The Applicability of the Health Belief Model in Predicting Hand Washing in Zimbabwean Adult Population during COVID-19

Abstract

The world has been atrophied by a new pandemic, the COVID-19, which was first discovered in December 2019 in China. The aim of the study was to assess the applicability of one of the widely used psychological health behaviour models, the Health Belief Model (HBM), in predicting hand washing as a prevention strategy for COVID-19 among the adult Zimbabwean population. The study used a questionnaire administered through online and social media platforms. The questions were reliable with a Cronbach’s α = 0.72. Independent variable multicollinearity analysis was attested using Variance Inflation Factor (VIF<1) and Condition Index (Index<11). A total of 125 males and females, at least 15 years of age and residing in Zimbabwe, were reached. Fifty-percent of the respondents were males. About 60% of the respondents were aged between 18 and 35 years. Mean scores (out-of-5) for the constructs were: perceived benefits of hand washing (4.43); perceived self-efficacy (4.21); perceived severity (3.97); perceived susceptibility (3.41); and perceived barriers (1.85). Binary Logistic Models revealed that strong and significant predictors of proper hand washing were perceived self-efficacy (OR = 2.84 [95% CI: 1.24–6.52]) and perceived susceptibility (OR=1.72 [95% CI: 1.13–2.62]). The study results infer that COVID-19 intervention programmes should aim to increase perceived self-efficacy and susceptibility as these are likely to increase the odds of proper hand washing. An increase in proper hand washing is therefore likely to reduce the spread of the disease. A decrease in the disease burden is likely to reduce government expenditure on health care.