Research project During a pandemic, we need more than knowledge about the infectiousness of the virus, it's incubation period, routes of infection and care needs. We also need knowledge regarding how people experience and react to the spread of coronavirus.
In this research study we examining how people reacted and acted during the initial phase of the pandemic.
Professor Peter Schulz, professor of communication theory and health communication at Lugano University, Switzerland
How individuals and societies assess and relate to health risks and disease are affected by many factors. In our study, we are guided by the theoretical assumptions of protection motivation theory, which focuses on various aspects of our ability to evaluate and handle threatening situations.
With so-called smartphone ecological momentary assessment methodology, study participants replied to questions on a daily basis using their mobile phone, which meant that experiences were captured in close proximity to the events of everyday life during a time period where sickness and death rates increased rapidly.
