Socioeconomic and risk-related drivers of compliance with measures to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection: evidence from the Munich-based KoCo19 study.

OBJECTIVES: Although a growing share of the population in many countries has been vaccinated against the SARS-CoV-2 virus to different degrees, social distancing and hygienic non-pharmaceutical interventions still play a substantial role in containing the pandemic. The goal of this study was to investigate which factors are correlated with a higher compliance with these regulations in the context of a cohort study in the city of Munich, southern Germany, during the summer of 2020, i.e. after the first lockdown phase. METHODS: Using self-reported compliance with six regulations and personal hygiene rules (washing hands, avoiding touching face, wearing a mask, keeping distance, avoiding social gatherings, avoiding public spaces) we extracted two compliance factor scores, namely compliance with personal hygiene measures and compliance with social distancing regulations. Using linear and logistic regressions, we estimated the correlation of several socio-demographic and risk perception variables with both compliance scores. RESULTS: Risk aversion proved to be a consistent and significant driver of compliance across all compliance behaviors. Furthermore, being female, being retired and having a migration background were positively associated with compliance with personal hygiene regulations, whereas older age was related with a higher compliance with social distancing regulations. Generally, socioeconomic characteristics were not related with compliance, except for education, which was negatively related with compliance with personal hygiene measures. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that for a targeted approach to improve compliance with measures to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection, special attention should be given to younger, male and risk-prone individuals.

Proceedings from the CIHLMU occupational safety and health symposium 2019 "Protecting workers' health: global challenges and opportunities in work-related respiratory diseases".

The international CIHLMU Occupational Safety and Health Symposium 2019 was held on 16th March, 2019 at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, Germany. About 60 participants from around the world representing occupational health and safety professionals, students, instructors from several institutions in Germany and abroad, attended the symposium.The main objective of the symposium was to create awareness on global challenges and opportunities in work-related respiratory diseases. One keynote lecture and six presentations were made. While the keynote lecture addressed issues on occupational diseases in the twenty-first century, the six presentations were centered on: Prevention and control of work-related respiratory diseases, considerations; Occupational health and safety in Mining: Respiratory diseases; The prevention of TB among health workers is our collective responsibility; Compensation and prevention of occupational diseases and discussion on how artificial intelligence can support them: Overview of international approaches; Work-related Asthma: Evidence from high-income countries; and The role of imaging in the diagnosis of work- related respiratory diseases. A panel discussion was conducted following the presentations on the importance and challenges of data acquisition which is needed to have a realistic picture of the occupational safety and health status of workers at different levels. The current summary is an attempt to share the proceedings of the symposium.