ArticlePloS one2021
Differences in risk perception, knowledge and protective behaviour regarding COVID-19 by education level among women and men in Germany. Results from the COVID-19 Snapshot Monitoring (COSMO) study.
Article in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 75 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
75 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 167 citations in OpenAlex.
- Parallel electrophysiological abnormalities due to COVID-19 infection and to Alzheimer's disease and related dementia.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2024Pooled it
- When do persuasive messages on vaccine safety steer COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and recommendations? Behavioural insights from a randomised controlled experiment in Malaysia.BMJ global health · 2022Trial
- Trial
- Retrospective narratives of COVID-19 experiences: a qualitative study of written accounts by people in public in the context of a performative intervention.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Preferences for hospital in the home for COVID-19: a discrete choice experiment study.Health economics review · 2026Article
- Health belief model and cervical cancer screening intention among lower socioeconomic women in Malaysia: a pilot study.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
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- Adolescent's views of positive and negative influences of family on wellbeing.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Wastewater-Based Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 and Modeling of COVID-19 Infection Trends.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2025Article
- Cognitive biases and contextual factors explaining variability in nurses' fall risk judgements: a multi-centre cross-sectional study.International journal of nursing studies advances · 2025Article
- Investigating Post-COVID-19 Risk Perception and Preventive Behaviour Among Individuals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.Cureus · 2025Article
- Local response to global risk: a case study of risk perception and communication on Chinese social media regarding Fukushima's treated radioactive water discharge.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Assessing student satisfaction with university policies related to in-person classes in the era of COVID-19: a case study from Korea.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Factors affecting emerging infectious disease prevention behaviors among young workers based on ecological modeling.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Perception of Risk for Developing Severe Illness or Complications from COVID-19 in Brazil: Focus on Factors Linked to Socially Vulnerable Populations, 2020-2023.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- PTSD and challenges among older Chinese in Shenzhen during COVID-19 pandemic: Trust in authority and medical professionals as moderators.Primary health care research & development · 2025Article
- An Integrated theoretical framework predicting COVID-19 vaccine behavioral intention among unvaccinated students: A lesson for health educators in future pandemics.Journal of education and health promotion · 2025Article
- Correlates of post-COVID-19 pandemic worry and preventive practices in older adults in Florida.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- The role of personality traits and emotional intelligence in the evaluation of the benefits and costs of social distancing during a pandemic outbreak.Scientific reports · 2024Article
15 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The main strategy for combatting SARS-CoV-2 infections in 2020 consisted of behavioural regulations including contact reduction, maintaining distance, hand hygiene, and mask wearing. COVID-19-related risk perception and knowledge may influence protective behaviour, and education could be an important determinant. The current study investigated differences by education level in risk perception, knowledge and protective behaviour regarding COVID-19 in Germany, exploring the development of the pandemic over time. The COVID-19 Snapshot Monitoring study is a repeated cross-sectional online survey conducted during the pandemic in Germany from 3 March 2020 (waves 1-28: 27,957 participants aged 18-74). Differences in risk perception, knowledge and protective behaviour according to education level (high versus low) were analysed using linear and logistic regression. Time trends were accounted for by interaction terms for education level and calendar week. Regarding protective behaviour, interaction terms were tested for all risk perception and knowledge variables with education level. The strongest associations with education level were evident for perceived and factual knowledge regarding COVID-19. Moreover, associations were found between low education level and higher perceived severity, and between low education level and lower perceived probability. Highly educated men were more worried about COVID-19 than those with low levels of education. No educational differences were observed for perceived susceptibility or fear. Higher compliance with hand washing was found in highly educated women, and higher compliance with maintaining distance was found in highly educated men. Regarding maintaining distance, the impact of perceived severity differed between education groups. In men, significant moderation effects of education level on the association between factual knowledge and all three protective behaviours were found. During the pandemic, risk perception and protective behaviour varied greatly over time. Overall, differences by education level were relatively small. For risk communication, reaching all population groups irrespective of education level is critical.
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