Men, Women & COVID-19
Of the nearly 22,000 individuals participating in a survey conducted in Europe, the UK, the U.S., New Zealand and Australia, 59 percent of the women considered the COVID-19 coronavirus a serious health problem while only 49 percent of the men felt the same. Women also were more likely than men to agree with and follow public policy recommendations designed to fight the pandemic. Study author Paola Profeta, Ph.D., of Italy’s Bocconi University’s COVID Crisis Lab wrote that “the biggest differences between men and women relate to behaviors that serve to protect others above all, such as coughing in the elbow, unlike those that can protect both themselves and others.” But she noted that these differences are “smaller among married couples who live together and share their views…and among individuals most directly exposed to the pandemic” The differences between men and women in their attitudes about COVID-19 also decrease over time if they’ve been exposed to the same flow of information about the pandemic, she added.
Source:
Paola Profeta et al, “Gender differences in COVID-19 attitudes and behavior: Panel evidence from eight countries,” PNAS June 17, 2020
More current health news from this week’s bulletin:
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- A salad that makes a satisfying lunch: Quinoa Tabbouleh
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