Protective measures for healthcare professionals by the COVID-19 health belief model

Objective: The Health Belief Model (HBM) is an effective instrument in explaining and measuring behaviors protecting and improving the health. It was aimed to evaluate the compliance of healthcare professionals (HCP), who are on the front-line in the combat with COVID-19 pandemic, with protective measures according to the HBM. Methods: The present study is a cross-sectional study, which was carried out in the period in the first wave of epidemic in a province in the central Anatolian region of Turkey, with 316 ambulance medics serving. Compliance with protective measures was evaluated with an online form. The questionnaire consisted of questions related to the sociodemographic characteristics of the individuals (age, gender, marital status, etc.), variables related to health beliefs (chronic diseases, smoking and alcohol addiction, COVID-testing, etc.), the protective measures they applied during the COVID-19 process (staying at home, washing hands, wearing masks, etc.), and the COVID-19 HBM Scale questions created by the researchers through a literature review.