Protecting mass-gathering events in a pandemic with testing tracks and transparent information: an experimental study with festival guests.

Objective. To enable future open-air festivals during a pandemic, model festivals tested restricted access and behavioural rules to prevent SARS-CoV-2 transmissions. However, the uptake of health-protective measures depends on informed acceptance, meaning people are more likely to follow measures if...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychology & Health Vol. 40; no. 7; pp. 1198 - 1225
Main Authors: Rebitschek, Felix G., Eisenmann, Yvonne, Krippner, Lena, Neugebauer, Edmund, Schirren, Clara O., Schnuppe, Kristin, Hauptmann, Michael
Format: research tables/charts Journal Article
Published: Taylor & Francis Ltd Jul2025
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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      dt: Jul2025
      vid: 40
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      pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd
      place: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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        10.1080/08870446.2024.2305644
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        atl: Protecting mass-gathering events in a pandemic with testing tracks and transparent information: an experimental study with festival guests.
      aug:
        au:
          Rebitschek, Felix G.
          Eisenmann, Yvonne
          Krippner, Lena
          Neugebauer, Edmund
          Schirren, Clara O.
          Schnuppe, Kristin
          Hauptmann, Michael
        affil: Harding Center for Risk Literacy, Faculty of Health Sciences Brandenburg, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
      sug:
        subj:
          COVID-19 Pandemic
          Mass Gathering Adverse Effects
          COVID-19 Prevention and Control
          COVID-19 Transmission
          Disease Transmission Prevention and Control
          Health Behavior Evaluation
          Public Health
          Infection Control Methods
          Attitude to Health
          Attitude to Risk Evaluation
          Human
          Male
          Female
          Funding Source
          Adolescence
          Adult
          Middle Age
          Questionnaires
          Intention
          Self Report
          Holidays
          Communication
          Infection Risk Factors
          Outcome Assessment
          Risk Assessment
          Descriptive Statistics
          Adolescent: 13-18 years
          Adult: 19-44 years
          Middle Aged: 45-64 years
          Male
          Female
      ab: Objective. To enable future open-air festivals during a pandemic, model festivals tested restricted access and behavioural rules to prevent SARS-CoV-2 transmissions. However, the uptake of health-protective measures depends on informed acceptance, meaning people are more likely to follow measures if they understand their effectiveness and related disease risks. Design and main outcome measures. With a series of online surveys, we studied risk perceptions of 6,500 festival guests and the association of perceived effectiveness of protective behaviours with reported compliance. In a scenario-based online experiment (N = 1,958) among festival guests, we tested the effect of informing transparently about the risk-reducing potential of protective measures at festivals on the intention to attend hypothetical events. Results. We found that guests tended to overestimate infection risks while still perceiving them as low. Self-reported mask wearing and distancing at and around the festivals could not be associated with the understanding of the measures' effectiveness. However, in addition to protective measures themselves, providing transparent information about their absolute risk-reducing effect increased intentions to attend festivals that employ varying protective measures. Conclusion. Our findings suggest that the acceptance of protected festivals can be influenced by transparent information about the effectiveness of protective measures. This calls for further research on evidence-based public health communications to improve their impact.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        research
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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