An Integrated Approach to COVID-19 Preventive Behaviour Intentions: Protection Motivation Theory, Information Acquisition, and Trust

Abstract

ABSTRACT COVID-19 has been a global threat since November 2019 due to its high transmission rates and the issue of unwillingness to vaccinate. Effective risk management requires accurate health communication and public compliance with reccomended preventive behaviors. Therefore, we investigated predictors of COVID-19 preventive behavior intention based on Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) in addition to frequency of public’s use of and trust in a group of COVID-19 related information sources. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 458 adults in Turkey with online survey. Results showed that all PMT components (except perceived susceptibility) accounted for 49% of the variance in protection motivation and there was relationship between information sources and protection motivation. Overall, our study findings suggested that being more informed and having confidence in the feasibility (self-efficacy) and effectiveness (response efficacy) of preventive behaviors may particularly help slow the disease spread.