@Article{IJMHP.2020.013214,
AUTHOR = {Hamed Rezapouraghdam, Osman M. Karatepe},
TITLE = {Applying Health Belief Model to Unveil Employees’ Workplace COVID-19 Protective Behaviors: Insights for the Hospitality Industry},
JOURNAL = {International Journal of Mental Health Promotion},
VOLUME = {22},
YEAR = {2020},
NUMBER = {4},
PAGES = {233--247},
URL = {http://www.techscience.com/IJMHP/v22n4/40884},
ISSN = {2049-8543},
ABSTRACT = {The overwhelming majority of the countries around the globe have witnessed severe cases of the COVID-19 outbreak. Unfortunately, many countries
are still beset with such an infectious disease. Despite the fact that there is currently no specific approved cure for this deadly infection, restrictions (e.g., lockdown and border closing) are gradually eased. Meanwhile, businesses are
reopening and outdoor leisure activities are about to start again based on strict
health, social distancing, and hygiene rules. However, as we still have a long
way to reach an ultimate treatment for such deadly virus, changing human behavior sounds the best defense in tackling this challenge till a vaccine is developed
for protection against COVID-19. With this realization, using Health Belief Model as the theoretical underpinning, our study endeavors to unveil employees’
adherence to protective health behaviors (PHBs) in the hospitality industry, which
is known as a people-focused, labor-intensive, and service-oriented business. This
is so crucial since there is a high degree of (frequent) interaction between employees and customers in hotels. Moreover, such establishments are known as areas
where customers engage in a variety of activities that make health concerns even
more crucial. To achieve the objectives of this research, we used secondary data
obtained from one of the largest hotel-related online communities in the world:
the ‘Tales from the front desk’. Using template analysis approach, 1680 employees’ comments were examined. The results revealed that hotel employees found
themselves at high risk of being infected and several obstacles that impeded their
PHBs in the workplace were identified. Our study will provide momentous implications about PHBs against COVID-19 for the hospitality industry.},
DOI = {10.32604/IJMHP.2020.013214}
}