Frequent mandatory COVID-19 testing increases risky behavior

Mandatory surveillance testing programs are popular policies aimed to control the spread of SARS-Cov-2. However, if those tested believe that testing protects them from COVID-19, such policies could lead to increased risky behavior that undermines the effectiveness of the policy, and may even increase the spread of the virus. Using data from two large U.S. universities with mandatory testing policies, we find that more frequent mandatory testing is associated with higher participation in events particularly prone to cause COVD-19 spread. Women seem to be driving this relationship, and mediation analyses suggest this is partly due to women’s higher perception of health risks from COVID-19. Our results demonstrate the need to examine the existence of adverse effects from pandemic control policies, both on average and across subgroups in the population, such that, when adopting the policies, measures can be taken to mitigate such unintended consequences.

强制性监测检测政策是当前用于控制严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2型（SARS-CoV-2）传播的主流防控举措。然而，若受检者误以为检测可使其免受新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19）感染，则此类政策可能会催生更多风险行为，反而削弱政策的防控效力，甚至加剧病毒传播。本研究借助美国两所推行强制检测政策的大型高校所采集的数据展开分析，结果显示，强制检测的频率越高，参与者参与新冠病毒高传播风险聚集活动的意愿和参与度就越高。女性群体似乎是这一关联的主导驱动因素，中介效应分析结果表明，这一现象部分源于女性对新冠疫情健康风险的感知程度更高。本研究结果显示，有必要从整体人群及各亚群体维度，全面评估疫情防控政策可能存在的负面影响，从而在政策推行阶段采取针对性措施，以缓解此类非预期后果。