STUDY: Capability, opportunity and motivation to enact hygienic practices in the early stages of the COVID-19 outbreak in the UK

Objectives The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the greatest global health threats facing humanity in recent memory. This study aimed to explore influences on hygienic practices, a set of key transmission behaviours, in relation to the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation-Behaviour (COM-B) model of behaviour change (Michie et al., 2011). Design Data from the first wave of a longitudinal survey study was used, launched in the early stages of the UK COVID-19 pandemic. Methods Participants were 2025 adults aged 18 and older, representative of the UK population, recruited by a survey company from a panel of research participants. Participants self-reported motivation, capability and opportunity to enact hygienic practices during the COVID-19 outbreak. Results Using regression models, we found that all three COM-B components significantly predicted good hygienic practices, with motivation having the greatest influence on behaviour. Breaking this down further, the sub-scales psychological capability, social opportunity and reflective motivation positively influenced behaviour. Reflective motivation was largely driving behaviour, with those highest in reflective motivation scoring 51% more on the measure of hygienic practices compared with those with the lowest scores. Conclusions Our findings have clear implications for the design of behaviour change interventions to promote hygienic practices. Interventions should focus on increasing and maintaining motivation to act and include elements that promote and maintain social support and knowledge of COVID-19 transmission. Groups in particular need of targeting for interventions to increase hygienic practices are males and those living in cities and suburbs.

目标：COVID-19大流行是人类近期所面临的最为严峻的全球公共卫生威胁之一。本研究旨在探讨卫生习惯（一组关键的传播行为）在能力、机遇、动机-行为（COM-B）行为改变模型（Michie等，2011年）中的影响因素。设计：本研究采用纵向调查研究的首次数据，该研究在英国COVID-19大流行初期启动。方法：参与者为2025名18岁及以上的成年人，代表英国人口，由一家调查公司从研究参与者面板中招募。参与者自行报告在COVID-19疫情爆发期间实施卫生习惯的动机、能力和机遇。结果：通过回归模型分析，我们发现COM-B模型的三个组成部分均对良好的卫生习惯有显著的预测作用，其中动机对行为的影响最为显著。进一步分析显示，心理能力、社会机遇和反思性动机的子量表对行为有积极影响。反思性动机在很大程度上驱动了行为，与反思性动机得分最低的参与者相比，得分最高的参与者在该卫生习惯测量指标上的得分高出51%。结论：我们的研究结果对促进卫生习惯的行为改变干预措施的设计具有明确的启示。干预措施应着重于提高并维持行为的动机，并包括促进和维护社会支持和COVID-19传播知识的元素。特别是，针对需要干预以增加卫生习惯的群体，包括男性以及居住在市区和郊区的居民。