An embodied perspective on adherence to preventive health measures: examples from the COVID-19 pandemic

Many studies have used ideas from phenomenological philosophy to explore health and health care, yet topics related to public health have often been overlooked. We argue that at least one crucial issue in public health—the question of adherence (or lack thereof) to preventive health measures—can benefit from a phenomenological perspective. While numerous studies have examined the factors influencing adherence, none have addressed the role that embodiment plays in shaping adherence. Building on existing phenomenological research on adherence, we demonstrate that phenomenology can offer a novel, embodied perspective on this issue. This article draws on data from our phenomenologically grounded empirical study on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, which involved 16 in-depth interviews with individuals reluctant to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. However, the aim of this article is not to present the specific findings about vaccine hesitancy. Instead, referring to both theoretical research within phenomenological tradition and interview data, we seek to generate new insights into the motivational orientation toward preventive health measures more broadly. We demonstrate that adherence to a preventive measure depends on the type of bodily objectification involved—whether it is good or bad objectification. Good objectification involves a focus on one’s body that is compatible with one’s subjectivity, whereas bad objectification involves a focus on one’s body that disrupts subjectivity. We conclude that from an embodied perspective, nonadherence is grounded in a person’s wish to avoid the disruption of her subjectivity. By recognizing the role that our embodied being in-the-world plays in our willingness or unwillingness to comply with preventive measures, this study offers a deeper understanding of the embodied motivation behind adherence and provides insights for both developing strategies to enhance adherence to preventive health measures and new directions for future phenomenological research in relation to public health.