Influences of COVID-19 Knowledge, eHealth Literacy, COVID-19 Literacy, and Social Support on COVID-19 Preventive Behaviors among Foreign Students in Korea

Purpose: This study was conducted to identify the factors affecting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) preventive behaviors among foreign students in Korea. Methods: The study administered a descriptive cross-sectional survey to 201 foreign students. Data were collected from June 25 to July 6, 2022 using self-report structured questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive statistics and hierarchical regression analysis with SPSS for Windows version 27.0. Results: The participants were from China (n=58) or Vietnam (n=143), with a mean age of 22.28 years (SD=2.25 years) and length of stay in Korea of 13.94 months (SD=9.12 months). COVID-19 preventive behaviors were significantly different based on participants’ nationality (t=-3.31, p=.001), gender (t=2.05, p=.042), education level (t=-2.41, p=.017), and perceived health status (t=-4.46, p<.001), and were significantly correlated with COVID-19 knowledge (r=.17, p=.016), eHealth literacy (r=.33, p<.001), COVID-19 literacy (r=.22, p=.001), and social support (r=.26, p<.001). Hierarchical multiple regression analysis with those aforementioned variables explained approximately 16% of the variance in preventive behaviors. Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, it is necessary to find ways to improve eHealth literacy in order to create a safe environment for foreign students in Korea during outbreaks of infectious diseases such as COVID-19.