Public willingness to adhere to COVID-19 precautionary measures in Sudan: an application of the Health Belief Model

Introduction: coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a highly infectious disease caused by the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). Several public health and social protective measures that may prevent or slow down the transmission of COVID-19 were introduced. However, these measures are unfortunately being neglected or deliberately ignored by some individuals. Methods: a cross sectional online based survey was conducted to identify possible factors influencing public willingness to adhere to precautionary measures and preventive guidelines against COVID-19 during the lockdown periods in Sudan. The questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic data of study participants, their health beliefs and willingness regarding adherence to precautionary measures against COVID-19 based on the constructs of the Health Belief Model. Results: a total of 680 respondents completed and returned the online questionnaire. Significant predictors of the willingness to adhere to the precautionary measures against COVID-19 were gender (beta=3.34, P<0.001), self-efficacy (beta=0.476, P<0.001), perceived benefits (beta=0.349, P<0.001) and perceived severity (beta=0.113, P=0.005). These factors explained 43% of the variance in respondents' willingness to adhere to COVID-19 precautionary measures. Participants who were female, confident in their ability to adhere to the protective measures when available, believing in the benefits of the protective measures against COVID-19 and perceiving that the disease could have serious consequences were more likely to be willing to adhere to the protective measures. Conclusion: female respondents and respondents having higher self-efficacy, higher perceived benefits and higher perceived severity were more likely to be willing to adhere to the protective measures against COVID-19 in Sudan.