Key factors for promoting protective behaviours in future pandemics: an umbrella review
Aurélien Cornil, Sandrine Roussel, Marie Vander Haegen, Catherine Grenier, Dominique Vanpee, Stephan Van den Broucke · 2026
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Description
Aurélien Cornil, with five colleagues, presents a 2026 umbrella review of what drives protective behaviour in pandemics. Masks, hand hygiene, and distancing saved lives in COVID-19, and future crises will need the same habits. The team gathered past reviews to sort the factors that help or hinder those habits.
From 86 records, 11 reviews met the bar, covering COVID-19 plus flu, SARS, MERS, and Ebola. Factors fell in three bands: who people are, what they think and trust, and the world around them. Trust in credible sources, belief that steps work, and clear multi-channel messages helped. False claims, conspiracy beliefs, and lack of supplies blocked action. Age, gender, and schooling cut both ways across habits. The authors urge tailored, honest messaging and fair access to supplies.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Aurélien Cornil, Sandrine Roussel, Marie Vander Haegen, Catherine Grenier, Dominique Vanpee, Stephan Van den Broucke |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 83279 |
| LICENSE | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |