Abstract:
Background
COVID-19 is a new pandemic that poses a threat to people globally. In Ethiopia, where
classrooms are limited, students are at higher risk for COVID-19 unless they take consistent
preventative actions. However, there is a lack of evidence in the study area regarding were significant predictors of student compliance to CPB. Moreover, the measurement
model demonstrated that the instrument had acceptable reliability and validity.
Conclusion and recommendations
COVID-19 prevention practice is quite low among students. HBM demonstrated adequate
predictive utility in predicting CPBs among students, where perceived barriers and self-efficacy
emerged as significant predictors of CPBs. According to the findings of this study, theory-
based behavioral change interventions are urgently required for students to improve
their prevention practice. Furthermore, these interventions will be effective if they are
designed to remove barriers to CPBs and improve students’ self-efficacy in taking preventive
measures.student
compliance with COVID-19 preventive behavior (CPB) and its predictors.
Objective
This study aimed to assess CPB and its predictors among students based on the perspective
of the Health Belief Model (HBM).
Method and materials
A school-based cross-sectional survey was conducted from November to December 2020
to evaluate the determinants of CPB among high school students using a self-administered
structured questionnaire. 370 participants were selected using stratified simple random
sampling. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize data, and partial least squares
structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) analyses to evaluate the measurement and structural
models proposed by the HBM and to identify associations between HBM variables. A
T-value of > 1.96 with 95% CI and a P-value of < 0.05 were used to declare the statistical
significance of path coefficients.
Result
A total of 370 students participated with a response rate of 92%. The median (interquartile
range) age of the participants (51.9% females) was 18 (2) years. Only 97 (26.2%), 121
(32.7%), and 108 (29.2%) of the students had good practice in keeping physical distance,
frequent hand washing, and facemask use respectively. The HBM explained 43% of the variance
in CPB. Perceived barrier (β = - 0.15, p < 0.001) and self-efficacy (β = 0.51, p <0.001)
