The Significance of Wearing Face Masks During COVID-19

Outcomes, Approach, and Budget

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly reshuffled the world. The pandemic left debilitating effects that continue to suppress global economies and institutions. The World Health Organization (2023) reports that at least 3.3 million died from the disease. However, this figure might be higher considering the gaps in reporting the death tolls across countries. Face masks became important tools and interventions for curbing the spread of the Corona Virus that causes COVID-19. However, the significance of population-level facemask wearing was confined to the pandemic, as face masks have largely been perceived as hospital equipment. Cultural barriers significantly impeded the effective implementation of this intervention leading to skewed results in reporting its effectiveness across the globe. This study explores the significance of face mask-wearing during COVID-19 in terms of outcome and outlines ways to improve cultural acceptance to facilitate efficient implementation of the intervention in case of a public health crisis.

Outcomes

Studies on the importance or viability of face mask wearing as an intervention to the Coronavirus extensively report positive outcomes. Face mask-wearing has been linked to reduced virus load, transmission, and infection severity (Catching, Capponi, Bianco, & Yeh, 2021; MacIntyre & Chughtai, 2020; Suzuki, Hasegawa, Kano, & Okamoto, 2020). Cultural barriers and their effects on the effectiveness of the intervention are significantly overlooked. Only Gandhi, Beyrer, and Goosby (2020) link long-term and frequent population face masks to increased asymptomatic and mild COVID-19 symptoms. Masks were declared mandatory across states regardless of the financial status of the individuals. Low-income individuals were more likely to wear the same mask repeatedly. Research shows that consistently breathing in the mask dampens the mask (Matuschek et al., 2020). The moisture inside makes it airtight, so exhaled air cannot easily escape. This barrier makes the mask lose its protective feature putting individuals at a higher risk of contracting the infections. This study’s expected outcomes are positive and negative, as in the cases of reduced viral infection and more asymptomatic infections linked to cultural barriers.

1. Mask-wearing during COVID-19 reduced transmission by at least 10% within the first three months of implementation.
2. Cultural resistance towards mask-wearing impeded the successful implementation of the intervention, increasing the risk of infection in communities.
3. Low-income communities were subjected to the repeated wearing of the same mask. Long-term breathing through the same mask lowers its protective effectiveness, creating room for more infections.
4. Reduced viral load attained through consistent mask-wearing helps reduce the severity of the illness for already infected persons but increases asymptomatic and mild symptoms manifestation.
5. Face mask-wearing reduces transmission of respiratory diseases, helping limit comorbidities that increase the risk of dying from COVID-19 by at least 5%.

Approach/Implementation

This study heavily relies on desktop research. Secondary data obtained through literature review form the bulk of the study as the impact of COVID-19 has significantly subsided worldwide. However, the importance of primary data must be considered in this study due to the sensitivity of cultural gaps in face mask acceptance. Primary data is crucial when conducting cross-cultural research because it enhances compatibility and provides first-hand information on the attitudes and perceptions of the target population (Reyes-García, Morsello, & Ruiz-Mallén, n.d). This study involves assessing the impact of culture on face mask effectiveness in preventing the spread of the Coronavirus. Therefore, the research will collect primary data to fill this gap.

Secondary data collection will involve an in-depth literature review on the topic. Interventions for curbing the spread of the Coronavirus attracted massive research between the onset of the virus and today. Most researchers focused on the efficacy and effectiveness of these interventions. This research slightly deviates from this common trajectory and delves into understanding some of the unaddressed issues that might have blurred the effectiveness of mask-wearing

The review will focus on delineating unique themes such as the impact of culture, the connection between virus load and asymptomatic infection manifestation, inefficient use of masks, and poor hygiene while handling masks. Gandhi, Beyrer, and Goosby (2020) associated long-term mask-wearing with reduced viral load or inoculum. However, the reduction in the vial load reportedly enhances asymptomatic infection. Catching et al. (2021) established that long-term breathing through the mask dampens the mask forcing an individual to exhale and inhale unfiltered air through the mask’s edges. This situation increases the risk of infection. The researcher will focus on these unique themes to explore effective ways to improve the intervention for better health outcomes.

