Abstract
Background: Outcomes from the COVID-19 pandemic indicate that masks lower a person’s exposure to respiratory infections. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continues to recommend situation-specific mask-wearing to protect oneself from COVID-19 variants and other viruses. Yet, the clinical community continues to struggle with targeting interventions to increase the likelihood of mask-wearing when the risk of virus exposure is higher in the post-pandemic environment. In this study, we applied the Health Belief Model (HBM) to identify the attitudes and beliefs influencing mask-wearing and recommend targeted interventions for low-frequency mask wearers in CDC recommended situations.
Methods: We administered a nationwide cross-sectional survey to college-educated individuals to identify (1) the drivers influencing high-frequency mask-wearing and 2) interventions targeted to increase the likelihood of adhering to current and future CDC mask-wearing recommendations.
Results: The HBM constructs perceived susceptibility and severity and modified self-efficacy as significant factors (p=0.000, α=.05) influencing mask-wearing. Individuals were more likely to wear masks in larger gatherings (e.g., grocery stores) and when around others wearing a mask. Younger individuals and individuals in small social gatherings were less likely to mask wear. Results and the literature synthesis suggest that nurses develop age and situation-specific target interventions. Interventions should (1) target higher risk larger social gatherings where individuals are closer to one another, making susceptibility higher (e.g., traveling, sporting events); (2) use social influencers to target younger individuals focusing on susceptibility and severity; (3) emphasize that regardless of age, individuals have control over their health.
Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic created the opportunity to promote current-day situation-specific mask-wearing to protect one’s health. The significant HBM constructs offer nurses direction when developing targeted interventions to improve mask-wearing when the risk of virus exposure is higher. The primary study limitation is that generalization is limited to college-educated individuals.
Notes
References:
Azcona Aizcorbe, E. (2024). How to prevent high spread of illnesses during peak seasons: experimental evidence on mask-wearing.
Courtice, E. L., Quinn-Nilas, C., Bickram, D. A., Witoski, S., Hoskin, R. A., & Blair, K. L. (2023). Is the messenger the message? Canadian political affiliation and other predictors of mask wearing frequency & attitudes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science/Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, 55(1), 1.
Damette, O., & Huynh, T. L. D. (2023). Face mask is an efficient tool to fight the Covid-19 pandemic and some factors increase the probability of its adoption. Scientific reports, 13(1), 9218.
Hamerman, E. J., Aggarwal, A., & Poupis, L. M. (2023). Generalized self-efficacy and compliance with health behaviours related to COVID-19 in the US. Psychology & health, 38(8), 969-986.
Li, T., Liu, Y., Li, M., Qian, X., & Dai, S. Y. (2020). Mask or no mask for COVID-19: A public health and market study. PloS one, 15(8), e0237691. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0237691
Vargas, E. D., & Sanchez, G. R. (2020). American individualism is an obstacle to wider mask wearing in the US. Retrieved from brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2020/08/31/american-individualism-is-an-obstacle-to-wider-mask-wearing-in-the-us/
Sigma Membership
Rho
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Cross-Sectional
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
Policy and Advocacy, Teaching and Learning Strategies, Mask Wearing Behaviors
Recommended Citation
Knight, John; Medvec, Barbara R.; and Hammett, Patrick, "Developing Interventions to Improve Future Age and Situation Specific Mask Wearing" (2025). Biennial Convention (CONV). 35.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/convention/2025/presentations_2025/35
Conference Name
48th Biennial Convention
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Conference Year
2025
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2025-11-18
Developing Interventions to Improve Future Age and Situation Specific Mask Wearing
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Background: Outcomes from the COVID-19 pandemic indicate that masks lower a person’s exposure to respiratory infections. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continues to recommend situation-specific mask-wearing to protect oneself from COVID-19 variants and other viruses. Yet, the clinical community continues to struggle with targeting interventions to increase the likelihood of mask-wearing when the risk of virus exposure is higher in the post-pandemic environment. In this study, we applied the Health Belief Model (HBM) to identify the attitudes and beliefs influencing mask-wearing and recommend targeted interventions for low-frequency mask wearers in CDC recommended situations.
Methods: We administered a nationwide cross-sectional survey to college-educated individuals to identify (1) the drivers influencing high-frequency mask-wearing and 2) interventions targeted to increase the likelihood of adhering to current and future CDC mask-wearing recommendations.
Results: The HBM constructs perceived susceptibility and severity and modified self-efficacy as significant factors (p=0.000, α=.05) influencing mask-wearing. Individuals were more likely to wear masks in larger gatherings (e.g., grocery stores) and when around others wearing a mask. Younger individuals and individuals in small social gatherings were less likely to mask wear. Results and the literature synthesis suggest that nurses develop age and situation-specific target interventions. Interventions should (1) target higher risk larger social gatherings where individuals are closer to one another, making susceptibility higher (e.g., traveling, sporting events); (2) use social influencers to target younger individuals focusing on susceptibility and severity; (3) emphasize that regardless of age, individuals have control over their health.
Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic created the opportunity to promote current-day situation-specific mask-wearing to protect one’s health. The significant HBM constructs offer nurses direction when developing targeted interventions to improve mask-wearing when the risk of virus exposure is higher. The primary study limitation is that generalization is limited to college-educated individuals.
Description
This study identified significant Health Belief Model constructs that can influence mask-wearing behavior. It was done in the context of current literature and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) mask-wearing recommendations. Based on the outcomes and a literature synthesis, we recommend age—and higher-risk situation-specific interventions to improve compliance with the Current CDC recommendations.