Motivating factors of compliance to government's COVID-19 preventive guidelines: An investigation using discrete choice model

Background: The spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has resulted in a worldwide pandemic. We aimed to identify the factors that motivate public compliance with the government's COVID-19 preventive recommendations.Methods: Focus group interviews were conducted to identify influencing factors. The relative importance of each factor was investigated through a survey, based on a discrete choice model, from February to June, 2021 in South Korea.Results: Severity of COVID-19 symptoms (relative importance [magnitude of attribute coefficients]: 28.40%) and risk of infection (27.50%) were the most influential health-related factors, followed by social consequences of infection, including cessation of social activities due to self-quarantine (19.77%), risk of personal information being disclosed when infected and social criticism on the infected person (15.78%), and risk of spreading infection (8.55%). Respondents behaved differently based on their socioeconomic characteristics and COVID-19 experience.Discussion: The perceived severity of symptoms was a strong motivator among fragile individuals, such as women and older adults. Cessation of social activities was the most influential factor for those infected with COVID-19, while risk of infection was for those whose acquaintances were infected.Conclusions: The provision of information regarding COVID-19 to the public must be tailored based on an understanding of behavioral differences.& COPY; 2023 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study aimed to identify the factors that motivate public compliance with the government's COVID-19 preventive recommendations. The severity of COVID-19 symptoms and the risk of infection were found to be the most influential health-related factors, while social consequences and the risk of spreading infection also played a role. Respondents' behavior varied based on their socioeconomic characteristics and COVID-19 experience.