The Effect of Educational Intervention Based on the Protection Motivation Theory in Promotion of Preventive Behaviors against COVID-19

Background: Considering the global prevalence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the high rate of mortality due to the disease, it seems that performing COVID-19 preventive behaviors is a suitable solution to reduce the damage caused by the disease. Since office employees are at the high risk of morbidity, this study was conducted to investigate the effect of educational intervention based on protection motivation theory (PMT) on the promotion of COVID-19 preventive behaviors in the office employees in Bajestan City, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran. Methods: This study was a randomized controlled trial with a control group. 164 employees working in governmental offices in Bajestan were selected using multi-stage random sampling and randomly divided into experimental and control groups. The designed educational program based on the PMT was conducted for the experimental group for one month, and the measurements were taken in three stages of pre-test, post-test, and follow-up using a questionnaire designed to predict COVID-19 preventive behaviors based on PMT. Data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Findings: The mean age was 38.21 ± 6.44 years in the experimental group and 36.73 ± 5.18 years in the control group. The majority of subjects in the experimental group (65, 79.3%) and in the control group (58, 70.7%) were men. The results of repeated measures ANCOVA indicated that there was a statistically significant difference between two groups in terms of all constructs of PMT (P < 0.05) after adjusting the effect of pre-test scores. But significance of correlation between time and educational group in all constructs except self-efficacy suggested that the effect of educational intervention on these constructs varied over time. Conclusion: The results of this study support the effectiveness of educational intervention in changing attitudes and behaviors related to COVID-19 prevention based on PMT. © 2022, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences(IUMS). All rights reserved.

Consumption of Household Disinfectants during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Sorsogon, Philippines

Knowledge of behavior and perception changes about the use of household disinfectants in the Philippines during the COVID-19 pandemic is largely unexplored. Through a survey, we took into consideration the locals' responses from Sorsogon, Philippines. Alcohol and oxidizing agents were found to be the most commonly used household disinfectant products in Sorsogon. Most of the respondents have shifted to the everyday use of disinfectant products during the pandemic. Increased disinfectant consumerism was positively associated with genders, employed respondents, and students but not among housewives and non-employed respondents. Most of the respondents agreed that various factors are needed to consider when choosing disinfectants. They were also knowledgeable about the possible effects of disinfectant wastes on the environment. How would these collective positive behavior changes during the new normal era warrant further attention. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Philippine Journal of Science is the property of Science & Technology Information Institute and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Self-Protective Dining Behavior: An Investigation on Consumer's Use of Online Food Delivery Service

This study aims to investigate how consumer's use of online food delivery (OFD) services is driven by its self-protective nature. Drawing on protection motivation theory, the unified theory of use and acceptance of technology, and diffusion of innovation theory, an integrated model was tested with 1,000 empirical data points to explain consumers' OFD use during the pandemic. Results confirmed the self-protective nature of OFD use by uncovering a significant positive effect of fear of COVID-19 on consumers' OFD ordering frequency. Perceived vulnerability contributed more strongly to an individual's fear of COVID-19 than perceived severity in dining activities. These findings theoretically expand the current understanding of OFD services and provide practical implications for OFD platforms, restaurateurs, and governments.

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.

EXPLORING THE IMPACTS OF VIRTUAL REALITY TECHNOLOGY IN SUSTAINABLE TOURISM DURING THE COVID-19

This study aimed to assess the use of virtual reality (VR) as a tool for destination marketing of sustainable tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic. A questionnaire was administered to a sample of 249 students, who were shown a video about low-impact tourism in Vietnam using one of the two media types, namely VR and on-screen 2D. A structural model was proposed based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) and was estimated using the Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) approach. The results provide evidence for VR to have a positive effect on travel intention through both higher perceived enjoyment and higher environmental involvement. However, these effects were observed to be not as significant when considering travel intention during the pandemic. While stronger telepresence achieved by VR may encourage users to engage in more sustainable behaviour and improve enjoyment from the experience, the avoidance to travel stemming from health and safety concerns amidst the pandemic greatly offset the effectiveness of VR as a marketing tool. The results highlight the importance of considering individual-level preferences in tourism. © 2023, Vilnius University. All rights reserved.

Protection Motivation Theory and Intentions to Receive the COVID-19 Vaccine.

