Determining university students' compliance behaviors to mask use in the COVID-19 pandemic according to health belief model

This descriptive study was planned to investigate the compliance of first-year students of Hacettepe University Nursing and Engineering Faculties with behaviors towards protection from new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and their perceptions of COVID-19 risk within the scope of the Health Belief Model. First-year students enrolled in Hacettepe University Faculty of Engineering and Hacettepe University Faculty of Nursing who volunteered to participate in the research were included. The research was recorded between 20.12.2021 and 20.04.2023. In the collection of research data, an online questionnaire form was sent to the students through their dean's offices. The study was conducted with 103 people from the Faculty of Nursing and 90 from the Faculty of Engineering. The questionnaire form includes two parts. In the first part, there are introductory socio-demographic characteristics questions. The 'Health Belief Model Scale for Prevention from COVID-19' was applied in the second part. The scale's Cronbach's alpha value was 0.858, and the validity and reliability of the scale were at a good level with 73% because of confirmatory factor analysis. Data were analyzed using t-test, ANOVA, Pearson chi-square, and Scheffe tests. The high scores obtained from the Health Belief Model Scale for prevention from COVID-19 indicate that their compliance with the COVID-19 risk perceptions and mask usage situation is good. Nursing Faculty students (mean 86.3±0.58) got higher scores than Engineering Faculty students (mean 83.6±0.49). Nursing Faculty students adapt to the use of masks more than Engineering Faculty students in school (p=0,018) and closed common areas (p=0,01). Women in the Faculty of Engineering have a higher perception of COVID-19 risk (p=0.016). In both faculties, women are more inclined to use masks. According to the results of the research, necessary suggestions were made for the students of the Faculty of Engineering, who are not related to health, to receive education on health-related issues.