Feasibility,Utility,and Limitations of a Rapid Community Behavioral Diagnosis for Social Distancing During the 2020 Coronavirus Pandemic

Abstract

Purpose:

To evaluate the feasibility, utility, and limitations of a rapid community behavioral diagnosis (RCBD) for social distancing behaviors to prevent coronavirus transmission during a global coronavirus pandemic.

Design:

Using social media for recruitment, we partnered with a local community task force to administer a brief online survey.

Setting:

Residential urban community.

Sample:

Eighty-four community members, the majority of whom were white, female, college educated completed the survey.

Measures:

Theory of planned behavior constructs: behavioral intentions, attitudes, perceived norms, and perceived behavioral control for 3 social distancing behaviors: maintaining a 6-foot distance, avoiding places people congregate, and staying home as much as possible.

Analysis:

Path analyses were conducted to understand significant determinants of intentions for each behavior to guide the development of locally tailored health promotion messages.

Results:

The RCBD was implemented, and results were communicated to the community within 1 week. Intentions were high across the 3 behaviors but lowest for staying home as much as possible. Younger participants had lower intentions of maintaining a 6-foot distance than older participants. For each behavior, specific recommendations for health promotion messaging emerged based on how attitudes, norms, and perceived behavioral control related to intentions.

Conclusion:

In a situation where local community action is paramount for reducing coronavirus transmission, this RCBD process is feasible and useful for informing local health promotion.