Background. Declared a "public health threat of international concern" by the World Health Organization, the COVID-19 virus has caused the deaths of over half a million individuals in the United States in just the first 23 months after detection. The vaccine has recently been introduced to reduce this public health threat. However, due, in part, to the rapidity with which the vaccine was developed, many individuals display vaccine hesitancy. Purpose. The current study examined the utility of the Protection Motivation Theory of Health (PMT) in predicting intentions to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Method. One hundred twenty-nine unvaccinated respondents (drawn from an initial sample of 255 participants) completed a survey assessing the components of the PMT and intentions to receive the vaccine. Respondents could also provide an open-ended response regarding any concerns they had with the vaccine. Conclusions. The PMT accounted for 76% of the variance in vaccine intentions. Vulnerability, outcome efficaciousness, and maladaptive response rewards each accounted for unique variance. Open-ended responses reflecting concerns with the vaccine fell into 8 categories, with the most common being concern with the long-term side effects of the vaccine. These results suggest that public health campaigns promoting the vaccine should focus on vulnerability to COVID-19, protective functions of the vaccine, and overcoming what people perceive as benefits of not receiving the vaccine.

Impact of COVID-19 on the quantity of visitation to leisure tourism facilities in China: cases of Beijing, Shanghai, and Qingdao

Based on mobile positioning big data, this study analyzes the quantity of visitation changes of leisure tourism facilities under the impact of COVID-19, which is a direct way to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on the leisure tourism industry. The quantity of visitation to the four types of leisure facilities (scenic spots, shopping services, sports services, science and cultural education services) in the three Chinese cities (Beijing, Shanghai, and Qingdao) decreased by 63.06% and 44.74% respectively on the Tomb Sweeping Day and the Labor Day in 2020 compared with 2019. The biggest decreasing was in science and cultural education services, followed by scenic spots and sports services, and finally shopping services. The curve of hourly visitations to leisure facilities in 2020 shows a smooth feature, indicating that the public has reduced the risk of pandemic through peak shifting leisure. The analysis of influencing factors shows that the influence of the floor area on visitation is different in different phases. From Tomb Sweeping Day to Labour Day in 2020, the influence of area on leisure behaviour changes from negative to positive. This paper provides a technical framework for assessing the impact of crisis event, and expands the protection motivation theory. © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Effects of risk messages on tourists' travel intention: Does distance matter?

This study aims to examine how distance to risk center in the COVID-19 context moderates the effects of two contrasting risk message frames (amplifying vs. attenuating) on tourists' post-pandemic travel intention via the mediation of ontological security threat and perceived coping efficacy. Two experiments were designed to test the proposed conceptual model. Results of experiment 1 showed that risk messages predicted tourists' ontological security threat, perceived coping efficacy, and travel intention. Results of experiment 2 showed that ontological security threat and perceived coping efficacy partially mediated the effects of risk messages on travel intention. Moreover, distance to risk center moderated the relationships between risk message frames and travel intention via ontological security threat and perceived coping efficacy, demonstrating different patterns (i.e., "ripple effect”, "psychological typhoon eye effect”, "marginal zone effect”). This study contributes to an enhanced understanding of the effect of risk message framing in the COVID-19 context by clarifying the role of geographic distance, which is beneficial for destinations to adopt differentiated risk communication strategies for different pandemic areas and levels of pandemic severity. © 2023 The Authors

Work-from-home intention during the COVID-19 pandemic: a perspective integrating inclusive leadership and protection motivation theory

Purpose: The present study integrates inclusive leadership and protection motivation theory to propose a new model predicting employees' intention to work from home during an emergency situation such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: A questionnaire was developed to collect data from 939 Taiwanese and Vietnamese office employees using a non-probability convenience sampling method. A total of 887 valid questionnaires were used for further analysis. The data were analysed following a two-stage structural equation modelling using SPSS 22 and AMOS 20 software. The validity and reliability of the instrument were tested and ensured. Findings: The results revealed that inclusive leadership and factors related to protection motivation theory– including perceived severity and perceived vulnerability – have positive direct and indirect effects on employees' work-from-home intentions through the mediating role of employees' work-from-home-related attitudes. Protection motivation theory factors were found to have a stronger effect on employees' work-from-home intention than inclusive leadership. Differences in the relationship between perceived vulnerability, perceived severity and employees' intentions towards working from home were also discovered among participants from the two studied countries. Practical implications: The integration of inclusive leadership and protection motivation theory brings into light what will drive employees' intention to work from home during an emergency situation. The present study has several theoretical and practical implications for scholars, governments, managers and policymakers that can help them improve management policies for working from home in the future. Originality/value: Based on integrating inclusive leadership and protection motivation theory to explore employees' intention to work from home during an emergency situation, the present study demonstrated that inclusive leadership and protection motivation theory should be considered for studies on working from home in a pandemic setting. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Residents' risk perceptions, willingness to accept international tourists, and self-protective behaviour during destination re-opening amidst the COVID-19 pandemic

