LAUSR

Abstract Objective The current study integrated Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) and extended Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to evaluate factors affecting the perceived effectiveness of COVID-19 prevention measures among Filipino during Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) in Luzon, Philippines. Methods A total of 649 Filipino answered the online questionnaire which contained of 63 questions. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was utilized to derive the causal relationships of latent variables construct. Results SEM showed that understanding of COVID-19 had significant direct effects on perceived vulnerability and perceived severity. In addition, perceived vulnerability and perceived severity had significant indirect effects on intention to follow. Intention to follow had significant direct effects on actual behavior and adapted behavior which subsequently lead to perceived effectiveness. Interestingly, understanding of COVID-19 was found to have a significant indirect effect on perceived effectiveness. Conclusions The current study is one of the first studies that analyzed factors affecting perceived effectiveness of COVID-19 prevention measures during the global pandemic. Finally, the integrated PMT and extended TPB of this study can be applied and extended to evaluate the perceived effectiveness of COVID-19 measures in other countries that currently dealing with COVID-19 pandemic.