Compliance with Barrier Gestures during COVID-19 Pandemic as a Function of the Context: A Longitudinal Observational Survey at the University of Liège

Gianni Parisi, Véronique Renault, Marie-France Humblet, Nicolas Ochelen, Anh Nguyet Diep, Michèle Guillaume, Anne-Françoise Donneau, Fabrice Bureau, Laurent Gillet, Anne-Catherine Lange, Fabienne Michel, Sébastien Fontaine and Claude Saegerman ()
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Gianni Parisi: Research Unit in Epidemiology and Risk Analysis Applied to Veterinary Sciences (UREAR-ULiège), Fundamental and Applied Research for Animal and Health (FARAH) Center, University of Liège, 4000 Liège, Belgium
Véronique Renault: Research Unit in Epidemiology and Risk Analysis Applied to Veterinary Sciences (UREAR-ULiège), Fundamental and Applied Research for Animal and Health (FARAH) Center, University of Liège, 4000 Liège, Belgium
Marie-France Humblet: Unit of Biosafety, Biosecurity Unit and Environmental Licenses, Department of Occupational Safety and Hygiene, University of Liege, 4000 Liege, Belgium
Nicolas Ochelen: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Liège University, 4000 Liège, Belgium
Anh Nguyet Diep: Biostatistics Unit, Liège University, 4000 Liège, Belgium
Michèle Guillaume: Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Liège University, 4000 Liège, Belgium
Anne-Françoise Donneau: Biostatistics Unit, Liège University, 4000 Liège, Belgium
Fabrice Bureau: COVID-19 Platform, Liège University, 4000 Liège, Belgium
Laurent Gillet: COVID-19 Platform, Liège University, 4000 Liège, Belgium
Anne-Catherine Lange: Récolte et Analyse des Données et Information d’Utilité Stratégique (RADIUS), Liège University, 4000 Liège, Belgium
Fabienne Michel: Risk Assessment Group COVID-19, Liège University, 4000 Liège, Belgium
Sébastien Fontaine: Risk Assessment Group COVID-19, Liège University, 4000 Liège, Belgium
Claude Saegerman: Research Unit in Epidemiology and Risk Analysis Applied to Veterinary Sciences (UREAR-ULiège), Fundamental and Applied Research for Animal and Health (FARAH) Center, University of Liège, 4000 Liège, Belgium

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 18, 1-15

Abstract: During the COVID-19 pandemic, barrier gestures such as mask wearing, physical distancing, greetings without contact, one-way circulation flow, and hand sanitization were major strategies to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2, but they were only useful if consistently applied. This survey was a follow-up of the first survey performed in 2020 at the University of Liège. We aim to evaluate the compliance with these gestures on campuses and examine differences in the extent of the compliance observed in different educational activities and contexts. During 3.5 months, the counting of compliant and non-compliant behaviors was performed each week in randomly selected rooms. Using data collected during both surveys (2020 and 2021), binomial negative regression models of compliance depending on periods (teaching periods and exam sessions), type of rooms, and campuses were conducted to evaluate prevalence ratios of compliance. The percentage of compliance in this second survey was the highest for mask wearing and physical distancing during educational activities (90% and 88%, respectively) and lowest for physical distancing outside educational activities and hand sanitization (45% and 52%, respectively). Multivariate analyses revealed that the compliance with most gestures was significantly higher in teaching rooms than in hallways and restaurants and during exam sessions. The compliance with physical distancing was significantly higher (from 66%) in auditoriums, where students had to remain seated, than during practical works that allowed or required free movement. Therefore, the compliance with barrier gestures was associated with contextual settings, which should be considered when communicating and managing barrier gestures. Further studies should specify and confirm the determining contextual characteristics regarding the compliance with barrier gestures in times of pandemic.

Keywords: adherence; barrier gesture; COVID-19; compliance; SARS-CoV-2 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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