Perceived access, fear, and preventative behavior: Key relationships for positive outcomes during the COVID‐19 health crisis

Abstract

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic reduced real and perceived access to healthcare services, exacerbating pandemic fear, and thus influencing consumers' adoption of preventative health behaviors. Extending the EHBM, results from two studies show that perceived access to health services and pandemic fear impact an individual's general and COVID-preventative health behaviors. High perceived access reduces pandemic fear through its buffering effects on perceived health vulnerability and pandemic-related health system concern, especially with telehealth usage during the pandemic. While pandemic fear motivates COVID-19 vaccination, pandemic fear reduces personal preventative health behavior (e.g., healthy eating, exercising) and has little effect on personal COVID-preventative behaviors (e.g., wearing a mask, social distancing) when individuals perceive high pandemic-related control. Moreover, the fear-behavior link does not hold for preventative health visits; instead, perceived access directly promotes preventative visits and screening. This research informs public health stakeholders' communication, education, and resource allocation during health crises like the COVID-19 pandemic.

Research on the Intervention and Prevention of College Students' Mental Health Crisis From the Perspective of Ideological and Physical Education

“…Preventive health behavior significantly impacts the mental wellbeing of people, provided that they are aware of the issue ( 53 ). Moreover, Vann et al claimed that fear of death after catching a disease also develops preventive health behavior among people ( 54 ). The people get worried about getting ill; therefore, they take precautionary measures to prevent the disease.…”

“…The study found that perceived severity and perceived susceptibility of the disease positively influence the preventive behavior of the citizens. Moreover, Vann et al also examined the factors that are positively and significantly associated with preventive behavior toward mental wellbeing ( 54 ). The results showed that both perceived fear and accessibility of wellbeing information positively and significantly impact preventive behavior.…”

Age Differences in Psychological Antecedents and Behavioral Consequences of Stigmatization Associated with COVID-19 among Koreans

“…COVID-19 prevention guidelines refer to a set of instructions on how individuals should behave to counteract COVID-19 infection (e.g., social distancing, washing hands, wearing face masks) [ 37 , 38 ]. The compliance with COVID-19 prevention guidelines can be directly increased by the fear of the ICC [ 39 , 40 , 41 ]. In addition, this fear may affect the compliance through influencing stigmatization associated with COVID-19.…”

“You can't make me do it!” A model of consumer compliance

“…Communications that create more realistic risk perceptions may also increase anxiety and fear. Vann et al (2022) find that pandemic fear has complex outcomes: increasing COVID‐19 vaccination rates but reducing more long‐term preventative behaviors such as healthy eating and exercise. Schneider and Leonard (2021) report that anxiety is reduced when consumers perceive effective ways to protect themselves from the virus.…”