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The relationship between human mobility and nature of science (NOS) salience in the UK news media was examined. This is a mixed-method study. A time series NOS salience data set was established from the content analysis of 1520 news articles related to non-pharmaceutical interventions of COVID-19. Data were taken from articles published between November 2021 and February 2022, which correlates with period of the change from pandemic to endemic status. Vector autoregressive model fitting with human mobility took place. The findings suggest that it was not the number of COVID-19 news articles nor the actual number of cases/deaths, but the specific NOS content that was associated with mobility change during the pandemic. Data indicate a Granger causal negative direction (P < 0.1) for the effect of the NOS salience represented in the news media on mobility in parks, as well as the effect of scientific practice, scientific knowledge and professional activities communicated in news media on recreational activities and grocery shopping. NOS salience was not associated with the mobility for transit, work or residential locations (P > 0.1). The findings of the study suggest that the ways in which the news media discuss epidemics can influence changes in human mobility. It is therefore essential that public health communicators emphasise the basis of scientific evidence to eliminate potential media bias in health and science communication for the promotion of public health policy. The present study approach, which combines time series and content analysis and uses an interdisciplinary lens from science communication, could also be adopted to other interdisciplinary health-related topics. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Survey data on adherence to COVID-19 prevention measures have often been used to inform policy makers and public health professionals. Although behavioural survey data are often considered to suffer from biases, there is a lack of studies critically examining the validity, reliability and responsiveness of population-survey data on behaviour throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We studied the measurement properties of the COVID-19 Adherence to Prevention Advice Survey (CAPAS), a novel questionnaire implemented in a repeated cross-sectional (i.e., 'Trend') Study and a Cohort Study in the Netherlands during the COVID-19 pandemic. The CAPAS is a novel questionnaire developed in March 2020, with the aim to assess social activity and adherence to COVID-19 prevention measures. Items were formulated to minimise social desirability and aid memory retrieval. Based on the COSMIN framework, we selected the most suitable test for each behavioural question. We investigated criterion validity of vaccination, testing behaviour and mobility by comparing (aggregate) trends of self-reported behaviour to trends in objective data. Responsiveness of mobility and ventilation behaviour was assessed by studying whether self-reported behaviour changed following contextual (e.g., policy) changes. Test-retest reliability of hygienic behaviour, wearing face masks, ventilation behaviour and social distancing was examined during a period in which the context was stable. Overall, aggregate trends in self-reported behaviour closely corresponded to trends in external objective data. Self-reported behaviours were responsive to contextual changes and test-retest reliabilities were adequate. For infrequent behaviours reliability improved when measures were dichotomised. We were able to examine national representativeness for vaccination, which suggested a modest overestimation of on average 3.7%. This study supports the suitability of using carefully designed, self-reported surveys (and the CAPAS specifically) to study changes in protective behaviours in a dynamic context. • CAPAS was used to measure (changes in) preventive behavior of the Dutch population. • We studied its criterion validity, responsiveness and test-retest reliability. • Results support the validity, responsiveness and reliability of the survey. • Carefully designed surveys can be used to study (changes in) protective behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the pre-vaccine period, the success of containing the spread of COVID-19 depends upon how communities respond to non-pharmaceutical mitigation policies such as social distancing, wearing of masks, retail and dining constraints, crowd limitation, and shelter-in-place orders. Of these policies, shelter-in-place and social distancing are of central importance. By using county-level mobility data as a measure of a community's voluntary compliance with social distancing policies, this study found that counties who received strong state social distancing policy directives and who had a high pro-social character showed lower mobility on retail and recreation mobility and grocery and pharmacy mobility (better social distancing) after states reopened from shelter-in-place orders. Counties that experienced a longer duration of shelter-in-place orders showed higher mobility (less social distancing), implying that the duration of the shelter-in-place order deteriorated social distancing response after reopening. This may be because reopening sent a "safe" signal to these counties or resulted in a response to the pent-up demand inducing higher mobility. The results indicate that implementing shelter-in-place and social distancing policies to slow down the transmission of COVID-19 were not necessarily effective in motivating a county to reduce mobility voluntarily. A county's pro-social character and the duration of shelter-in-place order should be considered when designing COVID-19 mitigation policies. • This study explores factors affecting voluntary compliance behavior after lockdowns. • A community's pro-social intention needs to be separated from community capital. • A longer duration of lockdowns leads to people not adhering to social distancing. • Pro-social intention increases voluntary compliance behavior after lockdowns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]