Mask-Wearing Increased After a Government Recommendation: A Natural Experiment in the U.S. During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Mask-Wearing Increased After a Government Recommendation: A Natural Experiment in the U.S. During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Matthew H. Goldberg, Abel Gustafson, Edward W. Maibach, Matthew T. Ballew, Parrish Bergquist, John E. Kotcher, Jennifer R. Marlon, Seth A. Rosenthal, Anthony Leiserowitz

On April 3 2020, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended that all Americans wear face masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The announcement came during the fielding of a large, nationally-representative survey (N = 3,933) of Americans' COVID-19-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors, providing an opportunity to measure the impact of the CDC's recommendation on public reported mask wearing and buying behavior. The study found significant increases in reported mask wearing (+12 percentage points) and mask buying (+7 points). These findings indicate the speed with which government recommendations can affect the adoption of protective behaviors by the public. The results demonstrate the importance of national leadership and communication during a public health crisis.

2020

covid-19, mask, Preventive behavior, government recommendation, CDC - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

10.3389/fcomm.2020.00044

Epidemiology and Health

Korean Society of Epidemiology

Communication. Mass media