COVID-19, social distancing, and effects on human behavior

Trends in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, 2021

Introduction: The concept of social isolation is currently understood as a measure of epidemiological containment that aims to reduce the speed of spread of the disease, enabling health services to prepare their resources to cope with the likely increase in demand, while also seeking to provide additional protection to groups considered to be at higher risk. Objective: The present narrative review aims to compile and synthesize the literature related to social isolation produced during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Method: This study is a narrative review of the literature on social isolation in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: 73 publications were included for full-text reading and were classified into the following categories: levels of social isolation, economic effects, family relationships, health system, mental health of the population, and use of technology. Conclusions: It is necessary to plan an escalation of responses to the consequences of the pandemic, especially in view of the increased demand on the health sector and social services. The negative effects of social isolation can be prevented by public policies that offer a response to the economic recession, maintenance of social work, encouragement of quality care in mental health services, and community support for vulnerable families.

2021

The present study aimed to explore the effects of COVID-19 pandemic from global perspective. The study explored physical distancing, social connectedness and social detachment as an outcome of COVID-19 and its impact on individuals. Online survey was conducted from 522 respondents from across the world included, Asia, Europe, Africa and Western region. The participants of the study included wide-ranging age group (18- above 65), both less educated and highly educated, male and female with having single and marries status. The survey was conducted in three weeks’ time periods in the month of April, 2020. The collected data was transformed to SPSS to performed descriptive and inferential statistical analysis. The findings of the study demonstrated significant correlation among physical distancing, social connectedness and social detachment. Simple regression analysis illustrated the significant impact of demographic characteristics on dependent variables. It is concluded that on the o...

Ethics in Progress, 2020

The article is combined of six chapters authored by these who voiced their experiences with social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemics in various contexts, but mostly centered on psychological, sociological, and ethical aspects. Authors, mostly psychologists and philosophers, were invited to describe their perspectives on the sense and practice of social distancing in times of pandemics. Their reflections seek to demonstrate various perspectives related to subjects’ novel self-experience, social situatedness, and their dealing with conventions and habits altered through the pandemics. As “the owl of Minerva takes its flight only when the shades of night are gathering” (Hegel), there is no conclusion in this article. It rather encourages other authors to reflect on the nearly global, still lasting phenomenon.

The social impacts of social distancing on sociality in the context of COVID-19: Applying Simmel's concept of social geometry. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/381312153_The_social_impacts_of_social_distancing_on_sociality_in_the_context_of_COVID-19_Applying_Simmel's_conce..., 2024

One of the recommended interventions against the spread of COVID-19 is ‘social distancing’. This means maintaining a recommended physical distance between people and reducing the number of times people come into close contact with each other. At the same time, the public is being advised to maintain or even increase social contact. Influenced by George Simmel’s concept of social geometry, the objective ofthis paper is to demonstrate that ‘social distancing’ has adverse impacts on sociality. Human beings areinherently social beings and spatial proximity enhances the intensity and quality of their interaction. Bycreating physical separation, ‘social distancing’ is leading to social isolation and attendant psycho-socialproblems. This was a desk study based on a review of the literature, media reports and personal observations. The paper presents evidence of the adverse impacts of ‘social distancing’ on human sociality from Botswana and Zimbabwe. The paper concludes that while ‘social distancing’ is a practical way of containing the spread of the COVID-19 virus, it has significant adverse impacts on sociality, resulting in the loss of community. We recommend the promotion of offline and online social media platforms to enable people to interact without co-presence.

F1000Research

Background: This study aimed to determine whether people living in the Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia would prefer to continue the practice of physical distancing after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic or to return to their previous way of life. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from August 2020 to October 2020 in the Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia. A pre-tested questionnaire was sent electronically through social media. Data on participants’ demographics and their perspectives regarding post-pandemic physical distancing were collected. The calculated sample size was 1,066; however, the total number of responses included in the analysis was 989. Results: The average age of the participants was 31.15±11.93 years. There were 435 men and 554 women in the study. Participants showed significantly high levels of disagreement with statements indicating that they were willing to use public transportation (61%), attend social gatherings (36%), and hug relative...

Pathogens and Global Health, 2021

Social distancing, also referred to as physical distancing, means creating a safe distance of at least two meters (six feet) between yourself and others. This is a term popularized during the COVID-19 pandemic, as it is one of the most important measures to prevent the spread of this virus. However, the term 'social distancing' can be misleading, as it may imply that individuals should stop socializing. However, socializing in a safe context (i.e. over the phone, video-chat, etc.) is especially important during this time of crisis. Therefore, in this narrative review, we suggest the term 'distant socializing' as more apt expression, to promote physical distancing measures while also highlighting the importance of maintaining social bonds. Further, articles discussing the practice, implementation, measurement, and mental health effects of physical distancing are reviewed. Physical distancing is associated with psychiatric symptoms (such as anxiety and depression), suicidal ideation, and domestic violence. Further, unemployment and job insecurity have significantly increased during COVID-19, which may exacerbate these negative mental health effects. Governments, medical institutions, and public health bodies should therefore consider increasing mental health resources both during and after the pandemic, with a specific focus on frontline workers, COVID-19 survivors, and marginalized communities.

2020

The current outbreak of the novel coronavirus also known as COVID-19 was declared as a public health emergency by the WHO where over a million people have been affected by the disease with over 50000 deaths till date. Social distancing is a method to minimize crowd interactions and prevent the spread of disease within groups of people. This is a common practice which has been carried out over generations to minimize the spread of virus by limiting its reproduction rate (R0) among communities. The article focuses on how social distancing has been used to deal previous pandemics globally and the issues that needs to be addressed to tackle the COVID-19 threat.

Niger Delta Journal of Sociology and Anthropology, 2020

International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 2018

The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) has been used as a strategic performance management tools worldwide. However, the literature shows very little evidence on some of its implementation tools such as the "Strategy Map". This paper aims to demonstrate the utilization of the strategy map in a Malaysian company which adopted the BSC as its performance management system, its implication and challenges. Using a case study approach, data were collected using observations and company's documents and was analyzed qualitatively using the thematic analysis. Result indicates that if used properly, the strategy maps help the managers to identify organizational corporate strategies, objectives and performance measurement and facilitates the process of communicating those information from the top to the lower level management until the individual level. This study emphasizes the critical role of strategy map in the BSC implementation as well as its application in other performance management system when necessary.