Social Norms and Engagement in Protective Health Behaviors Among Rural Health Providers

The COVID-19 pandemic has had far-reaching effects for individuals and healthcare systems in the United States. Increasing and sustaining behavioral changes to reduce transmission of disease among medical providers is essential for the protection of the community at large. Using a social norms perspective, this study aimed to (a) examine the accuracy of perceptions of engagement in protective health behaviors among a sample of rural health providers, and (b) determine whether greater self-other discrepancies were associated with engagement in these behaviors. Electronic surveys were completed by 214 rural medical providers. Findings suggested that rural healthcare providers had exaggerated perceptions of peer engagement in several COVID-19-related protective health behaviors. As expected, positive self-other differences were positively associated with providers’ own behaviors, and perceived descriptive norms were associated with providers’ engagement in these behaviors. Future studies using normative interventions might examine how positive self-other differences increase the use of protective health behaviors over time.