Interventions to promote physical distancing behaviour during infectious disease pandemics or epidemics: A systematic review

Authors: Epton, Tracy ;

Ghio, Daniela;

Ballard, Lisa M;

Allen, Sarah F;

Kassianos, Angelos P.;

Hewitt, Rachael;

Swainston, Katherine;

Fynn, Wendy Irene;

Rowland, Vickie;

Westbrook, Juliette;

Jenkinson, Elizabeth;

Morrow, Alison;

McGeechan, Grant J;

Stanescu, Sabina;

Swanson, Vivien

Source: Social Science and Medicine

Full text

: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.114946

Abstract

Objectives: Physical distancing, defined as keeping 1–2m apart when co-located, can prevent cases of droplet or aerosol transmitted infectious diseases such as SARS-CoV2. During the COVID-19 pandemic, distancing was a recommendation or a requirement in many countries. This systematic review aimed to determine which interventions and behavior change techniques (BCTs) are effective in promoting adherence to distancing and through which potential mechanisms of action (MOAs).

Methods: Six databases were searched. The review included studies that were (a) conducted on humans, (b) reported physical distancing interventions, (c) included any comparator (e.g., pre-intervention versus post-intervention; randomized controlled trial), and (d) reported actual distancing or predictors of distancing behavior. Risk of bias was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. BCTs and potential MoAs were identified in each intervention.

Results: Six articles (with seven studies and 19 comparisons) indicated that distancing interventions could successfully change MoAs and behavior. Successful BCTs (MoAs) included feedback on behavior (e.g., motivation); information about health consequences, salience of health consequences (e.g., beliefs about consequences), demonstration (e.g., beliefs about capabilities), and restructuring the physical environment (e.g., environmental context and resources). The most promising interventions were proximity buzzers, directional systems, and posters with loss-framed messages that demonstrated the behaviors.

Conclusions: The evidence indicates several BCTs and potential MoAs that should be targeted in interventions and highlights gaps that should be the focus of future research.

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This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons CC-BY license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. You are not required to obtain permission to reuse this article.

Cite as

Epton, T., Ghio, D., Ballard, L., Allen, S., Kassianos, A., Hewitt, R., Swainston, K., Fynn, W., Rowland, V., Westbrook, J., Jenkinson, E., Morrow, A., McGeechan, G., Stanescu, S. & Swanson, V. 2022, 'Interventions to promote physical distancing behaviour during infectious disease pandemics or epidemics: A systematic review', Social Science and Medicine, 303, article no: 114946. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.114946

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.114946

Repository URI: http://hdl.handle.net/1893/34411