The paradox of pandemic mitigation? Moderating role of pandemic severity on the impact of social distancing policies: a cultural value perspective.

IF 5.9 2区医学 Q1 PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH

Globalization and Health Pub Date : 2024-02-09 DOI:10.1186/s12992-024-01018-y

Xingyang Ma, Bing Chen, Yufang Zhao

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: Social distancing policies were of utmost importance during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. These policies aimed to mitigate the severity of local outbreaks by altering public behavior. However, if the severity of the pandemic reduces, the impact of these policies on actual behavior may decrease. This study aims to examine, from a global perspective, whether the impact of social distancing policies on actual mobility is moderated by local pandemic severity and whether this moderating effect varies across cultural value contexts.

Methods: We combined multiple publicly available global datasets for structural equation model analysis. 17,513 rows of data from 57 countries included in all databases were analyzed. Multilevel moderated moderation models were constructed to test the hypotheses.

Results: More stringent policies in a region mean less regional mobility (β = -0.572, p < 0.001). However, the severity of local outbreaks negatively moderated this effect (β = -0.114, p < 0.001). When the pandemic was not severe, the influence of policy intensity on mobility weakened. Furthermore, based on Schwartz's cultural values theory, cultural values of autonomy (β = -0.109, p = 0.011), and egalitarianism (β = -0.108, p = 0.019) reinforced the moderating effect of pandemic severity. On the other hand, cultural values of embeddedness (β = 0.119, p = 0.006) and hierarchy (β = 0.096, p = 0.029) attenuated the moderating effect.

Conclusions: Social distancing policies aim to reduce the severity of local pandemics; however, the findings reveal that mitigating local pandemics may reduce their impact. Future policymakers should be alert to this phenomenon and introduce appropriate incentives to respond. The results also show that the moderating role of pandemic severity varies across cultures. When policies are promoted to deal with global crises, policymakers must seriously consider the resistance and potential incentives of cultural values.

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大流行病缓解的悖论？大流行病严重程度对社会疏远政策影响的调节作用：文化价值视角。

背景：在 COVID-19 大流行的早期阶段，社会隔离政策至关重要。这些政策旨在通过改变公众行为来减轻当地疫情爆发的严重程度。然而，如果疫情的严重程度降低，这些政策对实际行为的影响可能会减弱。本研究旨在从全球视角考察社会疏远政策对实际流动性的影响是否会受到当地疫情严重程度的调节，以及这种调节作用在不同的文化价值背景下是否会有所不同：我们将多个公开的全球数据集结合起来，进行结构方程模型分析。我们对所有数据库中包含的 57 个国家的 17,513 行数据进行了分析。我们构建了多层次调节模型来检验假设：结果：一个地区更严格的政策意味着更低的地区流动性（β = -0.572，p 结论：社会疏远政策旨在降低地区流动性：拉开社会距离的政策旨在降低地方流行病的严重程度；然而，研究结果表明，减轻地方流行病可能会降低其影响。未来的政策制定者应警惕这一现象，并采取适当的激励措施加以应对。研究结果还表明，大流行病严重程度的调节作用因文化而异。在推行应对全球危机的政策时，政策制定者必须认真考虑文化价值观的阻力和潜在激励。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Globalization and Health PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH-

CiteScore

18.40

自引率

1.90%

发文量

期刊介绍： "Globalization and Health" is a pioneering transdisciplinary journal dedicated to situating public health and well-being within the dynamic forces of global development. The journal is committed to publishing high-quality, original research that explores the impact of globalization processes on global public health. This includes examining how globalization influences health systems and the social, economic, commercial, and political determinants of health. The journal welcomes contributions from various disciplines, including policy, health systems, political economy, international relations, and community perspectives. While single-country studies are accepted, they must emphasize global/globalization mechanisms and their relevance to global-level policy discourse and decision-making.