Lixia Yang

Bio: Lixia Yang is an academic researcher from Ryerson University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Public health & Risk perception. The author has co-authored 1 publications.

Relationships among COVID-19 Prevention Practices, Risk Perception and Individual Characteristics: A Temporal Analysis.

Abstract: The effectiveness of public health measures in containing an infectious disease largely depends on how the general public is taking the prevention practices in daily lives. Previous studies have shown that different risk perceptions and sociodemographic characteristics may lead to vastly different prevention behaviors. This paper applies a temporal perspective in examining the changing patterns of prevention practices over time and their dynamic relationships with the perceived risk towards COVID-19 and its individual characteristics. Three key timelines (February, April, and June of 2020) were identified to represent the early, lockdown, and reopening stages of the first wave. Data were drawn from an online survey conducted in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) of Canada (n = 470). Chi-square tests and logistic regression models revealed important temporal patterns in practicing different hygienic and mobility-related prevention measures and the respondents’ risk perceptions during the three timelines. The factors predicting the level of prevention practices vary across the three timelines, based on the specific type of prevention, and within the changing public health contexts. This study contributes to the literature on COVID-19 by incorporating a temporal perspective in conceptualizing prevention predictors. It provides crucial insights for developing timely public health strategies to improve infectious disease prevention at different stages and for individuals with varying backgrounds.

The relationship between new PCR positive cases and going out in public during the COVID-19 epidemic in Japan

Abstract: The suppression of the first wave of COVID-19 in Japan is assumedly attributed to people’s increased risk perception after acquiring information from the government and media reports. In this study, going out in public amidst the spread of COVID-19 infections was investigated by examining new polymerase chain reaction (PCR) positive cases of COVID-19 and its relationship to four indicators of people going out in public (the people flow, the index of web searches for going outside, the number of times people browse restaurants, and the number of hotel guests, from the Regional Economic and Social Analysis System (V-RESAS). Two waves of COVID-19 infections were examined using cross-correlation analysis. In the first wave, all four indicators of going out changed to be opposite the change in new PCR positive cases, showing a lag period of –1 to +6 weeks. In the second wave, the same relationship was only observed for the index of web searches for going outside, and two indicators showed the positive lag period of +6 to +12 weeks after the change in new PCR positive cases. Moreover, each indicator in the second wave changed differently compared to the first wave. The complexity of people’s behaviors around going out increased in the second wave, when policies and campaigns were implemented and people’s attitudes were thought to have changed. In conclusion, the results suggest that policies may have influenced people’s mobility, rather than the number of new PCR positive cases.

Public face mask use during the COVID-19 pandemic in Auckland, New Zealand

Abstract: Abstract Aim Public health officials recommended the use of face masks by the population to combat the transmission of COVID-19. Studies on self-reported behaviour are a poor substitute for assessing adherence to government recommendations. This study aimed to determine the percentage of pedestrians wearing masks in the Central Business District (CBD) and a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand (NZ). Methods This direct observational study of pedestrians crossing two busy intersections occurred between 22 August 2020 and 7 March 2022. Data collection occurred at three separate times during the day, in the morning (from 8 to 9 am), noon (from 12 to 1 pm) and afternoon (from 4 to 5 pm) for precisely one hour each time. Results Over 12 days of COVID alert level restrictions, we observed 30,855 pedestrians. Overall, 57.9% of pedestrians wore a mask outdoors. Masks-wearing was significantly higher in the CBD (64.0%) than in the suburb (38.7%), p < 0.001. Masks use was lower in the morning (51.1%) than at noon (56.1%) or afternoon (62.7%), p < 0.001, both in the CBD and the suburb. Conclusion This was the first observational study in NZ examining the public’s mask use during the COVID-19 pandemic. From our observations, there may be opportunities for improvement in public face mask use rates to decrease the spread of COVID-19 in the population. In addition, our findings can inform national and international public health agencies about face mask uptake in public.