Association between the risk perception of contracting COVID-19 and sociodemographic characteristics in a Peruvian population

Abstract

Background: The perception of risk regarding coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been widely researched due to its association with the adoption of preventive measures. In addition, since the onset of vaccination, it has been reported that the population perceives a lower risk of getting infected. However, few studies have analyzed the factors associated with risk perception in low- and middle-income countries. The aim of this study was to determine the association between the risk perception of contracting COVID-19 and sociodemographic characteristics in Peruvian population. Methods: An analytical and cross-sectional study was conducted in four cities in Peru from October to December, 2021. The sample consisted of 821 individuals aged 18 years and older. A virtual questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographic data and assess the risk perception of contracting coronavirus based on the Health Belief Model. The process of back-translation, expert judgment, and reliability analysis using split-half correlation was conducted. Student's t-tests, analysis of variance with post hoc Tukey's test, and Spearman's correlation were employed. Results: Of the participants, 53.71% were women and 73.3% had a higher education level, 45.55% are self-employed, and 40.44% did not have a family member infected with COVID-19. The risk perception of COVID-19 infection was associated with participants' family antecedent of COVID-19 (p < 0.05). Regarding the factors analyzed, perceived susceptibility to COVID-19 was associated with age (p=0.002), occupation (p<0.05), and a history of COVID-19 (p<0.05), while the perceived benefits of adopting preventive measures against this disease were associated with educational level (p < 0.001). Conclusions: The risk perception of contracting COVID-19 was higher among those who had multiple infected relatives. Furthermore, the perception of susceptibility and the perceived benefits of using preventive measures were associated with sociodemographic characteristics.