Perception of risk and adherence to prophylactic measures to COVID-19: A study with elderly people

Purpose: The present study was designed to evaluate the risk perception of being infected by SARS-CoV-2 in elderly people, what preventive measures they took and to examine the role of perceived risk in preventive behaviors toward COVID-19 in this population. Methods Data was collected by telephone interviews, April 15th to April 30th, 2020 during the first COVID-19 outbreak in Portugal. Participants were asked their opinion about the level of risk they thought they were exposed to regarding infection with SARS-CoV-2 and what preventive measures they took to protect themselves. Spearman's correlation was used to assess the relationship between risk perception and number of preventive measures taken. Results Our sample consisted of 85 participants from the “Covilhã Aging Study” with a mean age of 79.54 years (SD = 5.04). 36.5% of our participants reported their perception of risk as being “ high or very high”, and men more often than women perceived this risk as “high or very high”. Risk perception is positively associated with age (r S =0.289, p = 0.004), depression (r S =0.281, p = 0.005) and number of preventive measures taken (r S =0.178, p = 0.05). Most participants (94.1%) reported that they stayed at home as much as possible, 49.4% wore a facemask, 55.3% washed hands and 17.6% weared gloves. 55.3% considered age as a vulnerability factor. Conclusion Risk perception could contribute to explain the adoption of preventive measures in elderly people. The capacity to assume preventive measures in this group suggests that they are able to take care of themselves, and that forceful confinements may not be needed. The results of this study can be used by health policy makers to focus on effective risk communication, especially for vulnerable groups such as the elderly.