COVID-19: The Effectiveness of Free Face Mask Distribution

Norwegian Institute of Public Health9 enrolled

Overview

The investigators will carry out a randomised trial of free face mask distribution in Stovner District, Oslo, Norway. Ten grocery stores will serve as study sites. Over three weeks the stores will be randomised daily to having "corona hosts" outside their entrance, handing out face masks to customers. The investigators will compare the proportion of customers who wear face masks as they enter the store in stores with or without face mask distribution.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

Conditions

Covid19

Interventions

Distribution of free face masksBEHAVIORAL

"Corona hosts" will be placed at the entrance of the intervention stores, and hand out face masks to customers entering the store.

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 12 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

All grocery stores in the Stovner district are eligible as long as they have not, or only sporadically, had free distribution of face masks previously. At the customer level, we will only include those 12 years or older (age based on the outcome assessor's judgement).

Locations (1)

Stover District

Oslo, Norway

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Face mask use

Proportion of customers wearing a face mask

Time frame: Through study completion, 3 weeks.

Secondary Outcomes

Correct use of face masks

Proportion of customers wearing a face mask correctly (i.e. covering mouth and nose)

Time frame: Through study completion, 3 weeks

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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