Cross-border mobility in the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion: impact of COVID-19 border restrictions on everyday activities and visiting social network members

Autor: Céline J. A. van Bilsen, Stephanie Brinkhues, Christian J. P. A. Hoebe, Christina Stabourlos, Chrissy P. B. Moonen, Stefaan Demarest, Daniëlle A. T. Hanssen, Inge H. M. van Loo, Paul H. M. Savelkoul, Dirk Philippsen, Brigitte A. M. van der Zanden, Nicole H. T. M. Dukers-Muijrers
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2024
Předmět:
Zdroj: Frontiers in Public Health, Vol 12 (2024)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2296-2565
DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1281072
Popis: IntroductionCross-border mobility (CBM) to visit social network members or for everyday activities is an important part of daily life for citizens in border regions, including the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion (EMR: neighboring regions from the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany). We assessed changes in CBM during the COVID-19 pandemic and how participants experienced border restrictions.MethodsImpact of COVID-19 on the EMR’ is a longitudinal study using comparative cross-border data collection. In 2021, a random sample of the EMR-population was invited for participation in online surveys to assess current and pre-pandemic CBM. Changes in CBM, experience of border restrictions, and associated factors were analyzed using multinomial and multivariable logistic regression analysis.ResultsPre-pandemic, 82% of all 3,543 participants reported any CBM: 31% for social contacts and 79% for everyday activities. Among these, 26% decreased social CBM and 35% decreased CBM for everyday activities by autumn 2021. Negative experience of border restrictions was reported by 45% of participants with pre-pandemic CBM, and was higher (p < 0.05) in Dutch participants (compared to Belgian; aOR= 1.4), cross-border [work] commuters (aOR= 2.2), participants with cross-border social networks of friends, family or acquaintances (aOR= 1.3), and those finding the measures ‘limit group size’ (aOR= 1.5) and ‘minimalize travel’ (aOR= 2.0) difficult to adhere to and finding ‘minimalize travel’ (aOR= 1.6) useless.DiscussionCBM for social contacts and everyday activities was substantial in EMR-citizens, but decreased during the pandemic. Border restrictions were valued as negative by a considerable portion of EMR-citizens, especially when having family or friends across the border. When designing future pandemic control strategies, policy makers should account for the negative impact of CBM restrictions on their citizens.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals