Health Policy Research Center, Institute of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Department of Social Sciences, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran.
BMC Public Health. 2021 Jan 6;21(1):54. doi: 10.1186/s12889-020-10125-5.
The COVID-19 outbreak is a global pandemic, during which the community preventive and protective behaviors play a crucial role in the containment and control of infection. This study was designed to contribute to the existing knowledge on how risk communication (RC) and risk perception (RP) affect protective and preventive behaviors (PPB) during the COVID-19 outbreak.
The required data were extracted from a national online survey of Iranian adults aged 15 and older during March 15-19, 2020 (n=3213). Data analysis was performed using structural equation modeling.
The study findings reveal that RC has direct and indirect positive effects on PB. Furthermore, this study also provides new evidence indicating that RP mediates the relationship between RC and PB and there is a two-way relationship between RC and RP. These interactions may have impact on risk communication strategies which should be adopted during this pandemic.
The study findings have remarkable implications for informing future communications as well as interventions during this ongoing outbreak and subsequent national risk events.
COVID-19 疫情是一场全球性大流行，在此期间，社区预防和保护行为在感染的遏制和控制方面发挥着至关重要的作用。本研究旨在为现有知识做出贡献，即风险沟通（RC）和风险认知（RP）如何影响 COVID-19 疫情期间的保护和预防行为（PPB）。
本研究于 2020 年 3 月 15 日至 19 日，通过一项全国性的在线调查，从伊朗 15 岁及以上的成年人中抽取了所需的数据（n=3213）。使用结构方程模型进行数据分析。
研究结果表明，RC 对 PB 有直接和间接的积极影响。此外，本研究还提供了新的证据，表明 RP 介导了 RC 和 PB 之间的关系，并且 RC 和 RP 之间存在双向关系。这些相互作用可能对大流行期间应采用的风险沟通策略产生影响。
本研究结果对指导未来的传播以及在此持续爆发和随后的国家风险事件期间的干预具有重要意义。
