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Public perceptions of non-adherence to pandemic protection measures by self and others: A study of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom

Simon Williams Orcid Logo, Christopher J. Armitage, Tova Tampe, Kim Dienes Orcid Logo

PLOS ONE, Volume: 16, Issue: 10, Start page: e0258781

Swansea University Authors: Simon Williams Orcid Logo, Kim Dienes Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1371/journal.pone.0258781

Abstract

BackgroundNovel viral pandemics present significant challenges to global public health. Non-pharmaceutical interventions (e.g. social distancing) are an important means through which to control the transmission of such viruses. One of the key factors determining the effectiveness of such measures is...

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ISSN: 1932-6203
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2021
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fullrecord <?xml version="1.0"?><rfc1807><datestamp>2021-11-15T11:24:01.7035831</datestamp><bib-version>v2</bib-version><id>58357</id><entry>2021-10-15</entry><title>Public perceptions of non-adherence to pandemic protection measures by self and others: A study of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom</title><swanseaauthors><author><sid>d43865b0aa32bfa591d1f12d6c0b7a17</sid><ORCID>0000-0003-2854-9946</ORCID><firstname>Simon</firstname><surname>Williams</surname><name>Simon Williams</name><active>true</active><ethesisStudent>false</ethesisStudent></author><author><sid>76108f6ac5e9dccfc581a09f7e5ef333</sid><ORCID>0000-0002-6119-7025</ORCID><firstname>Kim</firstname><surname>Dienes</surname><name>Kim Dienes</name><active>true</active><ethesisStudent>false</ethesisStudent></author></swanseaauthors><date>2021-10-15</date><deptcode>HPS</deptcode><abstract>BackgroundNovel viral pandemics present significant challenges to global public health. Non-pharmaceutical interventions (e.g. social distancing) are an important means through which to control the transmission of such viruses. One of the key factors determining the effectiveness of such measures is the level of public adherence to them. Research to date has focused on quantitative exploration of adherence and non-adherence, with a relative lack of qualitative exploration of the reasons for non-adherence.ObjectiveTo explore participants&#x2019; perceptions of non-adherence to COVID-19 policy measures by self and others in the UK, focusing on perceived reasons for non-adherence.MethodsQualitative study comprising 12 focus groups conducted via video-conferencing between 25th September and 13th November 2020. Participants were 51 UK residents aged 18 and above, reflecting a range of ages, genders and race/ethnicities. Data were analysed using a thematic approach.ResultsParticipants reported seeing an increase in non-adherence in others over the course of the pandemic. Reports of non-adherence in self were lower than reports of non-adherence in others. Analysis revealed six main themes related to participants&#x2019; reported reasons for non-adherence in self and others: (1) &#x2018;Alert fatigue&#x2019; (where people find it difficult to follow, or switch off from, information about frequently changing rules or advice) (2) Inconsistent rules (3) Lack of trust in government (4) Learned Helplessness (5) Resistance and rebelliousness (6)The impact of vaccines on risk perception. Participants perceived a number of systemic failures (e.g. unclear policy, untrustworthy policymakers) to strongly contribute to two forms non-adherence&#x2014;violations and errors.ConclusionFindings suggest that latent and systemic failures&#x2014;in the form of policy decisions that are commonly experienced as too changeable, inconsistent and confusing, and policy makers that are commonly perceived as untrustworthy&#x2013;may play a significant role in creating the conditions that enable or encourage non-adherence.