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Annals of General Psychiatry
Published in: Annals of General Psychiatry 1/2022

01-12-2022 | COVID-19 | Primary research

Adherence to facemask use in public places during the autumn–winter 2020 COVID-19 lockdown in Greece: observational data

Authors: Konstantinos N. Fountoulakis, Joao Breda, Marianna P. Arletou, Anastasios I. Charalampakis, Maria G. Karypidou, Konstantina S. Kotorli, Christina G. Koutsoudi, Eleftheria S. Ladia, Calypso A. Mitkani, Vasiliki N. Mpouri, Anastasia C. Samara, Aikaterini S. Stravoravdi, Ioannis G. Tsiamis, Aphrodite Tzortzi, Maria A. Vamvaka, Charikleia N. Zacharopoulou, Panagiotis E. Prezerakos, Sotirios A. Koupidis, Nikolaos K. Fountoulakis, Eva Maria Tsapakis, Anastasia Konsta, Pavlos N. Theodorakis

Published in: Annals of General Psychiatry | Issue 1/2022

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Abstract

Background

Wearing facemasks is of proven efficacy as a public health protective measure against COVID-19. Currently there are no observational data concerning the wearing of facemasks and the adherence to guidelines concerning their handling.

Methods

Registration of the way passers-by were wearing facemasks at 26 different locations of five major cities in Greece. The results were correlated with the rate of COVID-19 deaths in the region.

Results

In total, 119,433 passers-by were registered, 57,043 females (47.8%) and 62,390 males (52.2%). From the total sample, 81.1% were wearing the mask properly, 10.8% had their nose out, 6.2% were wearing it under the jaw, and 1.9% had no mask at all . There was a significant difference between males and females concerning any use of mask. Inappropriate use of was correlated with COVID-19 death rate in the studied region.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest that under conditions of mandatory wearing and in central locations of major cities, during walking, proper use of masks is suboptimal, but still contributes with some protection. Fear and risk perception seem to be strong factors contributing to adherence to proper mask wearing.
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Metadata
Title
Adherence to facemask use in public places during the autumn–winter 2020 COVID-19 lockdown in Greece: observational data
Authors
Konstantinos N. Fountoulakis
Joao Breda
Marianna P. Arletou
Anastasios I. Charalampakis
Maria G. Karypidou
Konstantina S. Kotorli
Christina G. Koutsoudi
Eleftheria S. Ladia
Calypso A. Mitkani
Vasiliki N. Mpouri
Anastasia C. Samara
Aikaterini S. Stravoravdi
Ioannis G. Tsiamis
Aphrodite Tzortzi
Maria A. Vamvaka
Charikleia N. Zacharopoulou
Panagiotis E. Prezerakos
Sotirios A. Koupidis
Nikolaos K. Fountoulakis
Eva Maria Tsapakis
Anastasia Konsta
Pavlos N. Theodorakis
Publication date
01-12-2022
Publisher
BioMed Central
Keyword
COVID-19
Published in
Annals of General Psychiatry / Issue 1/2022
Electronic ISSN: 1744-859X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12991-022-00386-2

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