The drivers and barriers of wearing a facemask during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Switzerland

Abstract Encouraging people to wear a facemask in situations where social distance is not possible is a relatively low-cost and low-impact measure to protect people from infections with SARS-CoV-2. Thus, the present study investigated various barriers and drivers regarding people’s self-reported wearing of protective facemasks in mandatory and non-mandatory situations. Data from a longitudinal study with four waves in Switzerland was used (N = 728). The findings show that the compliance with “wearing a facemask” increased over the duration of the pandemic, particularly after the lockdown measures were lifted. More importantly, the study shows that perceived effectiveness of wearing a facemask are important drivers, while various perceived costs (e.g., financial, comfort) act as barriers. Risk communicators should be aware that the communicated effectiveness (self or others) is associated with people’s willingness to wear facemasks in public, independently of the involved and perceived costs or whether wearing a facemask is mandatory or not. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/13669877.2022.2038244 .