The association between chronic disease and COVID-19 public health preventive measures among older adults: a cohort study using the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA)

Public health preventive measures have been implemented across Canada to slow the transmission of COVID-19. Adherence to these measures has been found to vary by socioeconomic factors, such as age, employment, and education. Limited research has explored whether people with chronic diseases differentially followed public health preventive measures (e.g., handwashing, mask-wearing, limiting contacts). People with chronic diseases may have perceived the risk of COVID-19 to be higher than those without chronic diseases, which may have influenced their behaviour and level of adherence. Using longitudinal data from the CLSA, we will: 1) develop a summary score of adherence to public health preventive measures 2) describe adherence to public health preventive measures among Canadian adults overall and by socioeconomic factors including, age, sex, income, and education and 3) evaluate the association between the presence of chronic diseases and adherence to public health preventive measures.