Abstract
Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the government has provided infection-control guidelines to prevent the spread of the virus. The authors of this study examined the structure (causal relationship) of factors that influence public behavior toward COVID-19 and verified the effect of public empathy with infection-control guidelines in each structure. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire survey from 211 Korean adults. The results showed that (1) the perceived susceptibility and severity of economic damage had a positive effect on infection-prevention attitudes and infection-prevention attitudes had a positive effect on infection-prevention behaviors; (2) the perceived severity of economic damage had a positive effect on infection-prevention attitudes; and (3) public empathy with infection-control guidelines positively moderated the effect of the perceived severity of economic damage on infection-prevention behaviors and that of perceived susceptibility on infection-prevention attitudes. Accordingly, the authors of this study present the following three suggestions to prevent the spread of an infectious disease: engage in risk communication focused on a potential virus infection and cooperation, make multifaceted efforts to increase public empathy with infection-control guidelines, and implement measures to alleviate or reduce economic damage to the public in a viral pandemic.
Highlights
IntroductionSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was first observed in January 2020 in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, where pneumonia was prevalent [1,2].According to Johns Hopkins CSSE COVID-19 daily reports, as of 31 August 2021, there were 217,089,516 confirmed cases and 4,509,857 deaths, with a mortality rate of 2.1% [3].The National Health Service (NHS) in the UK published COVID-19 guidelines in December2020, which included comprehensive information about deaths among confirmed patients, instructions for healthcare workers’ behaviors, and care for people with symptoms [4].These guidelines were vital for the disease’s accurate evaluation, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation in terms of finding evidence for organ pathology and injury [5].Recent studies have shown that infection-control guidelines help individuals prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from an infectious disease
The results showed that the chi-square distribution (χ 2/df) was 1.872, the root mean square residual (RMR) was 0.033, the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) was 0.064, the goodness of fit index (GFI) was 0.927, the adjusted GFI (AGFI) was 0.902, the normed fit index (NFI) was 0.921, the Tucker–Lewis index (TLI) was 0.970, and the comparative fit index (CFI) was 0.956
The perception that the spread of a virus should be swiftly prevented by seriously considering the susceptibility to the virus and potential economic damage leads to more proactive infection-prevention behaviors by the public
Summary
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was first observed in January 2020 in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, where pneumonia was prevalent [1,2].According to Johns Hopkins CSSE COVID-19 daily reports, as of 31 August 2021, there were 217,089,516 confirmed cases and 4,509,857 deaths, with a mortality rate of 2.1% [3].The National Health Service (NHS) in the UK published COVID-19 guidelines in December2020, which included comprehensive information about deaths among confirmed patients, instructions for healthcare workers’ behaviors, and care for people with symptoms [4].These guidelines were vital for the disease’s accurate evaluation, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation in terms of finding evidence for organ pathology and injury [5].Recent studies have shown that infection-control guidelines help individuals prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from an infectious disease. According to Johns Hopkins CSSE COVID-19 daily reports, as of 31 August 2021, there were 217,089,516 confirmed cases and 4,509,857 deaths, with a mortality rate of 2.1% [3]. The National Health Service (NHS) in the UK published COVID-19 guidelines in December. 2020, which included comprehensive information about deaths among confirmed patients, instructions for healthcare workers’ behaviors, and care for people with symptoms [4]. These guidelines were vital for the disease’s accurate evaluation, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation in terms of finding evidence for organ pathology and injury [5]. Recent studies have shown that infection-control guidelines help individuals prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from an infectious disease. Mossa-Basha et al [6]
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