Socioeconomic Status and Adherence to Preventive Measures During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Switzerland: A Population Based Digital Cohort Analysis

TL;DR

This study examines how socioeconomic status in Switzerland affected people's adherence to pandemic measures, finding that income and education influenced behavior after vaccines became widely available.

Contribution

The study reveals that socioeconomic disparities in adherence to preventive measures emerged only after the pandemic's initial phase and vaccine rollout.

Findings

High adherence to preventive measures was observed across all socioeconomic strata before June 2021.

After June 2021, individuals with higher income and education were less likely to adhere to preventive measures.

SES differences in adherence emerged only after vaccines became widely available and restrictions eased.

Abstract

To assess the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and self-reported adherence to preventive measures in Switzerland during the COVID-19 pandemic.

4,299 participants from a digital cohort were followed between September 2020 and November 2021. Baseline equivalised disposable income and education were used as SES proxies. Adherence was assessed over time. We investigated the association between SES and adherence using multivariable mixed logistic regression, stratifying by age (below/above 65 years) and two periods (before/after June 2021, to account for changes in vaccine coverage and epidemiological situation).

Adherence was high across all SES strata before June 2021. After, participants with higher equivalised disposable income were less likely to adhere to preventive measures compared to participants in the first (low) quartile [second (Adj.OR, 95% CI) (0.56, 0.37–0.85), third (0.38, 0.23–0.64), fourth (0.60, 0.36–0.98)]. We observed similar results for education.

No differences by SES were found during the period with high SARS-CoV-2 incidence rates and stringent measures. Following the broad availability of vaccines, lower incidence, and eased measures, differences by SES started to emerge. Our study highlights the need for contextual interpretation when assessing SES impact on adherence to preventive measures.

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