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Research Article
The Swedish Gamble and the Battle to Combat the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from the Field
Mohammed Salah Hassan
University of Malaya
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1742-2790
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
Declarations:
Declarations
- This study involved human subjects.
- The author confirmed that all appropriate ethical guidelines for the use of human subjects have been followed, any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee review has been obtained, and information about the IRB/ethics committee is included in the manuscript.
- The author has confirmed that all necessary patient/participant consent or assent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived. If the IRB/ethics committee waived the requirement for patient/participant consent or assent, an explanation for the waiver is included in the text.
- This study reports on a clinical trial.
- The author has confirmed that this trial has been registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, and the trial registration ID has been provided in the text. If the article reports on a study that was registered retrospectively, a statement explaining why the study was not registered in advance has been provided in the text.
- This study is a case report.
- The author has confirmed that consent for publication of clinical details and/or clinical images was obtained from the patient/parent/guardian/relative of the patient or waiver of such consent is described in the text.
- The author has confirmed that a statement listing potential conflicts of interest or lack thereof is included in the text.
Governments around the world have issued movement restrictions and quarantine to combat the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic. However, the Swedish government has not implemented such measures but rather depended on individual responsibility. An important question regarding the extent to which individuals have been encouraged to trust in and be satisfied with government strategies and adopt personal health measures, such as social isolation, remains unanswered. This study aims to examine the direct effects of trust in the government and risk perception on self-efficacy. Most importantly, this study intends to explore whether satisfaction with government measures augments the relationships between trust in the government and self-efficacy and between risk perception and self-efficacy. Thus, we test our suggested hypotheses using survey data obtained from 403 Swedish citizens living in Sweden, and as predicted, the findings indicate that trust in the government and risk perception positively impact individual self-efficacy. Additionally, the findings reveal that satisfaction with government measures strengthens this relationship; more precisely, the impact of trust in the government and risk perception under a high level of individual satisfaction with government measures is much more positive than that under a low level of satisfaction. In practice, a focus on implementing successful policies or strategies and excellent individual self-efficacy are required to halt the pandemic, and the findings indicate that combining strictly attentive and adaptive individual strategies with government strategies can minimize the spread of infection.
Keywords
Risk Perception, Trust in Government, Satisfaction with Government Measures, Self-Efficacy, COVID-19
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This is a preprint. It has not completed peer review.
Research Article
The Swedish Gamble and the Battle to Combat the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from the Field
Mohammed Salah Hassan
University of Malaya
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1742-2790
Badges
Prescreen
This manuscript passed our Prescreen assessment
Complete author information
Appropriate declaration statements
Potential risks to human health
Prescreen
History
CURRENT STATUS: Posted
Version 1
Posted 18 Sep, 2020
No community comments so far
Metrics
Comments: 0
PDF Downloads: ...
HTML Views: ...
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
Declarations:
Declarations
- This study involved human subjects.
- The author confirmed that all appropriate ethical guidelines for the use of human subjects have been followed, any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee review has been obtained, and information about the IRB/ethics committee is included in the manuscript.
- The author has confirmed that all necessary patient/participant consent or assent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived. If the IRB/ethics committee waived the requirement for patient/participant consent or assent, an explanation for the waiver is included in the text.
- This study reports on a clinical trial.
- The author has confirmed that this trial has been registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, and the trial registration ID has been provided in the text. If the article reports on a study that was registered retrospectively, a statement explaining why the study was not registered in advance has been provided in the text.
- This study is a case report.
- The author has confirmed that consent for publication of clinical details and/or clinical images was obtained from the patient/parent/guardian/relative of the patient or waiver of such consent is described in the text.
- The author has confirmed that a statement listing potential conflicts of interest or lack thereof is included in the text.
Governments around the world have issued movement restrictions and quarantine to combat the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic. However, the Swedish government has not implemented such measures but rather depended on individual responsibility. An important question regarding the extent to which individuals have been encouraged to trust in and be satisfied with government strategies and adopt personal health measures, such as social isolation, remains unanswered. This study aims to examine the direct effects of trust in the government and risk perception on self-efficacy. Most importantly, this study intends to explore whether satisfaction with government measures augments the relationships between trust in the government and self-efficacy and between risk perception and self-efficacy. Thus, we test our suggested hypotheses using survey data obtained from 403 Swedish citizens living in Sweden, and as predicted, the findings indicate that trust in the government and risk perception positively impact individual self-efficacy. Additionally, the findings reveal that satisfaction with government measures strengthens this relationship; more precisely, the impact of trust in the government and risk perception under a high level of individual satisfaction with government measures is much more positive than that under a low level of satisfaction. In practice, a focus on implementing successful policies or strategies and excellent individual self-efficacy are required to halt the pandemic, and the findings indicate that combining strictly attentive and adaptive individual strategies with government strategies can minimize the spread of infection.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3