Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Sep;12(3):228-232.
doi: 10.1002/wmh3.349. Epub 2020 Jul 21.

Beyond the Pathogen: Social and Behavioral Aspects of COVID-19

Arthur Lupia

Beyond the Pathogen: Social and Behavioral Aspects of COVID-19

Arthur Lupia. World Med Health Policy. 2020 Sep.

Abstract

COVID-19 presents an existential challenge for millions of people and a generational challenge for the globe. Scientific research is the primary vehicle in humanity's attempts to understand the virus and mitigate its effects. Research on the pathogen is critically important. At the same time, COVID-19's consequences are due to more than the pathogen. Social and behavioral science research is essential in understanding how to achieve the highest possible health and safety levels, and how to preserve and improve quality of life, within complex and interdependent societies. This article describes the social sciences' role in this challenge and offers examples of its insights.

Keywords: COVID‐19; behavioral science; social science.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Allcott, Hunt , Boxell Levi, Conway Jacob C., Gentzkow Matthew, Thaler Michael, and Yang David Y.. 2020. Polarization and Public Health: Partisan Differences in Social Distancing During the Coronavirus Pandemic. National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper 26946. http://www.nber.org/papers/w26946. Accessed May 30, 2020. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Baker, Scott R. , Bloom Nicholas, Davis Steven J., and Terry Stephen J.. 2020. COVID‐Induced Economic Uncertainty. National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper 26983. http://www.nber.org/papers/w26983. Accessed May 30, 2020.
    1. Carey, John M. , Chi Victoria, Flynn D. J., Nyhan Brendan, and Zeitzoff, Thomas . 2020. “The Effects of Corrective Information about Disease Epidemics and Outbreaks: Evidence from Zika and Yellow Fever in Brazil.” Science Advances 6 (5): 7449. 10.1126/sciadv.aaw7449 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Chiou, Lesley , and Tucker Catherine. 2020. Social Distancing, Internet Access, and Inequality. National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper 26982. http://www.nber.org/papers/w26982. Accessed May 30, 2020.
    1. Coman, Alin , and Barry Jessica N.. 2015. “Infectious Cognition: Risk Perception Affects Socially Shared Retrieval‐Induced Forgetting of Medical Information.” Psychological Science 26 (12): 1965–71. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources