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Shift messaging about face coverings from a medical intervention to a social practice

Encouraging the public to see face coverings as a social practice, which allows them to express their cultural background or personality, could encourage more people to use them regularly, say researchers writing in the BMJ.

Helene-Mari van der Westhuizen and colleagues at the University of Oxford argue that protracted debates about face coverings as a medical intervention have delayed implementation of a valuable preventive tool. This view of face masks has persisted in public health messaging, emphasising how to put masks on and take them off, how to decontaminate masks after use and not touching the mask during use.

However, the authors of this article say recognising and embracing the sociocultural narrative of face coverings could encourage the public to select one that is meaningful to them, and that they will be more likely to wear. Campaigns should not only inform but also work to shape new sociocultural norms, they say.

For instance, face coverings have been associated with assuming a different identity (worn by a superhero), avoiding recognition and persecution (worn by a criminal), to exhibit modesty (expected of women in some cultures), having an infectious disease (worn by a patient), for protection (against pollution, dust, pollen) and for cultural ceremonies (worn for celebration).

The symbolic meaning of a face covering to a particular society will also be influenced by social expectations. The ability to personalise cloth face coverings also offers an opportunity to improve uptake through desirability as an accessory, they add.

Instead of continuing to debate technical specifications and efficacy, sociocultural framings should be explored to encourage their use, conclude the authors. “This can be done by emphasising underlying values such as solidarity and communal safety. Such measures are likely to enhance the uptake of face coverings and help curb the devasting impact of the pandemic.”


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