Caring Behaviors Related to COVID-19: A Cross-Sectional Study in the Eastern of Iran

Background: Some recommendations and health protocols were presented for controlling COVID-19 after the outbreak such as the use of face masks, observing social distance, closure of schools, and etc. Despite these protocols, we witnessed different peaks and variants of COVID-19 during more than two years.This study investigated some risky behaviors such as not wearing face masks, violating social distance, and attendance at crowded places. Methods: We used a checklist containing some demographic, caring behaviors, and survey questions. Data were collected from four universities of Iran. Patients with positive PCR test of COVID-19 were included in the study. The minimum sample size required for this study was estimated to be 407, which were selected from the universities by proportional allocation. Results: The use of face masks proportion was different between the upper and lower age groups of 50 years (P =0.005). Also, this proportion was different in subgroups of educational level, job status, income, and living area. Conclusion: The space of most crowded places was confined and many patients did not use face masks and did not observe social distance in these places. Hence, the social distance and face mask using can be considered as the most important caring behaviors to deal with the COVID-19.