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Choosing the right COVID-19 indicator: crude mortality, case fatality, and infection fatality rates influence policy preferences, behaviour, and understanding

Political Science

Choosing the right COVID-19 indicator: crude mortality, case fatality, and infection fatality rates influence policy preferences, behaviour, and understanding

C. N. Focacci, P. H. Lam, et al.

This article explores how various COVID-19 mortality indicators shape public policy preferences and individual behaviors. The research, conducted by Chiara Natalie Focacci, Pak Hung Lam, and Yu Bai, reveals that the crude mortality rate significantly influences support for policies and virus containment actions, while public misunderstanding persists across all indicators.... show more
Abstract
Individuals worldwide are overwhelmed with news about COVID-19. In times of pandemic, media alternate the usage of different COVID-19 indicators, ranging from the more typical crude mortality rate to the case fatality rate, and the infection fatality rate continuously. In this article, we used experimental methods to test whether and how the treatment of individuals with different types of information on COVID-19 is able to change policy preferences, individual and social behaviours, and the understanding of COVID-19 indicators. Results show that while the usage of the crude mortality rate proves to be more efficient in terms of supporting policy preferences and behaviours to contain the virus, all indicators suffer from a significant misunderstanding on behalf of the population.
Publisher
Humanities and Social Sciences Communications
Published On
Oct 26, 2022
Authors
Chiara Natalie Focacci, Pak Hung Lam, Yu Bai
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-021-01032-0
Tags
COVID-19
mortality indicators
public policy
individual behavior
case fatality rate
infection fatality rate
public understanding

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