How the public used face masks in China during the coronavirus disease pandemic: A survey study.
Min Tan, Yingying Wang, Li Luo and 1 others
PMID 33352496WHAT IT FOUND
Most people wore masks, but hand hygiene before donning and during use was poor.
Exposure to instructions predicted good compliance better than education level. N95 respirators were overused by the public. Reusing disposable masks without proper disposal or replacement was common.
Key findings
0141.8% of participants seldom cleaned their hands before putting on a mask.
02Participants who knew about face mask use instructions had significantly higher compliance (OR=4.13) than those who did not.
0326.2% of respondents reported using N95 respirators, which are not recommended for the general population.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Self-reported behaviours may be subject to reporting bias. The sample was recruited via social media (WeChat), excluding those without internet access. The study did not assess non-response bias. Participants were not randomly selected, so the sample may not represent the general population. The definition of 'good' compliance was based on a specific scoring system developed for the study.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflict of interest. The study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Bureau of Science and Technology, Nanchong, China.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that higher educational attainment leads to better mask-wearing compliance. The study found that people with graduate degrees had significantly lower compliance than those with middle school education or below. Instead, specific exposure to instructions on mask use was the strongest predictor of good behaviour.