Factors Associated With Levels of Public Engagement in Protective Behaviors During the Early COVID-19 Pandemic: Causal-Comparative Study Based on the Health Belief Model
Journal
JMIR Human Factors
Journal Volume
10
Journal Issue
1
Start Page
e49687
ISSN
2292-9495
Date Issued
2023-01
Author(s)
Abstract
BACKGROUND: While the challenges of COVID-19 are still unfolding, the enhancement of protective behavior remains a top priority in global health care. However, current behavior-promoting strategies may be inefficient without first identifying the individuals with lower engagement in protective behavior and the associating factors. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to identify individuals with and potential contributing factors to low engagement in protective behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: This is a causal-comparative study. A theory-based web-based survey was used to investigate individuals' protective behavior and potential associating factors. During June 2020, the distribution of the survey was targeted to 3 areas: Taiwan, Japan, and North America. Based on the theory of the health belief model (HBM), the survey collected participants' various perceptions toward COVID-19 and a collection of protective behaviors. In addition to the descriptive analysis, cluster analysis, ANOVA, and Fisher exact and chi-square tests were used. RESULTS: A total of 384 responses were analyzed. More than half of the respondents lived in Taiwan, followed by Japan, then North America. The respondents were grouped into 3 clusters according to their engagement level in all protective behaviors. These 3 clusters were significantly different from each other in terms of the participants' sex, residency, perceived barriers, self-efficacy, and cues of action. CONCLUSIONS: This study used an HBM-based questionnaire to assess protective behaviors against COVID-19 and the associated factors across multiple countries. The findings indicate significant differences in various HBM concepts among individuals with varying levels of behavioral engagement.
Subjects
COVID
COVID-19
attitude
attitudes
causal
causal comparative
health belief model
infection control
infectious disease
opinion
opinions
pandemic
prevention
protective
protective behavior
public health
public safety
survey
surveys
Type
journal article