Abstract:
The predictive research aimed to examine 1) the level of health literacy of COVID-19,
vaccination and health belief perception 2) factors influencing preventive behavior towards COVID-
19 among people in rural area of Mahasarakham province. 397 samples were proportional stratified
random sampling selected. Data were collected by using online questionnaire including demographic
data, health literacy about COVID-19, health literacy about COVID-19 vaccination, health belief
perception, and preventive behavior towards COVID-19. The questionnaires were validated by four
experts, with Index of item-Objective Congruence (IOC) between .75-1.00. The KR-20 ranged from
.74-.78, and the Cronbach s alpha coefficient for all questions ranged from 0.86 0.90. Data were
analyzed by using descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression analysis. The results were as
follows:
1) 78.3 % of the samples had a high level in health literacy of COVID-19 (M=13.5, SD =
1.5), 61.5 % of the samples had a high level in health literacy of COVID-19 vaccination (M=12.7, SD
= 1.7), 76.1 % of the samples had a moderate level in Health Belief perception (M=59.8, SD = 5.1),
and 84.1 % of the samples had a high level in COVID-19 preventive behavior (M=90.2, SD = 9.0).
2) Health belief perception was the predictive factor affecting the COVID-19 preventive
behavior and could predict 14.9 % (β = 0.393, p < .001).
These results provide basic information for creating interventions to further preventive
behaviors.