Compliance with COVID-19 Regulations among Palestinian Citizens of Israel in the Context of Social Norms and Gender Roles

Mohammad Khatib (), Ivonne Mansbach-Kleinfeld, Doaa Zaid, Anneke Ifrah, Malik Yousef and Ahmad Sheikh Muhammad
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Mohammad Khatib: The Galilee Society, The Arab National Society for Health Research & Services, Shefa-Amr 20200, Israel
Ivonne Mansbach-Kleinfeld: The Galilee Society, The Arab National Society for Health Research & Services, Shefa-Amr 20200, Israel
Doaa Zaid: The Galilee Society, The Arab National Society for Health Research & Services, Shefa-Amr 20200, Israel
Anneke Ifrah: Israel Center for Disease Control, Ministry of Health, Jerusalem 9446724, Israel
Malik Yousef: Department of Information Systems, Zefat Academic College, Zefat 13206, Israel
Ahmad Sheikh Muhammad: The Galilee Society, The Arab National Society for Health Research & Services, Shefa-Amr 20200, Israel

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 14, 1-21

Abstract: This paper examines the compliance with official recommendations to restrict COVID-19 contagion during the second wave (August–November 2020) among a sample of Palestinian citizens of Israel ( N = 1536), aged 18 or more. The dependent variables included the compliance with keeping social distance, using masks, washing hands, avoiding social gatherings, and unnecessary shopping. The independent variables included sociodemographic and health-related factors and beliefs regarding the susceptibility to and seriousness of COVID-19. Special attention was paid to analyzing the content of the recommendations and the behavioral changes required vis-à-vis the norms and values of the population studied. Factor and content analyses yielded two distinct sets of recommendations, which were conceptualized as ‘Adopting New Behaviors’ and ‘Renouncing Usual Behaviors’. Compliance rates for the adoption of new behaviors ranged between 80.5 and 90.3% and were higher in women than men ( p < 0.002; p < 0.001; p < 0.001). Compliance rates for the renunciation of usual behaviors ranged between 47.1 and 60.4%. Educational level was positively associated with the compliance with recommendations requiring the renouncing of usual behaviors among men but not among women. The particular values and gender norms and the culture-based reasons for noncompliance among minority populations that were proposed using this method must be identified so that they inform authorities’ strategies to increase compliance with recommendations.

Keywords: COVID-19; compliance; recommendations; Palestinian citizens of Israel; Arabs in Israel; minority; women’s roles; norms and values (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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