Leaders wear masks

This is an abridged version of the post below.

Our Ohio governor and our director of the state health department have talked about creating obstacles to the spread of coronavirus infection: social distancing, hand washing, face masks. They say these measures, in series, create a Swiss cheese effect. One slice of Swiss cheese will let something through the holes, but two or three slices placed one on top of the other may result in some of the holes being closed, creating an obstacle to passage. It’s a great analogy, but I think an obstacle course analogy is also apt. Social distancing, hand washing, and face masks make it harder for the virus to cause an infection. It seems like building such an obstacle course would be good idea, don’t you think?

Then why do we see people crowd into bars, stores, and other venues faces bare? Sometimes, there may be obstacles to building a coronavirus obstacle course. Physical distancing from others may be difficult without the cooperation of the others. Hand washing is more controllable but depends on the availability of facilities and materials. I can carry my own hand sanitizer, but it’s heavier than a mask, and sometimes I forget mine and there are no facilities. There are fewer obstacles to wearing a mask. I put mine on in the car, tie it around my neck, and let it fall in front of my face until I need it. I don’t have to worry about losing it, not having it with me, or someone providing it.

A mask is an easy, controllable last and first obstacle to getting or spreading the disease. So, why don’t people want to wear a mask, especially they have to enter a situation where physical distancing and hand washing may not be available? Influences on health behavior are many and complicated, but two important factors that can persuade people are a “cue” to act and seeing an example being set. The cue maybe something internal, like not feeling well, or something external, like a recommendation from an authority. The example is seeing another carrying out the recommended action.

Our public health and political officials can take advantage of these two persuasive actions by making the recommendation and setting the example. The CDC has made the recommendation. In Ohio, the governor and the health department director have made the recommendation (see above). Setting the example probably serves double by being a visual cue to act as well as a learning opportunity. Unfortunately, some of our public officials have not been so anxious to set the example. Current thinking is that wearing a face mask can save lives. In as much as mask wearing allows people to return to work safely, it improves the economy. There is no legitimate obstacle I can think of to our leaders setting an example by wearing face masks. Their reluctance to do so is an obstacle to convincing the public to do so and their failure to do so is a failure of leadership.