Primary data will be collected from identified communities whose cultures have more impact on the effectiveness of mask-wearing as an intervention for COVID-19. Primary data collection will take at least three weeks. Communities will be identified from literature and data collected from willing participants. The researcher will retrieve COVID-19 mortality and morbidity data FOR these communities from the CDC and World Health Organization databases to correlate with the derived perceptions and attitudes. The researcher will need to recruit at least two personnel to help with the data collection.

Questionnaires or interviews can be used in this case, depending on the literacy level of the target population. In the case of an interview, a group interview will be used to save on cost and time. The last p phase of the project will be data analysis.

Budget

Primary data collection may be quite intensive. Much of the budget will go into primary data collection. Personnel comprising at least two hired surveyors to help with the data collection. The surveyors will cost approximately $300. The principle researcher will need at least $500 for miscellaneous. Material and supply will cost at least $650. Material and supplies will comprise face masks, lunch and incentives, printing papers, and pens. The researcher will need at least 500 face masks for demonstration, 50 printing papers and 10 pens for notes and questionnaires, and lunch and incentives to motivate participants. Travel and accommodation will cost at least $180. The principal researcher will provide transport to the surveyors. The principal researcher has a car and will only need gas, costing approximately $80. Accommodation is not guaranteed, but at least $100 is aside in case the team may need to spend days in the data collection region. Data analysis may require statistical analysis software acquisition and may need at least $100. The overall estimated cost is $1,530.

Conclusion

Face masks proved quite vital to curbing the spread of COVID-19. Studies on the effectiveness of this intervention have highlighted several benefits centered on improved health outcomes. However, cultural resistance was a significant barrier to its successful implementation. Studies have also highlighted a possible increase in asymptomatic infection (Gandhi, Beyrer, & Goosby, 2020) and ineffectiveness in cases where individuals wear one mask for a long and breathe consistently through the mask (Catching, Capponi, Bianco, & Yeh, 2021). The findings from this study will be used to fill the gaps that make the intervention ineffective in particular cases for improved health outcomes.

References

Catching, A., Capponi, S., Bianco, S., & Yeh, M. T. (2021). Examining the Interplay Between Face Mask Usage, Asymptomatic Transmission, and Social Distancing on the Spread of COVID-19. Scientific Reports. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-94960-5

Gandhi, M., Beyrer, C., & Goosby, E. (2020). Masks Do More Than Protect Others During COVID-19: Reducing the Inoculum of SARS-CoV-2 to Protect the Wearer. Journal of General Internal Medicine. doi:10.1007/s11606-020-06067-8

MacIntyre, C. R., & Chughtai, A. A. (2020). A rapid systematic review of the efficacy of face masks and respirators against coronaviruses and other respiratory transmissible viruses for the community, healthcare workers, and sick patients. International Journal of Nursing Studies. doi:10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2020.103629

Matuschek, C., Moll, F., Fangerau, H., Fischer, J. C., Zänker, K., Schneider, M., & Kindgen-Milles, D. (2020). Face masks: benefits and risks during the COVID-19 crisis. European Journal of Medical Research. Retrieved from https://eurjmedres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40001-020-00430-5

Reyes-García, V., Morsello, C., & Ruiz-Mallén, I. (n.d). The Use of Primary Data for Cross-Cultural Research: An example from Five Amazonian Societies. Working Paper Series. Retrieved from https://heller.brandeis.edu/sustainable-international-development/tsimane/wp/TAPS-WP-68.pdf

Suzuki, K., Hasegawa, T., Kano, N., & Okamoto, Y. (2020). A study of the effect of wearing face masks in preventing COVID-19 transmission in the United States of America. Public Administration and Policy: An Asia-Pacific Journal. Retrieved from https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/PAP-08-2021-0046/full/html

World Health Organization. (2023). How are Excess Mortality Estimates Calculated, and What are the Main Findings? Retrieved from https://www.who.int/data/stories/the-true-death-toll-of-covid-19-estimating-global-excess-mortality