</abstract><type>Journal Article</type><journal>PLOS ONE</journal><volume>16</volume><journalNumber>10</journalNumber><paginationStart>e0258781</paginationStart><paginationEnd/><publisher>Public Library of Science (PLoS)</publisher><placeOfPublication/><isbnPrint/><isbnElectronic/><issnPrint/><issnElectronic>1932-6203</issnElectronic><keywords/><publishedDay>28</publishedDay><publishedMonth>10</publishedMonth><publishedYear>2021</publishedYear><publishedDate>2021-10-28</publishedDate><doi>10.1371/journal.pone.0258781</doi><url/><notes/><college>COLLEGE NANME</college><department>Psychology</department><CollegeCode>COLLEGE CODE</CollegeCode><DepartmentCode>HPS</DepartmentCode><institution>Swansea University</institution><apcterm/><funders>Manchester Centre for Health Psychology based at the University of Manchester (&#xA3;2000) and Swansea University&#x2019;s &#x2018;Greatest Need Fund&#x2019; (&#xA3;3000)</funders><lastEdited>2021-11-15T11:24:01.7035831</lastEdited><Created>2021-10-15T14:47:16.2761053</Created><path><level id="1">Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences</level><level id="2">School of Management - Business Management</level></path><authors><author><firstname>Simon</firstname><surname>Williams</surname><orcid>0000-0003-2854-9946</orcid><order>1</order></author><author><firstname>Christopher J.</firstname><surname>Armitage</surname><order>2</order></author><author><firstname>Tova</firstname><surname>Tampe</surname><order>3</order></author><author><firstname>Kim</firstname><surname>Dienes</surname><orcid>0000-0002-6119-7025</orcid><order>4</order></author></authors><documents><document><filename>58357__21532__f6bf184fb39d4608a3780412203b77af.pdf</filename><originalFilename>58357.pdf</originalFilename><uploaded>2021-11-15T11:22:34.0132957</uploaded><type>Output</type><contentLength>432662</contentLength><contentType>application/pdf</contentType><version>Version of Record</version><cronfaStatus>true</cronfaStatus><documentNotes>&#xA9; 2021 Williams et al. 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spelling 2021-11-15T11:24:01.7035831 v2 58357 2021-10-15 Public perceptions of non-adherence to pandemic protection measures by self and others: A study of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom d43865b0aa32bfa591d1f12d6c0b7a17 0000-0003-2854-9946 Simon Williams Simon Williams true false 76108f6ac5e9dccfc581a09f7e5ef333 0000-0002-6119-7025 Kim Dienes Kim Dienes true false 2021-10-15 HPS BackgroundNovel viral pandemics present significant challenges to global public health. Non-pharmaceutical interventions (e.g. social distancing) are an important means through which to control the transmission of such viruses. One of the key factors determining the effectiveness of such measures is the level of public adherence to them. Research to date has focused on quantitative exploration of adherence and non-adherence, with a relative lack of qualitative exploration of the reasons for non-adherence.ObjectiveTo explore participants’ perceptions of non-adherence to COVID-19 policy measures by self and others in the UK, focusing on perceived reasons for non-adherence.MethodsQualitative study comprising 12 focus groups conducted via video-conferencing between 25th September and 13th November 2020. Participants were 51 UK residents aged 18 and above, reflecting a range of ages, genders and race/ethnicities. Data were analysed using a thematic approach.ResultsParticipants reported seeing an increase in non-adherence in others over the course of the pandemic. Reports of non-adherence in self were lower than reports of non-adherence in others. Analysis revealed six main themes related to participants’ reported reasons for non-adherence in self and others: (1) ‘Alert fatigue’ (where people find it difficult to follow, or switch off from, information about frequently changing rules or advice) (2) Inconsistent rules (3) Lack of trust in government (4) Learned Helplessness (5) Resistance and rebelliousness (6)The impact of vaccines on risk perception. Participants perceived a number of systemic failures (e.g. unclear policy, untrustworthy policymakers) to strongly contribute to two forms non-adherence—violations and errors.ConclusionFindings suggest that latent and systemic failures—in the form of policy decisions that are commonly experienced as too changeable, inconsistent and confusing, and policy makers that are commonly perceived as untrustworthy–may play a significant role in creating the conditions that enable or encourage non-adherence. Journal Article PLOS ONE 16 10 e0258781 Public Library of Science (PLoS) 1932-6203 28 10 2021 2021-10-28 10.1371/journal.pone.0258781 COLLEGE NANME Psychology COLLEGE CODE HPS Swansea University Manchester Centre for Health Psychology based at the University of Manchester (£2000) and Swansea University’s ‘Greatest Need Fund’ (£3000) 2021-11-15T11:24:01.7035831 2021-10-15T14:47:16.2761053 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences School of Management - Business Management Simon Williams 0000-0003-2854-9946 1 Christopher J. Armitage 2 Tova Tampe 3 Kim Dienes 0000-0002-6119-7025 4 58357__21532__f6bf184fb39d4608a3780412203b77af.pdf 58357.pdf 2021-11-15T11:22:34.0132957 Output 432662 application/pdf Version of Record true © 2021 Williams et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License true eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title Public perceptions of non-adherence to pandemic protection measures by self and others: A study of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom
