Changes of Health Outcomes, Healthy Behaviors, Generalized Trust, and Accessibility to Health Promotion Resources in Taiwan Before and During COVID-19 Pandemic: Comparing 2011 and 2021 Taiwan Social Change Survey (TSCS) Cohorts

Purpose: The present study compared two nationally representative cohort datasets concerning Taiwan residents' healthy behaviors, subjective health outcomes, generalized trust, and accessibility to health promotion resources.

Patients And Methods: The Taiwan Social Change Survey (TSCS) was conducted in two waves ten years apart: 2011 cohort (n = 1021; 48.4% males) and 2021 cohort (n = 1425; 47.4%) cohorts. Descriptive statistics were calculated to compare the two TSCS datasets. Then, multiple regression models were constructed with health outcome as the dependent variable, and demographics and other key components as independent variables.

Results: The 2011 TSCS cohort showed higher prevalence for cigarette smoking (30.8% vs 25.2%; =0.002), alcohol drinking (52.5% vs 24.3%; <0.001), exercise habits (52.7% vs 48.0%; =0.02), and better fruit and vegetable accessibility (Mean=3.91 vs 3.82; =0.04). The 2021 TSCS cohort reported higher body mass index (Mean=24.20 vs 23.63; <0.001), less residency in urban areas (22.4% vs 31.1%; p<0.001), better jogging accessibility (4.14 vs 4.05; =0.006), higher generalized trust (2.26 vs 2.17; =0.001), and greater internet usage (3.43 vs 2.89; <0.001). The regression model showed that exercise habits (standardized coefficient=0.20 and 0.10; <0.001) and generalized trust (standardized coefficient=0.11 and 0.11; =0.004 and <0.001) were consistently associated with health outcomes in both cohorts. Additionally, internet use (standardized coefficient=-0.07; =0.026) and alcohol drinking behaviors (standardized coefficient=-0.07; =0.0022) were negatively associated with health outcomes in the 2021 cohort.

Conclusion: The present study demonstrated the trends and changes over 10 years regarding multiple health-related components among Taiwan residents. The study's findings provide insight into education promotion programs to reduce unhealthy behaviors as well as enhancing generalized trust building and developing healthy behaviors for Taiwan residents.