Axinn and colleagues examine COVID-19 behaviors in Nepal

January 5, 2022

Examining the worries and behaviors of families in Nepal, Ford School courtesy professor William Axinn and colleagues from the Institute of Social Research and its Program in Society, Population, and Environment were able to tap in to an ongoing 25-year community panel study in the western Chitwan province of the country, the Chitwan Valley Family Study. Some 2,678 households responded to questions about their concerns about COVID-19 and the mitigating behaviors they were enacting. They first examined how worried people were about becoming infected, and then looked at eleven specific behaviors, including social distancing, mask wearing, change of school or work arrangements and isolation from those with the disease.

Their research, published in the journal, Tropical Medicine & International Health, concluded, "COVID-19 mitigation behaviors were more common in people with COVID-19 worry. To address current and potential future waves of the pandemic, public health efforts should include informational campaigns about mitigation behaviors particularly for those unconcerned with COVID-19 risks."

You can read the study here.