Expanding Protection Motivation Theory to explain vaccine uptake among United Kingdom and Taiwan populations.

Vaccination can sufficiently ameliorate the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). Investigating what factors influence vaccine uptake may benefit ongoing vaccination efforts (e.g. booster injections, annual vaccination). The present study expanded Protection Motivation Theory with possible factors including perceived knowledge, adaptive responses, and maladaptive responses to develop a proposed model investigating vaccine uptake among United Kingdom (UK) and Taiwan (TW) populations. An online survey collected responses from UK (n = 751) and TW (n = 1052) participants (August to September, 2022). The results of structural equation modeling (SEM) showed that perceived knowledge was significantly associated with coping appraisal in both samples (standardized coefficient [ß] = 0.941 and 0.898; p < .001). Coping appraisal was correlated with vaccine uptake only in the TW sample (ß = 0.319, p < .05). Multigroup analysis showed there were significant differences between the path coefficients of perceived knowledge to coping and threat appraisals (p < .001), coping appraisal to adaptive and maladaptive responses (p < .001), as well as threat appraisal to adaptive response (p < .001). Such knowledge may improve vaccine uptake in Taiwan. The potential factors for the UK population require further investigation.

Secondary Risk in COVID-19 Vaccination Intentions: A Theoretical Contribution to the Protection Motivation Paradigm.

This study presents an original model that features the emotion of fear of COVID-19 as a direct effect on vaccination intentions. A central research question addressed in the study is what roles do the emotion of fear of contracting COVID-19 and the threat posed by uptake of the COVID-19 vaccination play in levels of vaccination intention? The study used a structural equation model (SEM) and applied the SmartPLS 3.2.6 data analysis tool for model estimation and multivariate analysis variables. A key finding is that vaccination resistance is strongest when fear of COVID-19 is lower, and vaccination threat higher. Vaccination threat appraisal and vaccination intention were found to have a negative relationship. Response costs at higher levels lessen motivation for COVID-19 vaccination. Research implications include research-based targeting of differing segments by their primary fear, either fear of COVID-19 or of the preventative vaccine.

COVID-19-based threat vs coping appraisal: effect of psychological risk on customer engagement and behavioral intentions

Purpose - Drawing upon protection motivation theory and service-dominant-logic, the authors develop a model, which examines the influence of perceived psychological risk and social media involvement (SMI) on customer-brand-engagement (CBE), brand co-creation and behavioral intention during COVID-19 outbreak in the tourism context. The current research also explores the mediating effect of CBE, and moderating role of tourism-based threat/coping appraisal in the proposed associations. Design/methodology/approach - To investigate such issues, the authors deploy a sample of 320 tourism consumers by adopting partial least squares-structural equation modeling or (PLS-SEM). Findings - PLS-SEM findings revealed that SMI positively impacts tourism-CBE. Secondly, results revealed the customer brand engagement's significant-positive effect on brand co-creation and behavioral intent. Third, results showed the social media's and psychological risk's indirect impact on co-creation and behavioral intent, as mediated through customer brand engagement. Fourth, results exposed a significant/negative moderating effect of threat appraisal and significant/positive moderating role of coping appraisal in projected relationships. Research limitations/implications - Given the study's focus on pandemic-based SMI, CBE and co-creation, the authors contribute to the existing tourism marketing literature, which also generates plentiful avenues for further research, as delineated. Practical implications - This research facilitates tourism brand managers to better understand the drivers of CBE and paves the way for managers to develop CBE and threat/coping strategies during pandemic. Originality/value - Despite the increasing understanding of social media, CBE and co-creation in tourism, limited remains identified regarding the association of these, and associated, factors during pandemic, as thereby explored in the current research.

Transit use reduction following COVID-19: The effect of threat appraisal, proactive coping and institutional trust.

Transit systems suffered from a significant demand decrease during COVID-19. Understanding the psychological motivators underlying reduced transit use can help transit authorities and operators to take proactive action towards returning to the "new normal" and increasing their preparedness towards future pandemics. This study is based on the protection motivation theory to understand the effect of threat appraisal, and coping appraisal and denial mechanisms on transit use reduction for commuting. The behavioral framework is validated by a survey of 856 transit users in Israel during August 2020, three months after the end of the lockdown and before the vaccine administration. The results show that: i) Skepticism, risk ubiquity, and personal immunity beliefs lead to maladaptive threat appraisal; ii) wearing masks and social distancing are antecedents of fear of infection while using transit and reduced transit use; iii) higher perceived threat deters transit use, while trust in transit operators motivates transit use; and iv) in a franchised transit system, trust in transit operators depends on the perceived level-of-service and trust in the ability of government authorities to regulate, monitor and enforce transit operators' preventive and protective actions.

Influence of COVID-19 Crisis on Motivation and Hiking Intention of Gen Z in China: Perceived Risk and Coping Appraisal as Moderators.

