Imparting knowledge is not enough
ETH researchers have investigated how the population has complied with the prescribed Corona measures so far. Angela Bearth, one of the authors of the study, explains in an interview what conclusions can be drawn from the data so far and what needs to be paid particular attention to in the near future.
Ms. Bearth, together with other members of the Consumer Behavior Group at ETH Zurich, you took a close look at the behavior of the German-speaking Swiss population during the Corona crisis. What exactly did you study?
Angela Bearth: We have conducted two longitudinal surveys in recent months: In the first survey, we interviewed about 1500 people between the ages of 18 and 69 a total of four times about their behavior during the Corona crisis. We conducted the first survey right at the beginning of the lockdown in mid-March, and the last one now after the introduction of the Mask obligation on public transport. In the second survey, we asked around 500 people over the age of 59 a total of three times about their behavior. So we deliberately focused on the main risk group.
How representative are the two groups?
I hesitate somewhat to call the two groups representative, but they certainly give a good picture of the situation, since we have taken care to ensure a representative distribution of genders and age groups. In tendency, both groups are somewhat better educated than the average of the population.
Let's talk about the elderly first. How well did they adhere to the recommendations?
It is remarkable that about 60 percent of the elderly still went shopping themselves even in the acute phase. Of course, not everyone has a nice neighbor who can take over. But it is still astonishing how few adhered to the recommendation. The answers to the open questions confirm that many older people feel patronized if they are no longer allowed to do their own shopping.
What about the other recommendations?
Overall, the hygiene measures were well observed, with the Risk awareness is significantly higher in people with a pre-existing condition.
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