Perceptions of Covid-19 lockdowns and related public health measures in Austria

Introducing national lockdowns is an effective strategy to contain the Covid-19 pandemic. In Austria, the first Covid-19-related lockdown was introduced on 15 March 2020 with most restrictions being lifted one month later. Seven months later, in November 2020, the second hard lockdown was implemented. The presented dataset contains data from the two waves of an online survey which aimed at comparing the perceptions and experiences of the general population related to the first two Covid-19 lockdowns in Austria.

The first wave of data collection was conducted between 27 May and 16 June 2020, with all questions referring to the one-month lockdown period in Austria between 15 March and 15 April 2020. The second wave of data collection was conducted between 2 December and 9 December 2020 with questions referring to the second national lockdown in Austria between 17 November and 6 December 2020. In total 560 respondents were included in the first wave of the survey. Of these 560 participants, 228 provided their e-mail addresses and agreed to be contacted in the future. From the 228 persons who were re-contacted during the second wave of the survey, 141 responded among which 134 provided valid answers and were included in the dataset.

Download and use of the data is conditional upon citation of the documents in any resulting work/publication as follows:

Simon, J, Łaszewska, A, Helter, T (2021) Perceptions of Covid-19 lockdowns and related public health measures in Austria: Dataset, Version 10-03-2021, Department of Health Economics, Center for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna. doi: 10.5281/zenodo.4598821

and

Simon, J., Helter, T.M., White, R.G. et al. Impacts of the Covid-19 lockdown and relevant vulnerabilities on capability well-being, mental health and social support: an Austrian survey study. BMC Public Health 21, 314 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-10351-5 

License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International

Variables included in the dataset: 

1. Demographic characteristics

2. Covid-19-related questions

- Tested positive for Covid-19 or experienced Covid-19 symptoms

- Indirect Covid-19 experience defined as having a friend and/or family member infected or knowing someone who died of Covid-19

- Quarantine or self-isolation in the past months

- Concern about infection with SARS-CoV-2

- Concern about family member infected with SARS-CoV-2

3. Lockdown-related questions

- Personal experiences of the Covid-19 lockdowns: threat to livelihood/income, more difficult than usual for to focus on work or normal, daily activities, being less busy than usual, feeling more isolated than usual, the lockdown restrictions are necessary to limit spread of the virus, understanding better what is really important in life, greater sense of appreciation for the healthcare workers, communicating with relatives more often, feeling that people have become more friendly towards other people, feeling more connected to the members of the local community

- Perceptions of the necessity of public health measures during the first lockdown: commuting to and from work only when absolutely necessary, walks only with people living in the same household, closure of all non-essential business premises, only necessary purchases, no physical contact with family members outside the same household, mouth and nose protection in public spaces

- Perceptions of the necessity of public health measures during the second lockdown: restrictions on leaving private living space, school closing and distance learning, closure of all non-essential shops and businesses, mouth and nose protection in public spaces, ban on events or restrictions in the event area, distance of one meter in public space for people from different households, physical contact only with closest relatives or individual caregivers, switch to homeoffice wherever possible, visits in nursing homes and hospitals once a week, commuting to and from work only when absolutely necessary

- Complying with the public health measures during the first lockdown: walks only with people from the same household, only necessary purchases e.g. groceries, medication, no physical contact with family members outside the same household, mouth and nose protection in public spaces

- Complying with the public health measures during the second lockdown: restrictions on leaving private living space, mouth and nose protection in public spaces, distance of one meter in public spaces for people from different households, physical contact only with closest relatives or individual caregivers, switch to homeoffice wherever possible

- Impact of the lockdowns on different life domains: marriage, parenting, friendships, work, education, leisure activities, spirituality, community life, physical self-care