Protective Behavior Analysis of Gardeners in Zanjan County: A Development on the Health Belief Model

Preserving and developing human resources in high-risk agricultural environments requires observing agricultural safety principles. In this regard, understanding the protective behavior of gardeners with emphasis on the role of health belief model components in explaining the formation of protective behavior of gardeners in Zanjan city through the impact of knowledge on attitude has been selected as the purpose of this study. The study was conducted using the applied purpose and descriptive correlation method. The study population is gardeners in Zanjan city. The number of samples was calculated according to Cochran's formula of 293 people, and sampling was done using a stratified multistage sampling method. This survey research was conducted using a questionnaire, and its validity and reliability were assessed and confirmed. The results of this study showed that gardeners usually wear appropriate clothing and shoes as protective equipment when working with chemicals, but other personal protective equipment such as masks, hats, gloves, and goggles are less considered. Also, although gardeners have moderate to little knowledge of conservation behavior, there is a relatively good attitude towards the need to take preventive measures, which facilitates the implementation of the training program and its acceptance. Test of study hypotheses showed that 41% of the variance of gardeners' attitudes about preventive behaviors is formed under the influence of their knowledge. Further, the effect of attitude on all components of health belief is significant and explains almost half of the variability in perceived sensitivity, perceived severity, perceived benefits, self-efficacy, and practice guide. Path analysis indicates the explanation of 58% of changes in protective behavior based on the predicted model. Therefore, education, in addition to increasing knowledge and influencing attitudes, could affect gardeners' understanding of protective behaviors and provide the ground for implementing gardeners' safe behaviors.