Attitude and Related Factors towards COVID-19 Prevention based on the Health Belief Model among the Rafsanjan Citizens

Aims: COVID-19 is rapidly expanding around the world and is one of the most important health problems. The purpose of the study was to determine preventive behaviors from COVID-19 and its determinants based on some constructs of the Health Belief Model. Instrument & Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 2504 citizens of Rafsanjan in 2020 that were randomly selected by cluster sampling method. Data were collected using a behavior and Health Belief Model constructs (HBMs) researcher-made questionnaire based on the Internet. The validity of the questionnaire was evaluated by ten specialists, and its reliability was assessed by Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Data analysis was conducted in SPSS 18 by applying statistical tests such as Pearson's correlation coefficient, independent t-test, One-Way ANOVA, and linear regression. Findings: The means score of knowledge, attitude, perceived susceptibility, severity, benefits, barriers, and preventive behavior were 83.13+or-10.72, 81.17+or-8.55, 79.28+or-17.19, 74.47+or-14.65, 84.32+or-16.11, 69.27+or-14.31, and 87.35+or-11.16, respectively. There was a significant correlation between preventive behaviors with knowledge, attitude, and HBMs (p<0.001). The attitude was the strongest predictor for adopting preventive behaviors (B=0.446, p<0.001). In total, knowledge, attitude, and HBM constructs predicted 36.8% of the preventive behaviors for COVID-19. Conclusions: There is a significant correlation between adopting preventive behaviors for COVID-19 with knowledge, attitude, and HBM constructs.