Have I saved enough to social distance? The role of household financial preparedness in public health response

• Published date: 01 March 2022
• Author: Dee Warmath,Genevieve E. O'Connor,Casey Newmeyer,Nancy Wong
• Date: 01 March 2022
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/joca.12410

SPECIAL ISSUE

Have I saved enough to social distance?

The role of household financial preparedness

in public health response

Dee Warmath

1

| Genevieve E. O'Connor

2

|

Casey Newmeyer

3

| Nancy Wong

4

1

Department of Financial Planning,

Housing and Consumer Economics,

University of Georgia, Athens,

Georgia, USA

2

Gabelli School of Business, Fordham

University, New York, New York, USA

3

Weatherhead School of Management,

Case Western Reserve University,

Cleveland, Ohio, USA

4

Department of Consumer Science,

University of Wisconsin, Madison,

Wisconsin, USA

Correspondence

Dee Warmath, Department of Financial

Planning, Housing and Consumer

Economics, University of Georgia,

Athens, Georgia, USA.

Email: warmath@uga.edu

Abstract

Behavioral responses such as social distancing are

important in the fight to contain COVID-19 transmission,

yet motivating such responses is an overwhelming,

resource-intensive task. Using multi-wave data from

23,735 US adults collected in May/September 2020, and

January 2021, this study examines how financial prepared-

ness in the form of savings influences the relationship

predicted by the Health Belief Model between the degree

of concern for COVID-19 and engagement in social dis-

tancing. Findings indicate that general concern for

COVID-19 is related to the decision to engage in social dis-

tancing for individuals who have less saved. Curiously,

higher levels of financial preparedness are associated with

a lower likelihood of social distancing at least among peo-

ple who had been laid off during the pandemic. The find-

ings suggest a tradeoff between protecting one's standard

of living and their health. Government and public health

agencies should consider financial preparedness in the

design of public health communications.

1|INTRODUCTION

In March 2020, the United States began to realize the potential impact of the COVID-19

pandemic and invoked tactics to slow its transmission ranging from recommended behaviors to

Received: 15 November 2020 Revised: 6 June 2021 Accepted: 16 August 2021

DOI: 10.1111/joca.12410

© 2021 American Council on Consumer Interests.

J Consum Aff. 2022;56:319–338. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/joca 319

lockdown orders. Social distancing (i.e., staying at least 6 ft from people outside your house-

hold, being “safer at home,”and avoiding large gatherings) was a primary weapon in the public

health response. In April 2020, we watched the stories of heroic healthcare professionals, the

mounting death toll, skyrocketing unemployment, and the search for knowledge of how to

manage SARS-CoV-2 (the virus) and COVID-19 (the illness it causes). Normal interactions

came largely to a halt, some by choice and some by decree. By October 2020, the virus was still

with us even as it seemed that many in the US had tired of what some saw as extreme mea-

sures. Calls to open the economy, allowing people to return to normal activity, getting workers

back to work, and businesses to reopen, grew even as COVID-19 cases continued to surge well

into the fall of 2020. Nevertheless, as shown in Figure 1, January 2021 proved to be the deadliest

month yet with cases surging to more than 200,000 per day while also claiming the lives of over

440,000 Americans according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Behavioral adherence to public health recommendations is an important element of fighting

infectious diseases such as COVID-19 (Grier & Bryant, 2005); yet motivating individuals to com-

ply is an overwhelming and resource-intensive task (Lefebvre & Flora, 1988). Maintaining that

compliance for extended periods of time is an even greater challenge. As a society, we become

exhausted when on high alert for an extended period and seek to “stand down”as quickly as

possible (Brooks et al., 2020). Yet the need for a responsive public is only going to increase with

future challenges to public health (Grier & Bryant, 2005). “Outbreaks like COVID-19 are critical

reminders of the significance of public health readiness”(Smith & Fraser, 2020, p. 649), where

readiness refers to the ability to prepare for, withstand, and recover from public health threats

(CDC, 2019). Much of the emphasis on readiness has focused on public health institutions or

other organizational levels within a community. Ultimately, however, it is the individuals' level

of response and adherence to public health initiatives that determine public health readiness.

The Health Belief Model has been used for decades to explain individual consumers' health-

related behaviors (e.g., Hochbaum, 1958). The Health Belief Model (Champion &

Skinner, 2008; Janz & Becker, 1984; Rosenstock, 1974) posits that two primary factors will

determine whether an individual complies with the public health recommendation: (1) their

FIGURE 1 New COVID-19 cases and deaths in the US by month Source: Center for Disease Control COVID-

19 Tracking

320 WARMATH ET AL.