ABSTRACT
ISSUE ADDRESSED: The implementation of quick response (QR) code check-in compliance behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic featured in infection control strategies in several global jurisdictions, but was of particular interest in the Australian context, where it became mandated on a nationwide scale. We aimed to identify the salient beliefs people hold toward complying with the QR code check-in using a Theory of Planned Behaviour belief-based framework. METHODS: An elicitation study using open-ended questions (Queensland; N = 93, Mage = 4.77 years, SD = 13.62 and Victoria; N = 76, Mage = 44.92 years, SD = 11.63) and a prospective correlational study using a two-wave online survey (Queensland; N = 290, Mage = 38.99, 46.6% female and Victoria; N = 290, Mage = 38.27, 53.4% female) were conducted. RESULTS: Qualitative data were coded through an iterative content analysis, while quantitative data were analysed using linear multiple regression. Behavioural, normative and control beliefs were associated with intention and behaviour in both samples. Variation in beliefs across the states also were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Across both samples, beliefs in positive outcomes consistently exhibited stronger associations with both intention and behaviour than the reported negative outcomes. Distinct differences emerged between the two samples in terms of regression effects. SO WHAT?: Results indicate individual experience may affect the beliefs which guide behaviour, supporting the potential efficacy of health promotion campaigns tapping into context specific beliefs and experiences if QR code check-in is to be implemented as an infection control measure in future.
ABSTRACT
In Australia, checking in while entering venues was a legal requirement during the COVID-19 pandemic to track potential infection sites. This two-wave correlational study used an integrated theory of planned behavior model including moral norms, anticipated regret, and habit to predict check-in compliance in a sample of 181 Victorians (Mean Age = 41.88, 56.4% female) and 162 Queenslanders (Mean Age = 43.26, 47.5% female). Habit and intention predicted behavior, while perceived behavioral control did not. Intention was predicted by baseline habit, attitude, subjective norm, and moral norm in the Victorian sample, while only baseline habit and moral norm predicted intention in the Queensland sample. This study has potential implications for reviewing previous strategies and for future pandemic preparedness, both by identifying the drivers of infection control compliance, and through the discussion of how differences in effects between states may be linked to each state's experience of the pandemic (e.g. infection rates, lockdown length).
