Investigating the Effect of the Educational Intervention Based on the Protection Motivation Theory on Preventive Behaviors against Contracting COVID-19 among Police Station Employees in Yazd, Iran

Given the close communication and interaction between military forces and police station personnel with the public and the risk of contracting and transmitting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), this study was conducted to investigate the impact of an educational intervention based on the motivational theory of protection on preventive behaviors against contracting COVID-19 in police station employees of Yazd City, Iran.

This semi-experimental study was conducted on 66 employees of police stations in Yazd City. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire, with a confirmed validity and reliability and a Cronbach's alpha value above 0.80. First, pre-test questionnaires were completed by both groups. Then, an educational intervention based on the protection motivation theory was implemented for the intervention group, while no intervention was performed for the control group. Three weeks after the educational intervention, the post-test was completed. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS software and appropriate statistical tests.

The results of the Mann-Whitney test comparing the average score after training showed that the average score of behavior after training in the intervention group was higher than that in the control group (P < 0.001). The results of the Wilcoxon test to compare before and after the training showed that after the training, the average behavior score in the intervention group increased significantly (P < 0.001), but there was no significant change in the control group (P = 0.831).

The use of a training package designed based on the protection motivation theory to train police station employees can be effective in improving preventive behaviors against contracting COVID-19.