Abstract
Background: The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between COVID-19 preventive behaviors, as the dependent variable, with risk perception, coping style and sense of coherence, as independent variables, in older people living in the community. Methods: An observational design for predictive model development. This study was reported following the STROBE statement. The subjects were people over 65 years of age living in the community. Data collection included sociodemographic variables related to COVID-19, risk perception and types, coping styles in the face of contagion, sense of coherence, and preventive behaviors in the face of COVID-19. The data collection period was from November 2020 to January 2021. Results: A total of 305 people participated in this study (71.5% women, mean age 71.34 years; 6.9% suffered from COVID-19 and 44.3% knew someone close to them who suffered from the virus). The coping style variables problem-focused, emotion-focused, and sense of coherence subscales Significance and manageability explained 17% of the variable preventive behaviors against COVID-19. There were statistically significant differences by gender in all subscales, with women scoring higher in all of them; Conclusions: Men with low risk perception, extrinsic risk perception, and low sense of coherence presented worse COVID-19 preventive behaviors. It would be interesting to develop specific prevention and health education campaigns for this population.
Highlights
The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between COVID-19 preventive behaviors, as the dependent variable, with risk perception, coping style and sense of coherence, as independent variables, in older people living in the community
The main findings found in this study were: (i) older people presented average preventive behaviors, especially women and people who had not suffered from the disease and those who had a close relative who was ill and/or died from COVID-19 scored high. (ii) in a predictive model, the two coping styles problem-focused, emotion-focused, and the two subscales sense of coherence (SOC) Significance and manageability explained up to 17% of the variance of the variable preventive behaviors
No research has been conducted in Spain analyzing risk perception, coping styles and preventive behaviors against COVID-19 in older people living in the community
Summary
The rapid spread of COVID-19 and the severity of the symptoms it can cause in a segment of infected individuals has stretched health systems to the limit [1]. The most vulnerable group and the one that is suffering the highest number of deaths globally, with exorbitant figures, is that of older people [2]. This group is mainly located in the community [3]. Experts worldwide warn that the problem is not going to disappear in the short term and that the security measures adopted by individuals will be key to ensure that the situation remains under control [4,5]
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