Association of fear of COVID-19 and preventive behaviors (PB) against COVID-19 in Iran

Introduction: The world is currently experiencing a pandemic of COVID-19. The pandemic may affect physical and mental health. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the fear of COVID-19 and study the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and preventive behaviors against COVID-19. Material and methods: We conducted a web-based cross-sectional study to evaluate the fear of COVID-19 and preventive behaviors against COVID-19 among the volunteer population in Golestan Province, Iran in May 2020 and June 2020. The online questionnaire included the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) and the prevention behaviors against COVID-19, which are used to assess the fear and prevention behaviors of the population, respectively. The data were presented by mean and frequency. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with Fear of COVID-19 at a significant level of 0.05 in Stata 14. Results: A total of 734 of the 900 individuals contacted completed the survey, with a participation rate of 81.5%. The mean age of the participants was 33.97 ± 10.68 years and 375 (51.9%) were females. The mean Fear of COVID-19 score in the participants was 19.69 ± 5.96. There was a significant positive correlation between Fear of COVID-19 and preventive behaviors (r = 0.19, p < 0.001). Multiple linear regression analysis showed participants with a higher perceived threat of COVID-19, women, married participants, health workers and people with underlying diseases had higher levels of fear of COVID-19. Conclusions: The fear of COVID-19 in Iranian society is high, which indicates the need to pay attention to the mental health in pandemic conditions. Appropriate intervention action can be designed and implemented according to the factors that affect fear. In addition, it should be noted that people with less fear are less likely to observe the COVID-19’s preventative behaviors