How Much Social Distance is Enough? Family Preparedness and Responses to Non-Pharmacologic Interventions During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Led by Assistant Professor Gillian Tarr, PhD, CPH, and Associate Professor Marizen Ramirez, PhD, MPH, in the Division of Environmental Health Sciences, this study includes surveying families of school-aged children (K-12), identified through multiple online recruitment strategies that are efficient and low-cost to facilitate rapid responses. The researchers will: Determine the preparations that families made prior to implementation of social distancing interventions and the extent to which these have met families' needs. Identify stressors experienced by families following the implementation of social distancing interventions, measure how these stressors change during the outbreak, and identify coping mechanisms families have employed. Determine the number and nature of contacts families are having outside the family unit, and identify characteristics associated with adherence. Test the association between adherence to social distancing recommendations, quarantine, and lockdown and COVID-19 risk in the community. "The information we gather on preparedness behaviors, adherence to social distancing guidelines, and their effect on disease risk and mental health can inform preparedness and social distancing guidelines as the outbreak continues," said Tarr and Ramirez. "Additionally, this is not our last pandemic; understanding what preparatory measures were successful, and what factors may preclude families from adhering to social distancing can inform future public health responses."