TY  - JOUR
AU  - Tang, Chia-Chun
AU  - Chen, Hsi
AU  - Tsai, Shao-Yu
AU  - Wu, Wei-Wen
PY  - 2023
DA  - 2023/12/19
TI  - 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
JO  - JMIR Hum Factors
SP  - e49687
VL  - 10
KW  - infectious disease
KW  - protective behavior
KW  - COVID
KW  - health belief model
KW  - causal comparative
KW  - causal
KW  - protective
KW  - prevention
KW  - opinion
KW  - opinions
KW  - attitude
KW  - attitudes
KW  - COVID-19
KW  - pandemic
KW  - infection control
KW  - public safety
KW  - public health
KW  - survey
KW  - surveys
AB  - 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. 
SN  - 2292-9495
UR  - https://humanfactors.jmir.org/2023/1/e49687
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2196/49687
DO  - 10.2196/49687
ID  - info:doi/10.2196/49687
ER  -