Social Determinants in Self-Protective Behavior Related to COVID-19: Association Rule–Mining Study

Abstract

Journal of Medical Internet Research - International Scientific Journal for Medical Research, Information and Communication on the Internet #Preprint #PeerReviewMe: Warning: This is a unreviewed preprint. Readers are warned that the document has not been peer-reviewed by expert/patient reviewers or an academic editor, may contain misleading claims, and is likely to undergo changes before final publication, if accepted, or may have been rejected/withdrawn. Readers with interest and expertise are encouraged to sign up as peer-reviewer, if the paper is within an open peer-review period. Please cite this preprint only for review purposes or for grant applications and CVs (if you are the author). Background: Human behavior is an important determinant of health outcomes. In addition to intrinsic public health challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, in many countries, some individuals decided not to be vaccinated, streets were full of people, and businesses struggling to recover were partially open despite lockdown or "stay at home instructions". These behaviors contrast with the clear benefit of distancing, use of masks, and vaccination to decrease collective and individual risks. Objective: Here, we try to understand what are the social and working characteristics in Brazil related to appropriate protective behavior reports. Which conditions are associated with it being easier or more difficult to comply with protective measures? Methods: We selected three common selfcare procedures: mask use, distancing by at least 1 meter when out, washing hands or use of alcohol, combined with assessing the social context of people who reported to comply with all three measures. Using a frequent pattern mining perspective, association rules were generated from a set of answers to questions that co-occur with at list a given frequency identifying the pattern of characteristics of the groups divided according to the protective behavior report. Results: We identify patterns composed by social and working determinants of the compliance of protective self-care measures. Conclusions: The rationale was to identify a pool of working and social characteristics that might have better adhesion to behaviors and self-care measures. This search might be helpful to identify constraints to fully follow public policies. Clinical Trial: Not appliable