This study investigates factors influencing residents' risk perceptions of COVID-19 pandemic, their willingness to accept international tourists, and self-protective behaviour during destination re-opening during the pandemic. Drawing upon the concept of Protection Motivation Theory, and using a face-to-face quota sampling survey of 521 valid responses from residents in a world class tourist destination in Phuket, the structural equation modelling results prove the PMT model is powerful enough to explain risk perceptions of local residents in accepting international tourists when reopening a destination during the pandemic. Furthermore, this study confirms the negative influence of risk perception on intention to accept international tourists and the positive influence of risk perception on actual self-protective behaviour of residents. In addition, the role of risk perception as the mediator between PMT factors, willingness to accept international tourists, and self-protective behaviours is confirmed in this study. The article concludes by presenting academic and practical discussion and implications based on the findings.

Social media engagement in the maritime industry during the pandemic.

The maritime sectors are suffering severe disruptions as a result of COVID-19. Maritime companies have turned to social media to interact with partners and clear up confusion. However, not every social media post receives the same engagement levels especially during a pandemic. For a more holistic analysis of social media engagement during a pandemic, the Protection Motivation Theory and classical theories such as user gratification and media richness theories were included. The research uses hierarchical regression analysis on information gathered from Facebook posts about COVID-19 made by eighteen different companies from four distinct maritime sectors. It was found that the rate of stakeholder engagement is highly influenced by informational, relational, and entertaining content as well as content that fosters self-efficacy, severity, and vulnerability. Additionally, the stakeholder engagement rate is greatly influenced by posts with greater vividness and fluency, which are characterized by providing external links. This is the first study to look into why stakeholders interact with posts linked to COVID-19 on social media. The findings will help maritime organisations use social media as a management and communication instrument.

Vaccine hesitancy and post-vaccination adherence to safety measures: A mixed-method study.

Background: Despite being recognized as one of the most successful public health measures, vaccination is still considered to be unnecessary and unreliable in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The current study utilized a two-pronged approach in analyzing vaccine hesitancy and health behaviors after vaccination by employing a mixed-method design. Phase 1 was aimed at identifying predictors of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and acceptance among the Pakistani population using protection motivation theory (PMT), whereas Phase 2 was aimed at exploring the factors related to the vaccination of COVID-19. Method: A convenient sample of 1,736 individuals from the vaccine-eligible population (12 years and above) was selected to collect data on vaccine hesitancy and acceptance (Phase 1). Phase 2 of the study explored post-vaccination health behaviors, especially adherence to safety measures for COVID-19, through 23 in-depth interviews with the vaccinated population. Results: Multiple regression analyses showed that response cost is a major predictor of vaccine hesitancy (in Phase 1). In terms of the role of demographic variables, the results showed that being male (for severity: B = -0.481; threat appraisal: B = -0.737), old age (B = -0.044), not vaccinated, and not infected with COVID-19 (themselves and family members) are strongly associated with vaccination hesitancy. Results of thematic analysis in Phase 2 revealed that perceived individual experience and insensitivity toward the severity of the disease are strongly associated with a lack of adherence to safety measures of COVID-19. Faith and religious beliefs and reliance on traditional remedies are also key predictors of people's general non-compliance to health behaviors. One interesting aspect that was revealed in the analysis was the general financially and socially destabilized situation in the context of developing countries that contributed to general apathy in the pandemic situation. Conclusion: The findings of the current study may help in devising a health model for the public from the developing world to deal with future pandemic situations.

How generations differ in coping with a pandemic: The case of restaurant industry

The COVID-19 outbreak has had a negative impact on the restaurant industry and led to major sales and job losses. As it continues to threaten customers' health, it is expected to greatly influence their attitudes and behavior. Therefore, the current study aims to investigate the effects of threat and coping appraisals on consumers' co-creation behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Grounded in protection motivation theory and co-creation theory, the moderating effect of generational cohorts is also investigated vis-a-vis the relationships between protection motivation appraisals and co-creation behaviors in the restaurant industry. Individuals between 18 and 55 years of age completed survey regarding their dine-in experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study indicates that customers' perceived severity, self-efficacy, and response efficacy are significant predictors of customers' co-creation behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study provides important theoretical and practical implications for the field. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Restaurant patronage during the COVID-19 pandemic and the protection motivation theory: influence of consumers' socio-demographic, situational, and psychographic factors

