The Impact of COVID-19 Confinement on Reading Behavior

Mahmoud A Alomari; Omar F Khabour; Karem H Alzoubi; Aseel Aburub

doi:10.2174/17450179-v19-e230505-2022-42

The Impact of COVID-19 Confinement on Reading Behavior

Clin Pract Epidemiol Ment Health. 2023 Jun 5:19:e174501792304260. doi: 10.2174/17450179-v19-e230505-2022-42. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Mahmoud A Alomari¹, Omar F Khabour², Karem H Alzoubi^{3

4}, Aseel Aburub^{5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan.
² Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan.
³ Department of Pharmacy Practice and Pharmacotherapeutics, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, UAE.
⁴ Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan.
⁵ Department of Physiotherapy, Isra University, Amman, Jordan.
⁶ School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Keele University, Newcastle Under Lyme, UK.

PMID: 37916206
PMCID: PMC10351337
DOI: 10.2174/17450179-v19-e230505-2022-42

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic was detrimental to lifestyle and behavior. In this investigation, changes in reading habits during the pandemic were examined.

Methods: The study is cross-sectional and survey-based. 1844 individuals completed an online survey about sociodemographic and reading habits during COVID-19. Multinomial logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between the study variables.

Results: Most of the participants were active readers (71.5%-83.2%). Fewer (13.8-18.0%) reported a decrease in reading, while about half reported a no change, and 1/3^rd reported an increase. Changes in reading habits were related to age, education, job type, and income.

Conclusion: About half of the participants during the pandemic reported a change in reading habits. Interventions to further enhance reading among people during the pandemic might help ameliorate the negative impacts of the pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; Confinement; Lifestyle; Pandemic; Reading behavior; Reading habits.