ABSTRACT
Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the perceptions of individuals concerning the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey and to try to slip out of this perception of the relationship between anxiety and avoidance behavior. Material and Methods: A snowball sampling method was used in this study. Data were collected through an online questionnaire between March 26 and April 1, 2020. A total of 834 persons were surveyed from 81 cities in Turkey. The demographic questions created by the researchers and a perception scale about COVID-19 were used. The data were analyzed with SPSS 25.0 statistical program. Results: Risk perception and anxiety levels of the participants during the COVID-19 pandemic were found to be statistically associated with gender, employment status, income level, general health insurance and the presence of chronic disease (p <0.05). The majority of the participants (83.3%) considered the disease fatal and 59.1% were anxious. The anxiety levels of the participants played a mediator role between perceived risks and avoidance behaviors. Participants' risk perception for the COVID-19 pandemic was 4.22 +/- 0.63, and their anxiety levels were above the average of 3.92 +/- 0.71. Discussion: The perceptions, beliefs, attitudes and psychological responses of communities with increased uncertainty and epidemic effects can act as a "vector" in the transmission of the disease.
ABSTRACT
Aim: In this study, we aimed to investigate the interaction between the COVID-19 pandemic and hand hygiene. Material and Methods: This study was planned as a descriptive cross-sectional involving 856 people living in Turkey between March 22 and April 5, 2020. The difference-in-differences-type design was used to investigate the effect of COVID-19 disease on hand hygiene. Results: Accordingly, the participants’ average hand hygiene scores before, during, and after COVID-19 were X_ = 3.350234 ± 1.092372, X_ = 4.603353 ± .4628307, and X_ = 3.365169 ± 1.557933. The average age of the participants was X_ = 28.68 ± 9.34 years. According to education level, the scores obtained from the individuals’ hand hygiene score showed a statistical difference (p<0.05). According to the difference-in-differences-type design prediction results, the coefficient (16.65898±3.685992) of DTr X DPost interaction gave us the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic disease on the hand hygiene scores of individuals. Accordingly, it can be stated that the COVID-19 disease increased 17 points of the hand hygiene score of individuals by approximately 7.1%. Discussion: It was seen that hand hygiene gained significant importance during periods of infectious disease outbreaks.