Environmental Risk Perception and Preventive Behavior during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Central Taiwan

Kuo-Wei Hsu, Jen-Chih Chao and Ching-Yi Hsu
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Kuo-Wei Hsu: Department of Landscape and Urban Design, Chaoyang University of Technology, Taichung City 413, Taiwan
Jen-Chih Chao: Department of Landscape and Urban Design, Chaoyang University of Technology, Taichung City 413, Taiwan
Ching-Yi Hsu: Independent Researcher, Taichung City 413, Taiwan

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 18, 1-10

Abstract: Due to traffic and industrial and seasonal air pollution, wearing masks outside the home has long been a daily habit for many people in Taiwan. After the emergence of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), which has an incubation period of up to 14 days, wearing masks and maintaining social distancing was advised to reduce exposure to this new environmental risk. This study investigates open and semi-open spaces in three districts in central Taiwan, using a non-participant observation method, with the aim of understanding people’s mask-wearing behavior. The results indicate that mask-wearing rates were higher in urban areas than in rural ones and among females than males. By age cohort, mask-wearing was most prevalent among young adults and middle-aged people and least prevalent among minors, with the elderly occupying a middle position. Masks were also more likely to be worn in semi-open spaces than in open ones. This study enriches our understanding of environmental risk perception of the pandemic and of public perceptions, which are vital to increasing the adoption of preventative measures.

Keywords: environmental risk perception; preventive behaviors; COVID-19; risk governance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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