Fostering behaviour change for pandemic prevention and control through public space designs in Hefei, China
Due to urbanisation and globalisation, pandemics and their devastating impacts have triggered an unprecedented crisis in all spheres of human society. Currently, people across the globe have suffered from several waves of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, so it is highly significa...
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2022
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/113487/1/113487%20%28UPM%29.pdf |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | Due to urbanisation and globalisation, pandemics and their devastating impacts have
triggered an unprecedented crisis in all spheres of human society. Currently, people
across the globe have suffered from several waves of the Coronavirus Disease 2019
(COVID-19) pandemic, so it is highly significant to develop public health solutions for
pandemic prevention and control. In addition to antiviral medicines and vaccines,
protective behaviours, such as face mask-wearing, hand hygiene, social distancing, and
contact reduction can also limit the spread of viruses. Currently, authorities have
launched policies and legislation to promote public behaviour change. However, many
people in Hefei, China have difficulties adhering to performing the recommended
protective behaviour during pandemics. One main reason is that current design
interventions cannot play a role in prompting people’s behaviour change for pandemic
prevention and control. Hence, this study strives to develop a research framework and
propose strategies to improve the current design interventions in public spaces, and
finally provide support for people’s pandemic-related behaviour change. The
disadvantageous condition and successful pandemic prevention experience have made
Hefei a fit laboratory for conducting pandemic-related research. Four studies were
carried out to achieve the research objective. First, this study examined the existing
pandemic situation in public spaces in Hefei, China. After that, the researcher identified
seven key challenges and six design limitations of behaviour change during pandemics
and then prioritized them through three Nominal Group Technique (NGT) discussions.
Second, based on the literature review and user interview results (N=22), this study
determined nine key factors influencing people’s behaviour change. These key factors
were categorized into four main aspects: perceptional factors (attitudes, subjective norms
and perceived behaviour control, risk perceptions), social factors (knowledge and
information dissemination, governmental regulations), physical factors (tools and
facilities and surveillance), and sociocultural factor (cultural contexts). Third, this
research developed a behaviour change framework that reveals people’s behaviour
change intention and formation process during pandemics. After that, the researcher
carried out an empirical study (N=549) to quantify relationships among variables in the behaviour change framework and further improve it. A Structural Equation Modeling
(SEM) approach was employed during this process. According to the above findings, the
researcher forwarded a strategic public design framework to promote pandemic-related
behaviour change. Finally, the frameworks were validated by an expert survey (N=5).
Overall, this study explores the potential of integrating public health, behaviour science,
and design science under a pandemic context, contributing to the knowledge of “design
for behaviour change” and “design for pandemic prevention and control”. The proposed
research framework is an integration, extension and improvement of the previous
behaviour theories, as well as implementation under a new context. Besides, this study
provides valuable insights for different stakeholders, including designers, policymakers,
and administrators in public spaces when dealing with pandemic situations. |
|---|