Healthcare graduate students' perceived control and preventive behavior for COVID-19 in Japan and the United States: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

BackgroundBoth individual and policy level perceived control are known to be positively related to preventive behavior, and both may differ among healthcare graduate students with different cultural backgrounds. This study compared the preventive health behavior and perceived control among domestic and international healthcare graduate students in Japan and the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic, and analyzed factors associated with preventive health behavior and perceived control.MethodsThe study used a self-administered online survey, conducted at two universities in Japan and one university in the United States. The survey included sociodemographic data and scales of preventive health behaviors, perceived control (policy level), and perceived health competence (individual level). Association among variables were analyzed using structural equation modeling.ResultsA total of 610 students (485 domestic and 125 international) in Japan and 231 students (220 domestic and 11 international) in the United States completed the survey. Participants' average age was 31.3 years, and 67.0% were female. Model fit of structural equation modeling was good (χ2 = 9.419, P = 0.151, comparative fit index = 0.995, RMSEA = 0.026). Japanese students had better preventive health behavior than American (β = −0.407, P < 0.001) and international students in both countries (β = −0.112, P < 0.001). However, Japanese students had significantly lower perceived control than American students (β = 0.346, P < 0.001) and international students in both countries (β = 0.188, P < 0.001). Overall higher perceived control (β = 0.175, P < 0.001) and being female (β = 0.141, P < 0.001) were significantly associated with better preventive behavior. Although higher perceived control was related to higher perceived health competence (β = 0.295, P < 0.001), perceived health competence was not associated with preventive behavior (β = 0.025, P = 0.470). Religion was not associated with perceived control or preventive behavior.ConclusionNationality was identified as the main factor associated with both perceived control and preventive behavior. Policy level perceived control was more strongly associated with preventive health behavior than individual level perceived health competence. Further investigations in the contribution of specific cultural dimensions associated with perceived control and preventive behaviors are recommended.

Comparing factors related to perceived control and preventive behaviors from COVID‐19 between Japanese and American nursing students: A cross‐sectional study

“…Higher levels of perceived control were related to higher preventive behaviors among participants in both countries, which aligns with previous studies (Abuliezi et al, 2022; Goodwin et al, 2021; Kondo et al, 2021; Robinson & Lachman, 2017; Salehi et al, 2016). As infection control measures are closely related to governmental policies, students aware of them engage in more preventive behaviors (Kondo et al, 2021).…”

“…Conversely, students at University A in Japan and Campus A in the United States had fewer preventive behaviors, although they had higher perceived control. The trend was similar among healthcare graduate students: although Japanese students had the lowest perceived control compared with American and international students, they had the highest preventive behaviors (Abuliezi et al, 2022).…”

“…The variables investigated were selected using strong theoretical bases to measure factors related to control beliefs and health behaviors including infection prevention. All the scales used in this study were validated scales developed and used in previous studies (Abuliezi et al, 2022; Kondo et al, 2021).…”

Cross-sectional study of factors related to COVID-19 vaccination uptake among university healthcare students

“…Perceived control is defined as “an individual’s subjective belief about the amount of control he or she has over the environment or outcome.” Conversely, “actual control describes the objective amount of control the individual has over the environment or outcome” (p. 254) ( 26 ). Studies have reported the importance of perceived control in infection prevention behaviors ( 25 , 27 , 28 ). In this study, perceived infection control was defined as the extent to which individuals felt that the COVID-19 infection was controlled.…”

The Impact of Perceived Quality of Government Subsidies on Residents’ Travel Intention Post-COVID-19 in Wuhan, China

“…The difference lies in the fact that the abovementioned scholars' studies were about perceived external governmental control, whereas this paper was about the perceived control of the internal self-behavior. Perceived control at both the individual and policy levels was positively associated with preventive behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic [51]. It is therefore reasonable to assume that after the implementation of the policy, residents will judge whether they are likely to receive the relevant subsidies through their own knowledge of the policy, which will have an impact on their travel intention.…”