To systematically investigate factors affecting consumers' restaurant patronage decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic, this study drew on the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) to (1) evaluate how threat and coping appraisal (i.e., PMT factors) may vary based on socio-demographics and COVID-19 situational characteristics, and (2) determine if PMT factors influence actual restaurant patronage behaviors. Furthermore, the current study examined consumers' perceptions of health-protective actions that restaurateurs could take to minimize consumer risk of contracting COVID-19. Data were collected from U.S. adults (N = 627) using an online crowdsourcing platform in early May 2020. Findings showed significant relationships between socio-demograhic factors and perceived severity and/or vulnerability to COVID-19, along with concerns of coping with the virus for in-restaurant dining. For take-out/delivery patronage, coping concerns were greater for those with lower education levels and those with more health concerns than their counterparts. Furthermore, consumers' higher levels of coping appraisal predicted their higher take-out/delivery frequency. Results also suggested actions that restaurateurs could take that would influence consumers' restaurant patronage decisions. This study provides new insights related to PMT in the context of restaurants in a pandemic situation and practical information for restaurateurs to recover and prepare for future pandemics or similar crises.

Health literacy and COVID-19-related beliefs and behaviors: a longitudinal study of the Japanese general population.

Since the outbreak of novel coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), health communication has played a critical role in the process of disease prevention. Based on the concepts of health literacy and protection motivation theory, this study longitudinally examined the relationship between general health literacy measured immediately before the COVID-19 outbreak, and COVID-19-related information utilization, health literacy, beliefs and protective behaviors during the subsequent year in the Japanese general population. The participants were 767 Japanese residents who completed self-administered questionnaire surveys in January 2020 and February 2021. Based on the hypotheses, we constructed and tested a path model to predict the adoption of protective behaviors. Higher health literacy in 2020 was significantly related to higher COVID-19-related health literacy in 2021, which, in turn, was related to the adoption of recommended protective behaviors both directly and indirectly through threat and coping appraisal. Coping appraisal, but not threat appraisal, significantly differed by health literacy level. Generic health literacy skills for accessing, understanding and applying health information may enable people to better adapt to specific health risks. Our findings provide guidance for future health literacy education and health risk communication in populations with different health literacy levels.

Protection Motivation Perspective Regarding the Use of COVID-19 Mobile Tracing Apps Among Public Users: Empirical Study.

BACKGROUND: Access to data is crucial for decision-making; this fact has become more evident during the pandemic. Data collected using mobile apps can positively influence diagnosis and treatment, the supply chain, and the staffing resources of health care facilities. Developers and health care professionals have worked to create apps that can track a person's COVID-19 status. For example, these apps can monitor positive COVID-19 test results and vaccination status. Regrettably, people may be concerned about sharing their data with government or private sector organizations that are developing apps. Understanding user perceptions is essential; without substantial user adoption and the use of mobile tracing apps, benefits cannot be achieved. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the factors that positively and negatively affect the use of COVID-19 tracing apps by examining individuals' perceptions about sharing data on mobile apps, such as testing regularity, infection, and immunization status. METHODS: The hypothesized research model was tested using a cross-sectional survey instrument. The survey contained 5 reflective constructs and 4 control variables selected after reviewing the literature and interviewing health care professionals. A digital copy of the survey was created using Qualtrics. After receiving approval, data were collected from 367 participants through Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk). Participants of any gender who were 18 years or older were considered for inclusion to complete the anonymized survey. We then analyzed the theoretical model using structural equation modeling. RESULTS: After analyzing the quality of responses, 325 participants were included. Of these 325 participants, 216 (66.5%) were male and 109 (33.5%) were female. Among the participants in the final data set, 72.6% (236/325) were employed. The results of structural equation modeling showed that perceived vulnerability (ß=0.688; P<.001), self-efficacy (ß=0.292; P<.001), and an individual's prior infection with COVID-19 (ß=0.194; P=.002) had statistically significant positive impacts on the intention to use mobile tracing apps. Privacy concerns (ß=-0.360; P<.001), risk aversion (ß=-0.150; P=.09), and a family member's prior infection with COVID-19 (ß=-0.139; P=.02) had statistically significant negative influences on a person's intention to use mobile tracing apps. CONCLUSIONS: This study illustrates that various user perceptions affect whether individuals use COVID-19 tracing apps. By working collaboratively on legislation and the messaging provided to potential users before releasing an app, developers, health care professionals, and policymakers can improve the use of tracking apps. Health care professionals need to emphasize disease vulnerability to motivate people to use mobile tracing apps, which can help reduce the spread of viruses and diseases. In addition, more work is needed at the policy-making level to protect the privacy of users, which in return can increase user engagement.

