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Who is that masked person: The use of face masks on Mexico City public transportation during the Influenza A (H1N1) outbreak

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  • Condon, Bradly John
  • Sinha, Tapen

Abstract

This article examines three issues: (1) the use, over time, of facemasks in a public setting to prevent the spread of a respiratory disease for which the mortality rate is unknown; (2) the difference between the responses of male and female subjects in a public setting to unknown risks; and (3) the effectiveness of mandatory and voluntary public health measures in a public health emergency. The use of facemasks to prevent the spread of respiratory diseases in a public setting is controversial. At the height of the influenza epidemic in Mexico City in the spring of 2009, the federal government of Mexico recommended that passengers on public transport use facemasks to prevent contagion. The Mexico City government made the use of facemasks mandatory for bus and taxi drivers, but enforcement procedures differed for these two categories. Using an evidence-based approach, we collected data on the use of facemasks over a 2-week period. In the specific context of the Mexico City influenza outbreak, these data showed mask usage rates mimicked the course of the epidemic and gender difference in compliance rates among metro passengers. Moreover, there was not a significant difference in compliance with mandatory and voluntary public health measures where the effect of the mandatory measures was diminished by insufficiently severe penalties, the lack of market forces to create compliance incentives and sufficient political influence to diminish enforcement. Voluntary compliance was diminished by lack of trust in the government.

Suggested Citation

  • Condon, Bradly John & Sinha, Tapen, 2010. "Who is that masked person: The use of face masks on Mexico City public transportation during the Influenza A (H1N1) outbreak," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(1), pages 50-56, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:hepoli:v:95:y:2010:i:1:p:50-56
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    1. Jennifer L. Scheid & Shannon P. Lupien & Gregory S. Ford & Sarah L. West, 2020. "Commentary: Physiological and Psychological Impact of Face Mask Usage during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-12, September.
    2. Kaplan, Sigal & Tchetchik, Anat & Greenberg, Doron & Sapir, Itsik, 2022. "Transit use reduction following COVID-19: The effect of threat appraisal, proactive coping and institutional trust," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 338-356.
    3. Muhammad Irfan & Nadeem Akhtar & Munir Ahmad & Farrukh Shahzad & Rajvikram Madurai Elavarasan & Haitao Wu & Chuxiao Yang, 2021. "Assessing Public Willingness to Wear Face Masks during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Fresh Insights from the Theory of Planned Behavior," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(9), pages 1-22, April.
    4. David Gershon & Alexander Lipton & Hagai Levine, 2020. "Managing COVID-19 Pandemic without Destructing the Economy," Papers 2004.10324, arXiv.org, revised May 2020.
    5. Arielle Kaim & Eli Jaffe & Maya Siman-Tov & Ella Khairish & Bruria Adini, 2020. "Impact of a Brief Educational Intervention on Knowledge, Perceived Knowledge, Perceived Safety, and Resilience of the Public During COVID-19 Crisis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(16), pages 1-14, August.
    6. Kelly R Moran & Sara Y Del Valle, 2016. "A Meta-Analysis of the Association between Gender and Protective Behaviors in Response to Respiratory Epidemics and Pandemics," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(10), pages 1-25, October.
    7. Valerio Capraro & Hélène Barcelo, 2020. "The effect of messaging and gender on intentions to wear a face covering to slow down COVID-19 transmission," Journal of Behavioral Economics for Policy, Society for the Advancement of Behavioral Economics (SABE), vol. 4(S2), pages 45-55, December.
    8. Lixin Jiang & Erica L. Bettac & Hyun Jung Lee & Tahira M. Probst, 2022. "In Whom Do We Trust? A Multifoci Person-Centered Perspective on Institutional Trust during COVID-19," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-20, February.
    9. Alexander Lipton & Marcos Lopez de Prado, 2022. "Mitigation Strategies for COVID-19: Lessons from the K-SEIR Model Calibrated to the Observable Data," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-38, June.
    10. Rachael M. Jones & Elodie Adida, 2013. "Selecting Nonpharmaceutical Interventions for Influenza," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 33(8), pages 1473-1488, August.

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