Face masks for the public during Covid-19: an appeal for caution in policy

dc.cclicenceCC-BY-NC-NDen
dc.contributor.authorMartin, Graham
dc.contributor.authorHanna, Esmee
dc.contributor.authorDingwall, Robert
dc.date.accessioned2020-04-24T08:38:55Z
dc.date.available2020-04-24T08:38:55Z
dc.date.issued2020-04-23
dc.description.abstractAs the Covid-19 crisis deepens, some researchers have argued for the widespread routine use of face masks in community settings, despite acknowledged gaps in the evidence base for the effectiveness of such a measure. We argue that such calls are premature, and risk neglecting important potential harms and negative consequences, known and unknown. We identify potential unintended consequences at multiple levels, from individual-behavioural to macrosocial, and suggest that it is far from clear that the benefits of widespread uptake of face masks, whether encouraged or enforced by public authorities, outweigh the downsides. Finally, we make the case for caution in communicating unequivocal messages about the scientific evidence for face mask use to policy, practitioner and public audiences, given continued scientific disagreement on the questionen
dc.funderNo external funderen
dc.identifier.citationMartin, G., Hanna, E. and Dingwall, R. (2020) Face masks for the public during Covid-19: an appeal for caution in policyen
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m1435
dc.identifier.urihttps://dora.dmu.ac.uk/handle/2086/19526
dc.language.isoenen
dc.peerreviewedNoen
dc.publisherPre-Printen
dc.researchinstituteInstitute for Allied Health Sciences Researchen
dc.subjectCovid-19en
dc.subjectFace masksen
dc.subjectScience Communicationen
dc.titleFace masks for the public during Covid-19: an appeal for caution in policyen
dc.typePreprinten

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