Personal preventive protocols and travel patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background — Travel restrictions and adhering to health protocols while traveling was among the key strategies to combat COVID-19 pandemic. Objective — The present study aims to measure and evaluate travel patterns and compliance with COVID-19 prevention protocols during traveling. Methods — In this cross-sectional study, 589 individuals from the capitals of six provinces of Iran were included in the study using the cluster sampling method. There were 40 clusters. For data analysis, the mean value of responses in each individual was calculated for each section of the questionnaire. Results — The response rate was 92% (589/640). Of all participants, 309 (52.5%) were women. The mean age of study participants was 42.84 years (SD=16.59). Among participants, 355 (60.3%) had a travel history during the COVID-19 pandemic. We revealed statistically significant relationships of the travel history with age (P<0.001), education level (P<0.001), and province (P<0.001). No statistically significant relationships of the travel history with socioeconomic status (SES), gender, and occupation subgroup were detected (P>0.05). The majority of study participants (38.5%) traveled for recreational purposes. Conclusion: According to our findings, unnecessary travel was not avoided in Iran during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the participants who traveled during the COVID-19 pandemic did not follow safety precautions. Thus, some of the most important issues such as cultural influences, different risk tolerance levels among people, law enforcement, and stricter oversight by decision makers need to be taken into account.