Survey health literacy in Mashhad University of Medical Sciences regarding COVID-19 protocols

 Adequate health literacy and compliance with COVID-9 health and safety protocols are among the main ways to break the SARS-CoV-2 transmission chain. This study aimed to investigate the level and relationship between awareness, attitude and behavior of students, staff and faculty in Mashhad University of medical sciences, regarding compliance with COVID-9 health and safety protocols in 2021. This analytical cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted at Mashhad University of medical sciences, Mashhad, Iran in October 2021. The study sample included 411 students, staff and faculty selected through available sampling. The data were collected using a previous standard questionnaire and analyzed through the partial least squares (PLS) approach for structural equation modeling (SEM) using Smart PLS software (version 3.0). We employed descriptive and inferential statistics for our data analysis.  Respondents ‘awareness, attitude and behavior towards COVID-19 health protocols yielded significant positive correlations (P<0.001). Furthermore, the mean score percentage of awareness, attitude and behavior were 85%, 65% and 84% of the total score, respectively.  Additionally, respondents’ mean scores for behavior and attitude differ significantly across age, gender, job and marital status.  The level of awareness of the participants in Mashhad University of Medical Sciences about the COVID-19 health safety protocols was good. A significant relationship was observed between awareness, attitude and behaviors related to compliance with COVID-19 protocols. It seems that these people can be good representatives in the community to increase people's awareness, considering the participants’ observance of the protocols.