatic transmission and to sustain preventative behaviors. The evidence on fear and changes in stress levels could inform designing coping strategies and programs focused on mental well being.

title: Not all world leaders use Twitter in response to the COVID 19 pandemic: impact of the way of Angela Merkel on psychological distress, behaviour and risk perception
abstract: At a time of growing governmental restrictions and 'physical distancing' in order to decelerate the spread of COVID 19, psychological challenges are increasing. Social media plays an important role in maintaining social contact as well as exerting political influence. World leaders use it not only to keep citizens informed but also to boost morale and manage people's fears. However, some leaders do not follow this approach; an example is the German Chancellor. In a large online survey, we aimed to determine levels of COVID 19 fear, generalized anxiety, depression, safety behaviour, trust in government and risk perception in Germany. A total of 12 244 respondents participated during the period of restraint and the public shutdown in March 2020. Concurrent with the German Chancellor's speech, a reduction of anxiety and depression was noticeable in the German population. It appears that, in addition to using social media platforms like Twitter, different and sometimes more conservative channels for providing information can also be effective.