Generational differences in the relationship between media exposure and health behaviors during COVID-19 pandemic.

Based on a questionnaire survey (N = 857), this study analyzed generational differences in the public health behaviors of COVID-19 and provided an explanation for generational differences from the perspective of media exposure. There are significant differences in media exposure and health behaviors between the Mesozoic generation (35-55) and the young generation (18-34) during the lull. The Mesozoic generation paid greater attention to information on pandemics. Consequently, their health behaviors surpass that of the young generation. On the basis of social cognitive theory and protection motivation theory, this study develops a mediating model of media exposure on health behaviors, demonstrating that media exposure can influence health behaviors through the mediating effects of perceived severity, self-efficacy, and response efficacy, but not via perceived susceptibility. Moreover, a moderated mediation study found that generation moderates the indirect effect of media exposure on health behaviors via perceived susceptibility. Media exposure influences Mesozoic healthy behaviors positively by decreasing their perceived susceptibility. The implication of this study is that the development of health communication theory must account for generational differences and disease-specific characteristics.

Enhancing Consumer Confidence and Response Efficacy in Tourism: Typology and Effectiveness of the Hotel Industry's Responses to COVID-19.

Although the tourism industry, including hotels, has been ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic, few empirical studies have systematically examined the typology and effectiveness of their responses. To capture common response strategies within the hotel industry and assess their effectiveness, two studies were conducted. Study 1 adopted a hybrid approach involving deductive and inductive thematic analyses to evaluate 4,211 news articles. Five broad themes emerged: (1) revenue management, (2) crisis communication, (3) alternative approaches to service delivery, (4) human resource management, and (5) corporate social responsibility. Drawing upon protection motivation theory, Study 2 included a pre-test, pilot study, and main experimental study to examine the effectiveness of several common response strategies. Results showed that reassuring crisis communication and contactless services can foster consumer confidence and response efficacy, leading to positive consumers' attitudes and booking intentions. Crisis communication and price discount were found to influence consumers' attitudes and booking intentions directly.

Predicting adherence to COVID-19 behavioural guidelines: a comparison of Protection Motivation Theory and the Theory of Planned Behaviour.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the utility of Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) and the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) for understanding diversity in adherence to COVID-19 behavioural guidelines. METHODS AND MEASURES: A representative sample (N = 600) completed two online questionnaires: One that included measurements of PMT and TPB components that predict behaviour, and another (after one week) consisting of adherence to COVID-19 behavioural guidelines. TPB was represented by a single model, while PMT was represented by three models: Model 1, which did not include a measure of protection motivation; Model 2, which included protection motivation - represented by behavioural intentions; and Model 3, which was similar to Model 2 and included a direct link from self-efficacy to behaviour. RESULTS: The TPB model displayed the best fit-to-complexity ratio (i.e. information criterion), and its capacity to explain adherence was similar to PMT Models 1 and 2, but lower than Model 3. CONCLUSION: The findings highlight the need to reach a consensus regarding the definition and measurement of protection motivation. While the TPB model exhibited superior fit-to-complexity ratio, variance was better explained when self-efficacy was included, and interventions may benefit from targeting different constructs depending on the context.

Uncovering the behavioral determinants behind private car purchase intention during the new normal of COVID-19: An empirical investigation in China.

Based on the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT), the Psychological Reactance Theory (PRT), and the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), we revealed the psychological impact factors of individuals' private car purchase intentions during the new normal of COVID-19. Structural equation modeling (SEM) and Bayesian network (BN) were used to analyzed the car purchase decision-making mechanism. A questionnaire survey was conducted to collect empirical data from April 20th to May 26th of 2020 in China. We investigated 645 participants and analyzed the data. The SEM results showed that conditional value, pro-car-purchasing attitude, and perceived behavioral control, health value, and cost factors have significant direct effects on car purchase intention. According to BN's prediction of purchase intention, the probability of high purchase intention grew by 47.6%, 97.3% and 163.0%, respectively, with perceived behavioral control, pro-car-purchasing attitude, and conditional value shifting from "low" to "medium" and "high". This study provided a new perspective for researchers to explore the purchase intention of cars during the epidemic. Meanwhile, we could provide a reference for the government and enterprises to develop measures related to the automobile market."