Individualistic and Collectivist Approaches of Societies towards Pandemic Assault

This study explores the fascinating connection between culture and societal responses to pandemics. A significant issue for public health is influencing how the broader public reacts to pandemics. The preventive actions (such as donning masks and minimizing group gatherings) that aid in mitigating the spread of pandemics have been shown to be inadequately implemented in various places during the most recent pandemic influenza, the 2009–10 H1N1 pandemic, and the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. Regional differences in public preventive intervention were observed; owing to cultural values variables.

Across the continents 209 COVID-19 pandemic-affected countries reportedly adopted standard preventive protocols for COVID-19, but the pandemic spread and onslaught showed different patterns in different countries. Humans have a natural tendency to maintain or not maintain physical distance from one another. This tendency stems from a nation's culture, which is ingrained in its national heritage and traditions. The current pandemic scenario offers a governmental and societal level opportunity to study how flexible and adaptable cultures are between pandemic responses. In this study, culture was defined using Hofstede's dimensions Individualism/Collectivism. An exploratory case-study methodology was taken after employing a post-positivist approach. The study findings indicated collectivism encourages faster and more effective COVID-19 responses and hence suggests cultural adjustments for the purpose of infectious disease preventive intervention.