People's lives have drastically changed since the outbreak of COVID-19. One concern during the pandemic has been the level of inactivity among people. Compared to various generations (e.g., baby boomers, generation alpha), Generation Z (Gen Z) traditionally spends much less time in outdoor spaces. Due to the pandemic, their inactiveness is assumed to be even more severe. Hiking, an outdoor activity, has become a possible remedy for young people to exercise in a safer sport environment compared to traditional facility-based activities. Although various studies have supported the link between motivations and hiking intention, the relationship may be altered based on psychological influences unique to the pandemic situations-perceived risk and coping appraisals. The current study was conducted to investigate the relationship between Gen Z's motivations and hiking intention and moderating roles of perceived risk and coping appraisals in a pandemic environment. Data were collected from Gen Z between 18 and 24 in China (N = 407). The validity and reliability of all the constructs were assessed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), average variance extracted (AVE), and composite reliability. For testing hypotheses, PROCESS Macro 4.0 was used. The findings proposed that the appraisals of the pandemic situation (i.e., perceived risk and coping ability) moderated the relationship between two of the motivations-intellectual and destination motivations-and hiking intention. As a result, organizers of outdoor sports programs can implement viable strategies and take valid measurements to minimize the fear and worries among people in the time of the crisis.

Protection Motivation and Food Waste Reduction Strategies

“Ugly food” refers to agricultural products that are discarded because their appearance is not attractive, even though their nutritional content is unaffected. In this study, protection motivation theory (PMT) was applied to analyze whether an individual’s awareness of food waste problems affects their “ugly food” purchase intention. Hence, the relationships between awareness of food waste problems, threat appraisal (severity and vulnerability), coping appraisal (response efficacy and self-efficacy), and ugly food purchase intention were analyzed. Additionally, a moderating effect analysis was conducted per consumer age. Descriptive statistical analysis, frequency, and SPSS reliability analysis were used, including confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling, and multi-group analysis of the Amos program. For the final analysis, 361 samples were used. Results showed that awareness of food waste problems positively affected severity and vulnerability, response efficacy, and self-efficacy. Moreover, severity positively affected ugly food purchase intention and vulnerability did not. Response and self-efficacy positively affected ugly food purchase intention. In the moderating effect analysis per consumer age, the difference between severity and ugly food purchase intention and vulnerability and ugly food purchase intention was significant. This study has various academic and practical implications, and presents several strategies to reduce food waste to contribute to a sustainable future environment. It is also the first study linking the food waste problem, PMT, and ugly food purchase behavior.

Expanding Protection Motivation Theory to Explain Willingness of COVID-19 Vaccination Uptake among Taiwanese University Students.

Vaccination appears to be one of the effective strategies to control the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the challenge of vaccine hesitancy may lower the uptake rate and affect overall vaccine efficacy. Being a low-risk group in terms of serious consequences of infection, university students may possess low motivation to get vaccinated. Therefore, an expanded Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) incorporating perceived knowledge, adaptive response, and maladaptive response was proposed to investigate the COVID-19 vaccination intention among Taiwanese university students. University students (n = 924; 575 males; mean age = 25.29 years) completed an online survey during January to February 2021. The proposed expanded PMT model was examined using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results showed that perceived knowledge was significantly associated with coping appraisal (standardized coefficient (ß) = 0.820; p < 0.001), and coping appraisal was significantly associated with adaptive response (ß = 0.852; p < 0.001), maladaptive response (ß = 0.300; p < 0.001) and intention (ß = 0.533; p = 0.009). Moreover, maladaptive response (ß = -0.173; p = 0.001) but not adaptive response (ß = 0.148; p = 0.482) was significantly and negatively associated with intention. The present study's results demonstrated a positive path between perceived knowledge, coping appraisal, and intention among university students. Therefore, improving knowledge among this population may increase the intention to uptake the vaccine.

Preventive Behaviors Towards Covid-19 Pandemic Among Healthcare Providers in Saudi Arabia Using the Protection Motivation Theory.

