A bit alarming, if not troubling! Despite higher education! Every wondered why you get sick? Here is an answer.
"Up to 75% of adults have concealed an infectious disease from others in order not to miss work, travel, or social events, according to a new study in Psychological Science.
The article, by researchers at the University of Michigan, is based on four studies and surveys given to 4,110 survey participants. All surveys were given after March 2020, when the COVID-10 pandemic began, and initial survey participants included 399 university healthcare employees.
Only 5% of participants across all studies said they had concealed a COVID-19 infection.
85% of students concealed illness
In the first study, the researchers surveyed 399 university healthcare employees and 505 students and asked how often they actively covered up symptoms of infectious diseases from others, came to campus or work without telling others they were feeling ill, or falsified answers to mandatory symptom screening tools that the university had required for anyone using campus facilities.
Eighty-five percent of students reported concealing a contagious illness, as well as 61% of healthcare workers. Only 8% of healthcare workers and 3% of students said they concealed illness due do a university policy requirement. Instead, almost all efforts at hiding were made because of not wanting to miss social engagements, school, or work. ..."
From the abstract:
"People sick with infectious illnesses face negative social outcomes, like exclusion, and may take steps to conceal their illnesses from others. In 10 studies of past, current, and projected illness, we examined the prevalence and predictors of infection concealment in adult samples of U.S. university students, health-care employees, and online crowdsourced workers (total N = 4,110). About 75% reported concealing illness in interpersonal interactions, possibly placing others in harm’s way. Concealment motives were largely social (e.g., wanting to attend events like parties) and achievement oriented (e.g., completing work objectives). Disease characteristics, including potential harm and illness immediacy, also influenced concealment decisions. People imagining harmful (vs. mild) infections concealed illness less frequently, whereas participants who were actually sick concealed frequently regardless of illness harm, suggesting state-specific biases underlying concealment decisions. Disease concealment appears to be a widely prevalent behavior by which concealers trade off risks to others in favor of their own goals, creating potentially important public-health consequences."
When and Why People Conceal Infectious Disease (no public access)
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