Health Science Monitor

fa Investigating public participation in adopting preventive health behaviors during COVID-19: a cross-sectional study in Urmia, Iran ارتقای سلامت، پیشگیری و کنترل بیماری‌ ها Health Promotion, Protection, and Disease Control پژوهشي Research Article <div style="text-align: right;"></div> Background & Aims: Observing public health protocols for COVID-19 has been documented as one of the key strategies to prevent the spread of this contagious condition and mitigate its impact. The present study investigated public participation in terms of adopting preventive health behaviors during this pandemic. Materials & Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed in the city of Urmia, Iran, in 2020. Two statistical populations, viz., the general population and public places, were recruited. Employing the ratio estimate formula, the sample size of the general population was determined as 2,398 individuals. Additionally, eight public places were selected from the 30 neighborhoods in the city of Urmia, via convenience sampling. The data collection tool was a researcher-made 47-item questionnaire, whose face and content validity and reliability were confirmed. The questionnaire was then completed upon visiting the selected public places in person by naturalistic concealed observation. The data were finally analyzed using the SPSS Statistics-16, with descriptive statistics. Results: Face mask use was at a good level in seven public places, except for restaurants and diners. Also, social distancing practices were at a moderate level in bakeries, electronic government services offices, beauty salons, public transport vehicles, and banks. Conclusion: Based on the results, there is a dire need to strengthen and maintain public participation by paving the ground through running advertising campaigns, designing and implementing educational interventions for various trade guilds and jobs, conducting advisory activities, and exploiting social media to inform and train the general population. COVID-19, Public Participation, Protocols, Prevention 48 59 http://hsm.umsu.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-92-2&slc_lang=fa&sid=1 Rana Hosseini hosseini.r@umsu.ac.ir 10031947532846002264 10031947532846002264 Yes Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Clinical Research Institute, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran Robabeh Bahadori bahadori@gmail.com 10031947532846002265 10031947532846002265 No Reproductive Health Research Center, Clinical Research Institute, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran Mina Maheri kabehmahery@yahoo.com 10031947532846002266 10031947532846002266 No Department of Public Health, School of Public Health, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran Mehran Mirzaei mehran.mirza@yahoo.com 10031947532846002267 10031947532846002267 No Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Clinical Research Institute, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran Vida Cheshmberah vida.cheshmberah@gmail.com 10031947532846002268 10031947532846002268 No Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Clinical Research Institute, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran