Do people with symptoms of an infectious illness follow advice to stay at home? Evidence from a series of cross-sectional surveys about presenteeism in the UK
Objectives To assess the percentage of people in the UK with cough, fever or loss of taste or smell who have not had a positive COVID-19 test result who had been to work, to shops, socialised or provided care to a vulnerable person in the 10 days after developing symptoms. To investigate whether the...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMJ Publishing Group
2022-05-01
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| Series: | BMJ Open |
| Online Access: | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/5/e060511.full |
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| author | Henry Potts Nicola T Fear Susan Michie Richard Amlot G James Rubin Louise E Smith |
| author_facet | Henry Potts Nicola T Fear Susan Michie Richard Amlot G James Rubin Louise E Smith |
| author_sort | Henry Potts |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objectives To assess the percentage of people in the UK with cough, fever or loss of taste or smell who have not had a positive COVID-19 test result who had been to work, to shops, socialised or provided care to a vulnerable person in the 10 days after developing symptoms. To investigate whether these rates differed according to the type of symptom, what the participant thought the cause of their symptoms was and whether they had taken a COVID-19 test.Design Four online cross-sectional surveys using non-probability quota sampling method (n=8547).Setting Data were collected across the UK from 20 September to 3 November 2021, via a market research company.Participants Aged over 16 years living in the UK.Primary outcome measures Out-of-home activity.Results 498 participants reported one or more symptoms and had not had a positive COVID-19 test result. Within that group, about half of employed participants had attended work while symptomatic (51.2%–56.3% depending on the symptom, 95% CIs 42.2% to 65.6%). Rates of other contact behaviours ranged from 31.4% (caring for a vulnerable person after developing a cough: 95% CI 24.3% to 38.4%) to 61.5% (shopping for groceries or pharmacy after developing a cough: 95% CI 54.1% to 68.9%). There were no differences according to type of symptom experienced or what the participant felt might be the cause. People who had taken a COVID-19 test were less likely to go out shopping for non-essentials than people who had not taken a test.Conclusion Many people in the UK with symptoms of an infectious disease were not following government advice to stay at home if they believed they had an infectious illness. Reducing these rates may require a shift in our national attitude to the acceptability of people attending work with infectious illnesses. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-0d6bb12909e54714b2304251c8b22306 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2044-6055 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2022-05-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Open |
| spelling | doaj-art-0d6bb12909e54714b2304251c8b223062025-08-20T02:16:56ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552022-05-0112510.1136/bmjopen-2021-060511Do people with symptoms of an infectious illness follow advice to stay at home? Evidence from a series of cross-sectional surveys about presenteeism in the UKHenry Potts0Nicola T Fear1Susan Michie2Richard Amlot3G James Rubin4Louise E Smith5Centre for Health Informatics and Multiprofessional Education, University College London, London, UKKing`s Centre for Military Health Research, King`s College London, London, UK5 Centre for Behaviour Change, University College London, London, UK2 UK Health Security Agency, Porton Down, London, UK1 Department of Psychological Medicine, King`s College London, London, UKPsychological Medicine, King`s College London, London, UKObjectives To assess the percentage of people in the UK with cough, fever or loss of taste or smell who have not had a positive COVID-19 test result who had been to work, to shops, socialised or provided care to a vulnerable person in the 10 days after developing symptoms. To investigate whether these rates differed according to the type of symptom, what the participant thought the cause of their symptoms was and whether they had taken a COVID-19 test.Design Four online cross-sectional surveys using non-probability quota sampling method (n=8547).Setting Data were collected across the UK from 20 September to 3 November 2021, via a market research company.Participants Aged over 16 years living in the UK.Primary outcome measures Out-of-home activity.Results 498 participants reported one or more symptoms and had not had a positive COVID-19 test result. Within that group, about half of employed participants had attended work while symptomatic (51.2%–56.3% depending on the symptom, 95% CIs 42.2% to 65.6%). Rates of other contact behaviours ranged from 31.4% (caring for a vulnerable person after developing a cough: 95% CI 24.3% to 38.4%) to 61.5% (shopping for groceries or pharmacy after developing a cough: 95% CI 54.1% to 68.9%). There were no differences according to type of symptom experienced or what the participant felt might be the cause. People who had taken a COVID-19 test were less likely to go out shopping for non-essentials than people who had not taken a test.Conclusion Many people in the UK with symptoms of an infectious disease were not following government advice to stay at home if they believed they had an infectious illness. Reducing these rates may require a shift in our national attitude to the acceptability of people attending work with infectious illnesses.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/5/e060511.full |
| spellingShingle | Henry Potts Nicola T Fear Susan Michie Richard Amlot G James Rubin Louise E Smith Do people with symptoms of an infectious illness follow advice to stay at home? Evidence from a series of cross-sectional surveys about presenteeism in the UK BMJ Open |
| title | Do people with symptoms of an infectious illness follow advice to stay at home? Evidence from a series of cross-sectional surveys about presenteeism in the UK |
| title_full | Do people with symptoms of an infectious illness follow advice to stay at home? Evidence from a series of cross-sectional surveys about presenteeism in the UK |
| title_fullStr | Do people with symptoms of an infectious illness follow advice to stay at home? Evidence from a series of cross-sectional surveys about presenteeism in the UK |
| title_full_unstemmed | Do people with symptoms of an infectious illness follow advice to stay at home? Evidence from a series of cross-sectional surveys about presenteeism in the UK |
| title_short | Do people with symptoms of an infectious illness follow advice to stay at home? Evidence from a series of cross-sectional surveys about presenteeism in the UK |
| title_sort | do people with symptoms of an infectious illness follow advice to stay at home evidence from a series of cross sectional surveys about presenteeism in the uk |
| url | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/5/e060511.full |
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