spellingShingle Public perceptions of non-adherence to pandemic protection measures by self and others: A study of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom
Simon Williams
Kim Dienes
title_short Public perceptions of non-adherence to pandemic protection measures by self and others: A study of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom
title_full Public perceptions of non-adherence to pandemic protection measures by self and others: A study of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom
title_fullStr Public perceptions of non-adherence to pandemic protection measures by self and others: A study of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom
title_full_unstemmed Public perceptions of non-adherence to pandemic protection measures by self and others: A study of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom
title_sort Public perceptions of non-adherence to pandemic protection measures by self and others: A study of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom
author_id_str_mv d43865b0aa32bfa591d1f12d6c0b7a17
76108f6ac5e9dccfc581a09f7e5ef333
author_id_fullname_str_mv d43865b0aa32bfa591d1f12d6c0b7a17_***_Simon Williams
76108f6ac5e9dccfc581a09f7e5ef333_***_Kim Dienes
author Simon Williams
Kim Dienes
author2 Simon Williams
Christopher J. Armitage
Tova Tampe
Kim Dienes
format Journal article
container_title PLOS ONE
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publishDate 2021
institution Swansea University
issn 1932-6203
doi_str_mv 10.1371/journal.pone.0258781
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
college_str Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
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hierarchy_top_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
department_str School of Management - Business Management{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Management - Business Management
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description BackgroundNovel viral pandemics present significant challenges to global public health. Non-pharmaceutical interventions (e.g. social distancing) are an important means through which to control the transmission of such viruses. One of the key factors determining the effectiveness of such measures is the level of public adherence to them. Research to date has focused on quantitative exploration of adherence and non-adherence, with a relative lack of qualitative exploration of the reasons for non-adherence.ObjectiveTo explore participants’ perceptions of non-adherence to COVID-19 policy measures by self and others in the UK, focusing on perceived reasons for non-adherence.MethodsQualitative study comprising 12 focus groups conducted via video-conferencing between 25th September and 13th November 2020. Participants were 51 UK residents aged 18 and above, reflecting a range of ages, genders and race/ethnicities. Data were analysed using a thematic approach.ResultsParticipants reported seeing an increase in non-adherence in others over the course of the pandemic. Reports of non-adherence in self were lower than reports of non-adherence in others. Analysis revealed six main themes related to participants’ reported reasons for non-adherence in self and others: (1) ‘Alert fatigue’ (where people find it difficult to follow, or switch off from, information about frequently changing rules or advice) (2) Inconsistent rules (3) Lack of trust in government (4) Learned Helplessness (5) Resistance and rebelliousness (6)The impact of vaccines on risk perception. Participants perceived a number of systemic failures (e.g. unclear policy, untrustworthy policymakers) to strongly contribute to two forms non-adherence—violations and errors.ConclusionFindings suggest that latent and systemic failures—in the form of policy decisions that are commonly experienced as too changeable, inconsistent and confusing, and policy makers that are commonly perceived as untrustworthy–may play a significant role in creating the conditions that enable or encourage non-adherence.
published_date 2021-10-28T04:14:49Z
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