During the COVID-19 pandemic, residents in Singapore were often reminded by the government to be civic conscious and to undertake health preventive habits such (e.g., donning masks, using hand sanitizers). This study sought to examine (1) residents’ perceptions of the current COVID-19 state and (2) whether residents continue to undertake health preventive habits and their reasons for doing so or not as we exit from the pandemic.

300 residents (aged 21 and above) in Singapore were surveyed through convenience sampling in two ways: e-surveys were disseminated through word-of-mouth, and participants were recruited in-person in a mature housing estate. The survey assessed participants’ perceptions towards current COVID-19 state, their likelihood of undertaking health preventive habits and their expectations of others in undertaking health preventive habits. Statistical tests were used to examine the results against their demographic profiles (e.g., sex, prior COVID-19 infections, whether they live with vulnerable population).

Females were generally more likely to engage in preventive health habits. Interestingly, living with medically vulnerable individuals or one’s past COVID-19 infections had no significant correlation to whether one engages preventive health habits.

This study is limited by its sample size. Also, as the survey was administered in English, elderly residents who could not speak English were excluded. Future phases could consider enlarging our sample size and administering the survey in Mandarin, Malay and Tamil so as to include more elderly participants in the study as the results can inform outreach policies targeted at the elderly who are more vulnerable to infectious diseases.

Authors:
Julia Wong, Singapore Institute of Technology, Singapore
Hannah Lee, Singapore Institute of Technology, Singapore
Cristalle Lim, Singapore Institute of Technology, Singapore
Jermaine Goh, Singapore Institute of Technology, Singapore
Yin Ying Tan, Singapore Institute of Technology, Singapore
Layla Natasha Omarrudin, Singapore Institute of Technology, Singapore

About the Presenter(s)
Dr Julia Wong is a University Assistant Professor/Lecturer at Singapore Institute of Technology in Singapore

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