Religious Service Attendance and the Perceived Necessity of Hand Washing, Mask Wearing, and Vaccinations during the COVID-19 Pandemic Público

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted all aspects of daily life. The social determinants of health affected how people responded to the pandemic and what preventative behaviors they were willing to perform. Religion, one of the social determinants of health, has been a significant topic throughout the pandemic, with outbreaks associated with religious gatherings, collaboration and sometimes conflict between public health and faith-based organizations, and religious leaders’ support of preventative behaviors and virtual religious services. With these competing narratives about religion and COVID-19, the association between religion and preventative behaviors by individuals has not been studied. Wave 31 of Understanding America Study Coronavirus Tracking Survey administered by the Center for Economic and Social Research (CESR) at the University of Southern California was analyzed to investigate how in-person religious service is associated with the belief in the necessity of handwashing, mask wearing, and vaccination to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Bivariate analysis and adjusted logistic regression of the exposure of religious service attendance and the outcomes of hand washing, mask wearing, and vaccinations were performed, with separate models for each preventative behavior. The bivariate analysis revealed that people who attended in-person religious services in the last 7 days were significantly less likely to believe in the necessity of each preventative behavior than those who had not attended in-person services. The adjusted logistic regression models found that people who attend religious service were less likely to believe in the necessity of each handwashing (AOR: 0.71), mask wearing (AOR: 0.35), and vaccinations (AOR: 0.38). These findings are compatible with the narrative that religion is negatively impacting the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings may, in part, be because at this time, most people were participating in remote, not in-person worship. People who wanted to attend in-person religious service may have been more likely to choose houses of worship that did not require preventative measures and made it seem like not practicing preventative behaviors was socially acceptable. Understanding the factors associated with preventative behaviors helps inform promotion and communication and which sectors of the population need more health promotion for COVID-19 response and prevention.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Methods 6

Results       12

Discussion      19

Bibliography 23                                                                                                       

                                                                                                

About this Master's Thesis

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School	Rollins School of Public Health
Department	Epidemiology
Subfield / Discipline	Epidemiology - MPH & MSPH
Degree	M.P.H.
Submission	Master's Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Health Sciences, Public Health Health Sciences, Epidemiology
Palabra Clave	COVID-19 Religion Social Determinants of Health Understanding America Study Vaccinations Mask Wearing Hand Washing Religious Service
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Ellen Idler , Emory University

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