Changes in implementation of personal protective measures by ordinary Japanese citizens: A longitudinal study from the early phase to the community transmission phase of the COVID-19 outbreak

Machida, Masaki; Nakamura, Itaru; Saito, Reiko; Nakaya, Tomoki; Hanibuchi, Tomoya; Takamiya, Tomoko; Odagiri, Yuko; Fukushima, Noritoshi; Kikuchi, Hiroyuki; Amagasa, Shiho; Kojima, Takako; Watanabe, Hidehiro; Inoue, Shigeru

OBJECTIVES: To clarify changes in the implementation of personal protective measures among ordinary Japanese citizens from the early phase of the COVID-19 outbreak to the community transmission phase. METHODS: This longitudinal, internet-based survey included 2,141 people (50.8% men; 20-79 years). The baseline and follow-up surveys were conducted from February 25-27, 2020 and April 1-6, 2020, respectively. Participants were asked how often they implemented the 5 personal protective measures recommended by the World Health Organization (hand hygiene, social distancing, avoiding touching the eyes, nose and mouth, respiratory etiquette, and self-isolation) in the baseline and follow-up surveys. RESULTS: The prevalence of 3 of the 5 personal protective measures significantly improved in the community transmission phase compared to the early phase. Social distancing measures showed significant improvement, from 67.4% to 82.2%. However, the prevalence of avoiding touching the eyes, nose and mouth, which had the lowest prevalence in the early phase, showed no significant improvement (approximately 60%). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed, men and persons of low-income households made fewer improvements than women and persons of high-income households. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of personal protective measures by ordinary citizens is improving, however there is potential for improvement, especially in regard to avoiding touching eyes, nose and mouth.