Full Report: COVID-19 Behavioural Studies for the Department for Transport: A Behavioural Approach to Supporting Public Confidence, Wearing of Face Coverings and Completion of Self-Isolation During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This document describes an evaluation of a series of interventions implemented by the UK's Department for Transport to increase public confidence in public transport, encourage the wearing of face coverings, and improve adherence to self-isolation guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic. The interventions, which included extra cleaning on public transport and communication strategies, were assessed using online randomized controlled trials, simulated journeys, surveys, and Bayesian Belief Network analysis. The findings revealed that while interventions like extra cleaning could boost public transport usage, they did not significantly enhance confidence in the system or compliance with safety measures. Demographic factors played a role in the effectiveness of interventions. Additionally, text message interventions did not significantly increase self-isolation adherence, with a 39% breach rate influenced by factors such as negative test results and demographic characteristics. The evaluation suggests that objective behavioral measures are more indicative of intervention success than subjective attitudes, and that modifying text messages may not be an efficient way to improve self-isolation compliance. **This summary was written by an AI model and therefore should not be considered a definitive summary of the report. If you are aware of inaccuracies, please email evaluation.registry@cabinetoffice.gov.uk.**

Description

• Lead department: Department for Transport (DfT)
• Evaluation stage: A complete evaluation report
• Other departments: No other departments listed
• Evaluation types: Impact evaluation
• Impact methods: Randomised control trial (RCT)
• RCT methods: No RCT methods listed
• Grant information: This intervention is not distributing funding via a grant
• Government Major Project information: This intervention is not a major project
• Policies: No policies provided

Event Dates

• Event Name: Publication of final results
• Event date: October 2021

Evaluation Costs

• Cost: Not provided

Evaluation sharing

• Link(s) to published report(s): Yes
• Links to evaluation plans: No link provided
• Findings: Not provided
• Permission to share confirmed: Yes