The Mediating Role of Germ Aversion in the Relationship between Fear of COVID-19 and Intention to Vaccinate

Abstract

Objective: In the study, it was aimed to determine the fear level of COVID-19 and to demonstrate the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and intention to vaccinate. Materials and Methods: The study population consisted of young, middle, and elderly patients and their relatives who applied to a family medicine unit operating in the city center of Düzce. Data were collected from 530 people using the face-to-face survey technique. The researchers used IBM SPSS Statistic Base 23 V and AMOS package programs for statistical analysis. Results: The empirical result of the study revealed that as the fear level of COVID-19 increased, the intention to get vaccinated for COVID-19 increased positively. In addition, it has been determined that germ aversion behavior has a significant indirect effect and fully mediates the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and intention to get vaccinated. Conclusions: This research revealed that increasing COVID-19 fear level positively increases the intention to be vaccinated through high germ aversion behavior.

Keywords

• COVID-19
• Fear
• Germ Aversion
• Vaccine
• Structural Equation Modeling

COVID-19 Korkusu ile Aşı Olma Niyeti Arasındaki İlişkide Mikroptan Kaçınmanın Aracılık Rolü

Öz

Amaç: Çalışmada COVID-19 korku düzeyinin belirlenmesi ve COVID-19 korkusu ile aşılama niyeti arasındaki ilişkinin ortaya konulması amaçlanmıştır. Materyal ve Metot: Araştırmanın evrenini Düzce İl merkezinde faaliyet gösteren bir aile hekimliği birimine başvuran genç, orta ve ileri yaş grubu hasta ve hasta yakınları oluşturmuştur. Veriler yüz yüze anket tekniği kullanılarak 530 kişiden toplanmıştır. Verilerin analizinde IBM SPSS 23 ve AMOS paket programları kullanılmıştır. Bulgular: Çalışmanın ampirik sonucu COVID-19 korku düzeyi attıkça, COVID-19 aşı olma niyetinin de olumlu yönde arttığını ortaya koymuştur. Bunun yanı sıra mikroptan kaçınma davranışının, COVID-19 korkusu ile aşı olma niyeti arasındaki ilişkide önemli derecede dolaylı bir etkiye sahip olduğu ve tam bir arabuluculuk ettiği tespit edilmiştir. Sonuç: Bu araştırma, artan COVID-19 korku düzeyinin yüksek mikroptan kaçınma davranışı yoluyla aşı olma niyetini olumlu yönde artırdığını ortaya koymuştur.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• COVID-19
• Korku
• Mikroptan Kaçınma
• Aşı
• Yapısal Eşitlik Modellemesi

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