Understanding the behaviors and counseling need of COVID-19 pandemic on Taiwanese people through Health Belief Model

BACKGROUND: The outbreak of COVID-19 has had a psychological and social impact on people. This study aims to understand the behaviors of the general public towards to COVID-19 and need for counseling through the health belief model (HBM).METHODS: This is a qualitative study conducted between February and May 2021 in Taiwan. With survey method as the purposed sampling and structured questionnaire were used for data collection from the internet and paper materials. A total of 253 structured questionnaires filled by the general public were collected. The data was filed and analyzed using SPSS v. 18.0. Item analysis, descriptive analysis, and stepwise regression were also conducted.RESULTS: Important predictive factors to the action on COVID-19 prevention of the public include: "subjective shock caused by COVID-19," "perceived threat," and these factors explaining the amount of variance is 13.4%. Two important predictive factors to need for counseling after COVID-19 impact were also identified, including "anxiety and depressed mood induced by COVID-19," and "positive attitude towards of preventing COVID-19," contributing 35.8% of variability.CONCLUSIONS: The result of this study can be taken as reference by counselors when helping people cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.