Abstract:

Objective To systematically evaluate the level of public perception of the risk of the novel coronavirus pneumonia epidemic and the response behavior toward various countries. Methods Data bases including PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, Web of Science, PsycARTICLES, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collec-tion, CINAHL, Chinese Medical Journals Full-Text Database, Wanfang, and CNKI were retrieved by computer, and the search time limit was set from the date of their establishment to March 2022. Meta analysis was performed using StataSE software after independent screening of the literature by two investigators, extraction of data and quality evaluation of the included literature. Results A total of 21 cross-sectional studies were included, including 42 855 participants. Meta-analysis results show that the proportion of the public held a high level of risk perception of the novel coronavirus epidemic in countries were 51.1%[95%CI（34.9%, 67.4%）], and the proportions of the public who correctly wore masks, maintained hand hygiene, kept social distance, and reduced travel were 53.2%[95%CI（44.0%, 62.5%）], 63.9%[95%CI（56.2%, 71.7%）], 48.5%[95%CI（32.9%, 64.1%）], and 54.3%[95%CI（42.8%, 65.8%）], respectively. Conclusion Half of the world’s public hold a high level of risk perception toward the novel coronavirus pneumonia epidemic, and more than half of the public can take correct response behavior.

Key words: COVID-19, Risk perception, Coping behavior, Systematic review