COVID-19 Precautionary Behavior Among Israeli Elders

Objectives: Older individuals and those with existing diseases and weakened immune system have a higher risk for comorbid health condition such as COVID-19 and even mortality than others who were not diagnosed as diseased. Therefore, elders need to take additional precautions against the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the factors influencing precautionary behavior of people aged 65 and above in Israel in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: Phone interviews were conducted using a structured questionnaire, among 200 persons aged 65 and above, Clalit Health Services insured members, who were sampled through a systematic random sample. Participants completed measures of subjective general health status, subjective oral health status, number of natural teeth and presence of dentures, knowledge about COVID-19, perceived likelihood contracting COVID-19, perceived fear of contracting COVID-19, diagnosed with COVID-19, familiarity with COVID-19 patients, vaccination against COVID-19, precautionary behavior, and sociodemographic characteristics.
All data was coded and analyzed using the statistical software SPSS-25. A multivariate regression model was analyzed with precautionary behavior as the dependent variable.
Results: The participants' mean score of precautionary behavior was relatively high (mean=3.30, sd=0.58, range 1-4). In a multivariate regression analysis, it was found that the variables explained 24.0% of the precautionary behavior variance and that the strongest predictor was the number of vaccines against COVID-19.
Conclusions: These findings suggest that policy makers must continue developing intervention programs to raise awareness regarding the pandemic and ways to prevent its spreading, especially among elders who are at increased risk of COVID-19 morbidity and mortality.