Role of financial support in helping to address barriers to people adhering to the need to self-isolate

Paper presented to January 2021 meeting of SAGE highlights that financial hardship, lower socio-economic position and inability to work from home are all associated with lower self-reported adherence

The important role of financial support in helping to address key barriers to people adhering to the need to self-isolate as a result of Covid-19 has been reiterated in a paper submitted to a recent meeting of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE).

The paper, that was prepared for SAGE by the Environmental Modelling Group (EMG), the Scientific Pandemic Insights Group on Behaviours (SPI-B) and the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (SPI-M), summarises the current scientific evidence on actions that would serve to reduce within-and between-household transmission in light of the new SARS-CoV2 variant and follows the SPI-B paper Impact of financial and other targeted support on rates of self-isolation or quarantine that concluded that -

'Provision of financial support to safeguard incomes would likely have the single largest effect in achieving equitable self-isolation policies, in other words self-isolation that benefits the social groups with fewest material and other resources as well as those with the most.'

In relation to reducing between-household transmission, the new paper says that, in addition to wider measures such as physical distancing and wearing face coverings, adherence to self-isolation is important for preventing transmission between households and that the best available evidence suggests adherence would be increased by targeted support, including financial support, to those asked to self-isolate -

'Financial support which ensures that people would not experience financial hardship when self-isolating is likely to enable more people to adhere. Financial hardship, lower socio-economic position and inability to work from home are currently associated with lower self-reported adherence ...'

While noting that the precise form of support required is likely to differ from household to household, the paper says that access to adequate financial resources is necessary (though not always sufficient) for adherence, and suggests that -

• a flat-rate provision of financial support could remove many practical barriers that people may experience (e.g. the ability to buy groceries, and pay for essential bills);
• reimbursing people for all financial losses arising from self-isolation would remove a disincentive to self-isolation among people who are not in receipt of sick pay; and
• ensuring that financial support is well communicated, easy to obtain and provided rapidly may improve adherence, particularly given that some people may need to access it when ill or distressed.

NB - the paper adds that, even where money is paid to cover time away from work, concerns about job security will be an issue for some, and that a guarantee that work will still be available after self-isolation is also therefore of importance.

For more information, see EMG/SPI-B/SPI-M: Reducing within- and between-household transmission in light of new variant SARS-CoV-2, 14 January 2021 from gov.uk