Factors influencing protective behaviours to face Covid-19 : review of reviews

Carbon, Lucie [UCL] Cornil, Aurélien [UCL] Roussel, Sandrine [UCL] Grenier, Catherine [UCL] Nguyen, Nathan [UCL] Van den Broucke, Stephan [UCL] Vanpee, Dominique [UCL]

Introduction: In 2019, SARS-CoV-2 hit most of the world’s countries, taking the entire world by surprise. Responses varied, epidemiological situations did not stabilise in the same way everywhere, and citizens’ health behaviours differed widely, sometimes within the same country. This last point is of particular interest. This review of reviews drawn lessons from the previous crisis to identify appropriate health-protective behaviours for future crises. The research project is funded by Innoviris. Material and Methods: A review of reviews method was conducted using a PRISMA-compliant umbrella review in Pubmed and Scopus databases, selecting systematic reviews and meta-analyses on protective behaviours and Covid-19, published until May 2023. Only peer-reviewed, reviews and meta-analyses were included. To be considered for selection, the reviews had to be written in English, not refer to a specific population, and refer explicitly to protective behaviours. Reviews that concerned other diseases than Covid-19 were also included. Results: A total of 36 articles were screened, 8 of which met inclusion criteria and covered SARS-CoV-2 or other diseases such as influenza, Ebola, SARS, MERS, Zika and HIV. They provided relevant information on factors influencing protective behaviours. The most frequently cited factors were concerned with individual determinants of protective behaviours such as demographic characteristics, socio-economic status, level of education, perceptions and beliefs, and anxiety, or with social determinants such as social pressure, influencers or herd behaviour. Other determinants that were identified included crisis communication, health education and the mandatory nature of measures. Conclusions: This review enabled us to identify several barriers and facilitators to the adoption of protective health behaviours in response to a health crisis. The findings allow us to draw up guidelines for better management of future crises in terms of promoting protective health behaviours