THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HEALTH BELIEFS AND HEALTH BEHAVIORS IN PREVENTING CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 (COVID-19) AMONG RESIDENTS IN PHROMMANI SUB-DISTRICT, MUEANG DISTRICT, NAKHON NAYOK PROVINCE

Abstract

This study employed a cross-sectional descriptive research design to examine self-protective behaviors and related factors influencing the prevention of COVID-19 among residents in Phrommani Subdistrict, Nakhon Nayok Province. The total population consisted of 589 individuals. The sample size of 245 participants was determined using Krejcie and Morgan’s formula, and purposive sampling was applied. The research instrument was a questionnaire that had been validated for content accuracy by experts and demonstrated a reliability coefficient of 0.78. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, including frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation, as well as inferential statistics using Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Coefficient.

The results revealed that most participants had a high level of knowledge regarding COVID-19 (79.16%), a high level of attitude (47.91%), high perceived severity (73.75%), high perceived susceptibility (77.91%), and high perceived benefits of prevention (76.66%). Perceived barriers to prevention were at a moderate level (79.16%), while preventive behaviors were at a high level (53.25%). Additionally, all components of the Health Belief Model were found to have a statistically significant positive correlation with COVID-19 preventive behaviors at the .01 level. These findings highlight the importance of promoting health-related perceptions in alignment with the Health Belief Model to enhance effective disease prevention behaviors in the population