Sources of COVID-19-Related Information in People with Various Levels of Risk Perception and Preventive Behaviors in Taiwan: A Latent Profile Analysis

Peng-Wei Wang, Yi-Lung Chen, Yu-Ping Chang, Chia-Fen Wu, Wei-Hsin Lu and Cheng-Fang Yen
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Peng-Wei Wang: Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 80708, Taiwan
Yi-Lung Chen: Department of Healthcare Administration, Asia University, Taichung 41354, Taiwan
Yu-Ping Chang: School of Nursing, The State University of New York, University at Buffalo, New York, NY 14214-3079, USA
Chia-Fen Wu: Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 80708, Taiwan
Wei-Hsin Lu: Department of Psychiatry, Ditmanson Medical Foundation Chia-Yi Christian Hospital, Chia-Yi City 60002, Taiwan
Cheng-Fang Yen: Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 80708, Taiwan

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 4, 1-13

Abstract: The present study aimed to identify the distinct levels of risk perception and preventive behaviors during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak among people in Taiwan and to examine the roles of information sources in various levels of risk perception and preventive behavior. The online survey recruited 1984 participants through a Facebook advertisement. Their self-reported risk perception, adopted preventive behaviors and COVID-19-related information were collected. We analyzed individuals’ risk perception and adopted preventive behaviors by using latent profile analysis and conducted multinomial logistic regression of latent class membership on COVID-19-related information sources. Four latent classes were identified, including the risk neutrals with high preventive behaviors, the risk exaggerators with high preventive behaviors, the risk deniers with moderate preventive behaviors, and the risk deniers with low preventive behaviors. Compared with the risk neutrals, the risk exaggerators with high preventive behaviors were more likely to obtain COVID-19 information from multiple sources, whereas the risk deniers with moderate preventive behaviors and risk deniers with low preventive behaviors were less likely to obtain COVID-19 information compared with the risk neutrals. Governments and health professions should take the variety of risk perception and adopted preventive behaviors into consideration when disseminating information on COVID-19 to the general public.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; risk perception; preventive behavior; information; health belief model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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