PURPOSE: The main objectives of the study are firstly to measure the COVID-19 preventive health behaviors related among health care providers (HCPs), then to identify the determinants of such behavior using the protection motivation theory (PMT). PATIENTS AND METHODS: An online cross-sectional survey, containing closed-ended questions, was distributed among healthcare professionals including physicians, pharmacists, technicians, and nurses. It consisted of questions assessing socio-demographic and occupational characteristics, in addition to questions from the modified PMT that has been tailored for the COVID-19 pandemic through five sub-constructs: perceived severity and perceived vulnerability, response efficacy, self-efficacy, response costs, and behavioral intention. RESULTS: A total of 385 HCPs have participated in the study with a mean age of 40.08±8.2 years; the majority was Saudi, married, and having children. There was a significant association between intention to comply with COVID-19 preventive behavior and being females, nurses, having training in Infection prevention and control (IPC) measures, and availability of personal protective equipment (PPE) during work time (p≤0.01). Other demographic variables, working experience, the status of being in the workforce during the pandemic COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia did not have a significant effect on the intention of HCPs to comply with COVID-19 preventive behavior. The vast majority 85.7% of HCPs answered "always" regarding the behavioral intention of HCPs to comply with COVID-19 preventive behavior. There was a significant positive correlation between COVID-19 behavioral intention and other constructs of PMT model, including perceived severity (r=0.272) perceived vulnerability (r= 0.248), self-efficacy (r=0.218), response-efficacy (r=0.167), and response-cost (r=0.13). Gender, availability of PPE, and self-efficacy had a significant prediction of COVID-19 behavioral intentions (P <0.05) with a predicted increase of 0.56, 0.37, and 0.12, respectively, in the mean of the intention score. Self-efficacy was the highest significant predictor of the behavior (p=0.008). CONCLUSION: Females' gender, nurses, having training in IPC measures, and availability of PPE during work time have a significant association with intention to comply with COVID-19 preventive behavior. The present study coping appraisal particularly self-efficacy predicted the COVID-19 pandemic protection motivation and preventive behavior more than threat appraisal. Therefore, future training programs must consider the level of self-efficacy of HCPS, and increase their knowledge regarding the effectiveness of recommendation strategies to perform protective measures against the COVID-19.

Threat, Coping, and Social Distance Adherence During COVID-19: Cross-Continental Comparison Using an Online Cross-Sectional Survey.

BACKGROUND: Social distancing is an effective preventative policy for COVID-19 that is enforced by governments worldwide. However, significant variations are observed in adherence to social distancing across individuals and countries. Due to the lack of treatment, rapid spread, and prevalence of COVID-19, panic and fear associated with the disease causes great stress. Subsequent effects will be a variation around the coping and mitigation strategies for different individuals following different paths to manage the situation. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to explore how threat and coping appraisal processes work as mechanisms between information and citizens' adherence to COVID-19-related recommendations (ie, how the information sources and social media influence threat and coping appraisal processes with COVID-19 and how the threat and coping appraisal processes influence adherence to policy guidelines). In addition, this study aims to explore how citizens in three different countries (the United States, Kuwait, and South Korea), randomly sampled, are effectively using the mechanisms. METHODS: Randomly sampled online survey data collected by a global firm in May 2020 from 162 citizens of the United States, 185 of Kuwait, and 71 of South Korea were analyzed, resulting in a total sample size of 418. A seemingly unrelated regression model, controlling for several counterfactuals, was used for analysis. The study's focal estimated effects were compared across the three countries using the weighted distance between the parameter estimates. RESULTS: The seemingly unrelated regression model estimation results suggested that, overall, the intensity of information source use for the COVID-19 pandemic positively influenced the threat appraisal for the disease (P<.001). Furthermore, the intensity of social media use for the COVID-19 pandemic positively influenced the coping appraisal for the disease (P<.001). Higher COVID-19 threat appraisal had a positive effect on social distancing adherence (P<.001). Higher COVID-19 coping appraisal had a positive effect on social distancing adherence (P<.001). Higher intensity of COVID-19 knowledge positively influenced social distancing adherence (P<.001). There were country-level variations. Broadly, we found that the United States had better results than South Korea and Kuwait in leveraging the information to threat and coping appraisal to the adherence process, indicating that individuals in countries like the United States and South Korea may be more pragmatic to appraise the situation before making any decisions. CONCLUSIONS: This study's findings suggest that the mediation of threat and coping strategies are essential, in varying effects, to shape the information and social media strategies for adherence outcomes. Accordingly, coordinating public service announcements along with information source outlets such as mainstream media (eg, TV and newspaper) as well as social media (eg, Facebook and Twitter) to inform citizens and, at the same time, deliver balanced messages about the threat and coping appraisal is critical in implementing a staggered social distancing and sheltering strategy.

Factors associated with preventive behaviours of COVID-19 among hospital staff in Iran in 2020: an application of the Protection Motivation Theory.

This study was conducted to predict the preventive behaviours of healthcare workers (HCWs) towards COVID-19 based on the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT). This cross-sectional and analytical study was conducted on 761 HCWs in Hamadan, Iran, using multi-stage random sampling. The preventive behaviours against COVID-19 among HCWs were assessed at a relatively desirable level. Based on the PMT, threat and coping appraisal were predictors of protection motivation to conduct COVID-19 preventive behaviours (P<0.001). The intention was also predictive of COVID-19 preventive behaviours (P<0.001). Consideration of personnel's self-efficacy and their knowledge regarding the effectiveness of protective behaviours in designing staff training programmes are recommended.