Investigating preventive health behaviors against COVID‑19 in elementary school students’ parents: A cross‑sectional study from Tehran – Capital of Iran
نویسندگان
1 Department of Health Education and Promotion, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran
2 Research Center for Health, Safety and Environment, Department of Health Education and Promotion, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran
3 Department of Midwifery, Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran
doi
چکیده
BACKGROUND: Parents act as a role model for children in showing health behaviors. This studyinvestigated factors affecting the preventive behavior in elementary school students’ parents basedon protection motivation theory (PMT).MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross‑sectional study was conducted in Tehran (Iran) in 2020.Multistage sampling was used to choose 660 elementary school students’ parents. The data collectioninstrument was a multi‑sectional questionnaire, including sections on demographic characteristics,PMT constructs, self‑reported health, and information sources related to COVID‑19. In this study,descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and analytical statistical methods (Pearsoncorrelation and path analysis) were used to analyze the data. The range of Cronbach’s alpha of thestudy instrument varied from 0.71 to 0.97.RESULTS: The results of the current study revealed significant association between all PMTconstructs and preventive behaviors. Knowledge from both direct and indirect paths was relatedto preventive behaviors (B = 0.76). Preventive behaviors had the strongest, direct relationship withage (B = 0.76). Based on the final fitted model, knowledge had the greatest impact on preventivebehaviors through indirect and direct routes.CONCLUSION: Knowledge was the most important variable which influenced preventive behavior,and it should be noticed in prevention programs.
