Influence of Social Responsibility and Pandemic Awareness of Nursing Students on Covid-19 Preventive Behaviors

Background: Factors influencing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) preventive behavior require exploration to strengthen the response competencies of prospective healthcare professionals and reduce the pandemic’s impact. This study aimed to identify the level of COVID-19 preventive behavior among Korean nursing students and to determine the influence of social responsibility and pandemic awareness to present educational strategies for reducing disaster impact. Methods As a cross-sectional descriptive survey study using an online questionnaire, the participants were convenience sampled from one online community for nursing students and three nursing colleges located in Seoul, South Korea. Consequently, the data from 590 participants were analyzed by t-test, ANOVA, Pearson’s correlation, and linear multiple regression using SPSS. Results The factors influencing COVID-19 preventive behavior were identified to be social responsibility (B = .354, p < 0.001), pandemic awareness (B = .131, p = .016), impact of COVID-19 on daily life (B = .085, p = .012), and living in Daegu/Gyeong-buk area (B = .134, p = .017). Conclusion Based on the findings that social responsibility and pandemic awareness are key predictors of COVID-19 preventive behavior, customized educational programs and additional studies are recommended for raising social responsibility and pandemic awareness among prospective healthcare professionals as a part of disaster response.