Association Between Normative Behavior, Acceptance, and Adherence to Public Health Measures During Covid-19 Pandemic in Mombasa County, Kenya

Abstract

In responding to emerging pandemics, it is essential to factor in the normative behavior of community members who are the targeted actors for the government’s adoption of any public health policies. The acceptance describes the association between normative behavior, acceptance, and adherence to strategies put in place by the government to combat COVID-19 With the application of the planned behavior and rational choice-exchange theory, the descriptive study enhanced our understanding of these theories by seeking: To establish the extent to which normative behavior is associated with acceptance of public health measures for controlling the spread of COVID-19: To determine the nature of the association between normative behavior and adherence to public health measures for controlling COVID-19 in Mombasa County: To establish the association between acceptance and adherence for controlling COVID-19 pandemic regarding normative behavior in Mombasa County. A survey was used to collect details, and a discussion guide was designed based on the variables. The findings indicates that respondents with the attitude category of normative behavior were 10.52% less likely to accept public health measures while those with the perceived controlled behaviour were 9.05% less likely to accept public health measures compared to those subjective normative behaviour. The findings also indicated that respondents with the attitude normative behaviour were 9.74% less likely to adhere to public health measures while those with the perceived contolled behaviour were 8.06% less likely to adhere to public health measures compared to those with the subjective normative behaviour. The research findings enhance our understanding of how public policy can be developed and influenced by normative behavior in society in response to current and future pandemics.