Health Beliefs and Compliance of Standard Precautions of COVID-19 among Employed Nurses

The adherence to standard precautions guidelines as the main strategy for preventing healthcare-associated infections such as COVID-19. This study aimed to specify a health belief model to predict the standard precautions of employed nurses.

This descriptive cross-sectional was conducted in Qom, Iran, from March to May 2020. One hundred and ninety-five randomly sampled registered nurses from two hospitals completed self-reported compliance with standard precautions of COVID-19 and health belief model scale. Data analysis was performed using partial least squares path modeling.

Less than one-tenth (7%) of participants reported compliance with all standard precautions items. There was a significant relationship between health motivation and standard precautions (β=0.515, t=13.650). Cues to action (β=0.356, t=4.512) were identified as the strongest predictor of health motivation and, perceived threat (β=0.143, t=2.144) was the weakest predictor. The model explained approximately 20% of the variance in compliance with standard precautions of COVID-19.

The results indicated that health belief model constructs are considered significant predictors of compliance with standard precautions of COVID-19 among Iranian employed nurses. The results can help standard precautions training to reduce hospital infections and protect the health of patients and nursing staff.