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Impact of community masking on COVID-19: A cluster-randomized trial in Bangladesh

Science 2022 336 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 75 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.

Jason Abaluck, Jason Abaluck, Laura H. Kwong, Laura H. Kwong, Ashley Styczynski, Ashley Styczynski, Ashraful Haque, Ashraful Haque, Md. Alamgir Kabir, Md. Alamgir Kabir, Ellen Bates-Jefferys, Ellen Bates-Jefferys, Ellen Bates-Jefferys, Ellen Bates-Jefferys, Emily Crawford, Emily Crawford, Jade Benjamin‐Chung, Jade Benjamin‐Chung, Shabib Raihan, Salim Benhachmi, Shadman Rahman, Shabib Raihan, Shadman Rahman, Salim Benhachmi, Shadman Rahman, Shadman Rahman, Neeti Zaman Bintee, Neeti Zaman Bintee, Peter J. Winch, Peter J. Winch, Maqsud Hossain, Hasan Mahmud Reza, Hasan Mahmud Reza, Stephen P. Luby, Abdullah All Jaber, Ahmed Mushfiq Mobarak Shawkee Gulshan Momen, Aura Rahman, Faika Laz Banti, Tahrima Saiha Huq, Stephen P. Luby, Ahmed Mushfiq Mobarak

Summary

This large cluster-randomized trial across 600 villages in Bangladesh found that community mask promotion increased mask-wearing from 13.3% to 42.3% and reduced symptomatic COVID-19 by about 9%, with surgical masks proving more effective than cloth masks, especially in people over 60. The intervention used free mask distribution combined with in-person promotion by community volunteers. Disposable surgical masks, while more effective against respiratory illness, contribute significantly to microplastic pollution when improperly discarded in the environment.

Persuading people to mask Even in places where it is obligatory, people tend to optimistically overstate their compliance for mask wearing. How then can we persuade more of the population at large to act for the greater good? Abaluck et al . undertook a large, cluster-randomized trial in Bangladesh involving hundreds of thousands of people (although mostly men) over a 2-month period. Colored masks of various construction were handed out free of charge, accompanied by a range of mask-wearing promotional activities inspired by marketing research. Using a grassroots network of volunteers to help conduct the study and gather data, the authors discovered that mask wearing averaged 13.3% in villages where no interventions took place but increased to 42.3% in villages where in-person interventions were introduced. Villages where in-person reinforcement of mask wearing occurred also showed a reduction in reporting COVID-like illness, particularly in high-risk individuals. —CA

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