In our multi-site, prospective CCRP study, we measured patterns associated with masking adherence among children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall masking adherence decreased slightly across the study period. We suspect this was due to public messaging on masking guidance changing over time as well as pandemic fatigue, which refers to the decline in adherence to infection prevention guidelines secondary to pandemic-related emotional burnout.18,19 Masking adherence was also lower among the youngest age group, who may be more behaviorally reticent to wear masks or need more guidance from adults to readjust their masks.20 Children who resided in rural and suburban counties exhibited lower masking adherence than those who resided in urban settings, a finding that is supported by previously published studies.21,22 Our study adds to the literature by demonstrating masking differences among children based upon their SVI. Children in our cohort with the highest SVI had the lowest masking adherence.
Prior studies have established that social factors can contribute negatively to health outcomes. Higher SVI is associated with greater risks of childhood obesity, asthma exacerbations, and cardiovascular disease.23–25 During the pandemic, similar associations were found between SVI and COVID-19 outcomes. One ecological study measuring the effect of SVI on the incidence of COVID-19 in Louisiana between March and August 2020 found a 52% higher risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection in census tracts with higher levels of SVI even after adjusting for population density.5 In addition to greater risk of infection, higher SVI was also associated with greater risk of mortality from COVID-19.6 To assess severity of outcomes in children, another study utilized data from the Overcoming COVID-19 registry and found that children with high SVI had 2.03 times greater odds of developing MIS-C than those with low SVI, and those with moderate SVI had 1.88 greater odds of developing MIS-C than those with low SVI.26 Although Black and Hispanic children have higher SVI and higher rates of MIS-C, SVI was associated with a greater likelihood of MIS-C even after adjusting for racial, ethnic, and other demographic factors.26 This association of SVI and severe outcomes from COVID-19 highlights the role socioeconomic stress may play in the dysregulation of the immune system’s response to SARS-CoV-2. Individuals from lower socioeconomic status often have barriers to food security, shelter, and access to health care (particularly preventative health care), which can all negatively impact the clinical outcomes after infection.
The association of high SVI with poor COVID-19 outcomes indicates the need to better understand and optimize infection prevention interventions in this vulnerable pediatric population. Early in the pandemic, adults with higher SVI were less able to adhere to stay-at-home recommendations.27 These individuals are more likely to have essential jobs without work-from-home options and fewer resources to sustain a household without working. In turn, children from the same households as these caregivers were also at increased risk for acquiring infection. Because factors outside of their control can prevent individuals with high SVI from adhering to social distancing precautions, efforts to prevent transmission of infection should be focused on immunization and masking in this population.
Our study findings of lower masking adherence among children with higher SVI echo vaccine uptake within these communities. Several studies have demonstrated lower COVID-19 vaccine uptake among individuals with higher SVI during the pandemic.28 Unfortunately, efforts to increase vaccination sites in settings with high vulnerability populations have not mitigated this disparity in immunization against COVID-19.28 Pediatric-specific efforts to increase vaccine uptake were also associated with persistent disparities based upon SVI. After 11 weeks of implementing a national pediatric vaccine program on November 1, 2021, 54% of providers were established in high SVI areas, but the two dose vaccine series was completed by only 13.7% of the population in these high SVI areas, compared to 21.7% in low SVI areas.29 Reasons for this disparity include parental vaccine hesitancy and discordance in messaging regarding vaccine information in the community. In addition to improving messaging by collaborating with trusted stakeholders in communities to address parental concerns regarding immunization, addressing disparities in masking adherence is also vital to further reduce the burden of infection in high-risk communities.
Our findings of lower rates of masking among children with higher SVI is crucial as this infection prevention measure is being underutilized in the population most at risk for severe outcomes from COVID-19. Although immunization decreases the risk of severe outcomes of COVID-19, including MIS-C, improving masking adherence can reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission. A prospective nested case-control CCRP study in adults revealed that lack of masking adherence was associated with 49% higher odds of acquiring SARS-CoV-2 infection during November 2020 – October 2021 than consistently masking.30 This association persisted despite participant immunization status, underscoring the additive value of masking during periods with high risk of infection transmission.
Lower rates of masking among children with higher SVI highlights the need to improve messaging and allocation of resources in their communities. One qualitative study which utilized a focus group of North Carolina residents to understand motivations and barriers to masking demonstrated that the desire to protect oneself and others against infection was a key driver in masking adherence.31 Another focus group study from Canada found that despite their desire to adhere to guidelines backed by scientific evidence, inconsistent public health messaging and lack of clear rationales behind masking caused confusion and mistrust towards healthcare professionals, leading to reduction in masking adherence.32 Developing focus groups with parents and caregivers from predominantly high SVI regions can be targeted for future studies to determine how to tailor messaging to improve masking adherence in children from this vulnerable population. Furthermore, ensuring high SVI regions have abundant access to high-quality masks can also assist in optimizing masking adherence and reduction in transmission of infection.33
Our study addresses a gap in the literature regarding the relationship between masking behavior and SVI, especially in children. Strengths of the study include a large sample size covering a wide region in the Southeast United States, which ranks lower than the rest of the country in healthcare status and outcomes among individuals.34 The longitudinal and prospective nature of our surveillance study also allowed us to assess changes in masking overtime as the pandemic evolved.
Limitations of our study include the use of calendar time for trending changes in masking adherence. Because heterogeneity exists in the start and stop dates for follow-up of participants in our study, the role of masking policies in masking adherence cannot be incorporated into the analysis. Additionally, we classified our high SVI population as children from the tertile range of 0.4–0.8, which is a less granular approach compared to the quartile ranges utilized by the CDC, which defines high SVI as > 0.75 and moderately high SVI as 0.5–0.75.35 Our inclusion criteria of only individuals who consistently responded to the survey also adds an element of selection bias to our study. Finally, our findings cannot be generalized to regions outside of the Southeastern United States or communities with a high density of minority populations. Although we enhanced recruitment efforts of minority children, our study still underrepresented minority children, including those with higher SVI.36 Future studies should aim to enrich the enrollment of minority children to better understand masking patterns in this group.