Article Type: Case Study Article Citation: Kinya K. Kigatiira. (2020). EFFICACY OF FEAR APPEALS ON ADOPTION OF
COVID-19 PREVENTIVE MEASURES: A CASE OF BODA BODA
RIDERS IN NAIROBI COUNTY, KENYA. International Journal of Research
-GRANTHAALAYAH, 8(6), 219 – 228 . https://doi.org/10.29121/granthaalayah.v8.i6.2020.533 Received Date: 08 May 2020 Accepted Date: 29 June 2020 Keywords: Fear Appeals Adoption COVID-19 Preventive Measures
This study was an investigation of the effectiveness of fear appeals on the adoption of COVID-19 preventive measures among boda boda riders in the Nairobi County, Kenya. The problem of the study was that little or no research has been conducted on fear appeals and adoption of COVID-19 preventive measures, hence a gap that demands specific studies to be undertaken to fill it. This study draws from the Health Belief Model (HBM). Case study research design was used because the study focused only on boda boda riders operating in the seventeen constituencies in Nairobi County. Convenience sampling was used to identify the riders who were available and willing to participate in the study. The main data collection tool was telephone interviews. Findings of this study revealed that fear appeals were effective in making boda boda riders in Nairobi County adopt the COVID-19 preventive measures. The boda boda riders’ felt that they were susceptible to the coronavirus disease, police arrests, fourteen days mandatory quarantine, motorcycles being impounded and payment of fines, if they did not adopt the COVID-19 preventive measures. Moreover, the riders believed that the virus posed a more serious threat to their health and lives. The operators perceived susceptibility to the threats, elicited high levels of fear. The COVID-19 preventive measures, also, provided the riders with an effective method of changing behavior which they believe will protect them from contracting the virus. This study recommended that in order to motivate the boda boda riders to continue practicing the COVID-19 preventive measures, the government should frequently give the riders masks and hand sanitizers. Further, more communication campaigns should be developed and conducted on COVID-19 awareness and prevention among boda boda riders.
1. INTRODUCTIONThe tactic of
using fear-based messages to make people change their behavior and protect them
from life-threatening situations, is a popular persuasive strategy that has
been practiced for many years, all over the world. According to Dahl, Frankenberger, and Manchanda (2003) and Thompson, Barnett
and Pearceet (2009), it is believed that fear appeals
initially emerged in the early 1980s from the clothing industry, in particular
Benetton, Calvin Klein and Richard James. Benetton and Calvin Klein clothing
companies, used shocking details in their advertisements (shock advertising/ shockvertising) and won awards for heightening public
awareness about social issues. This approach, in turn, inspired public health
campaigns such as road safety, AIDS prevention and anti-smoking. In public
health initiatives, the use of the fear appeals in the form of threatening
health messages, is commonly used as a strategy for health promotion, disease
prevention and adoption of behavior within a population (Brown & Whiting,
2014; Simpson, 2017; Sweene & Stephens, 2013).
This tactic involves using images or messages to elicit negative emotions such
as anxiety, in the expectation that the target audience will be motivated to
adopt the recommended health behaviors (Brown & Whiting, 2014). According
to Kelly (2000) many of the diseases that cause premature illness and death,
such as, cancer, heart diseases and AIDS, can be prevented if people change
their behavior to reduce their risk of contracting the illness. In December
2019, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a new human disease, was discovered
in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province in Central China. The disease is highly
contagious, which means it can be spread, directly or indirectly, from one
person to another. Densely populated communities or cities enhance its quick
spread (WHO, 2020). The virus is spread through respiratory droplets
transmitted into the air from coughing or sneezing, which people nearby can
take in through their nose, mouth or eyes. It can also be transmitted when
human beings touch surfaces that are contaminated with the virus and further,
with their unclean hands, touch their eyes, nose and mouth (Africa Center for
Disease Control and Prevention, 2020). To date, the disease has no cure or
vaccine. Worldwide, millions of people have been infected and hundreds of
thousands have lost their lives to the virus.
In Africa,
the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Egypt on 14th February 2020 (Al
Jazeera and News Agencies, 2020). The disease then spread to a number of other
countries in the continent within weeks. Kenya first recorded its first
COVID-19 positive case on the morning of 13th March 2020. As of 29th June 2020,
the country had a total of 6,190 COVID-19 positive cases out of which 2,013
people had recovered from the disease. 144 people had also lost their lives to
the virus (Ministry of Health, 2020). Out of the 47 counties in Kenya, Nairobi
County had the highest number of COVID-19 positive cases, 3,098, out of 6,190
people who had tested positive, countrywide. Since Kenya recorded its first
COVID-19 positive case, the government has put in place a number of preventive
measures, some of which are meant to protect commercial motorcycle operators,
commonly known as boda boda
riders from contracting and spreading the virus, as they come into contact with
many people in the course of their work. The boda boda operators were ordered
to frequently wash their hands with running water and soap or clean hands with
alcohol-based sanitizer; put on masks and carry only one passenger at a time to
enable them maintain physical distance (Ministry of Health, 2020). However,
despite boda boda riders
being ordered to adhere to the preventive measures, Mutahi
Kagwe, who is the Cabinet Secretary of health said
the government had noted with serious concern that the operators were not
following the stipulated directives. The CS, thus, issued a strong warning that
should the riders continue flouting the measures put in place, the government
would not only ban operations for rogue riders, but the whole sector (Muriuki, 2020). The riders not only risk their bikes being
impounded by the authority but also their livelihoods (Ministry of Health,
2020). This stern warning was meant to elicit fear which would in turn make boda boda riders adopt the
recommended preventive measures. However, fear appeals can either be effective
or ineffective in the acceptance of health messages and adoption of recommended
behavior(s). Therefore, this study investigated the efficacy of fear appeals on
the adoption of COVID-19 preventive measures among boda
boda riders in Nairobi County, Kenya. 2.
THEORETICAL
FRAMEWORK
This study draws
from the Health Belief Model (HBM). The HBM was developed in the 1950s by
social psychologists Irwin M. Rosenstock, Godfrey M. Hochbaum,
S. Stephen Kegeles and Howard Leventhal at the U.S.
Public Health Service. The model was developed in an effort to determine why
most of the general public was not involved in disease prevention programs,
specifically the screening programs for tuberculosis (Janz & Beker, 1984; Louise, 2016). HBM,
comprises six components: (1) perceived susceptibility refers to an
individual’s perception of the threat occurring, (2) perceived severity refers
to an understanding of the seriousness of a health situation or threat, (3)
perceived benefit is the manner in which an individual perceives that a
recommended action would reduce the risk of a health threat, (4) perceived
barriers are the impediments to adopting recommended behavior, (5) cue to
action is a trigger for prompting engagement in health promoting behavior, and
(6) self-efficacy is the perceived ability to perform the recommended action. The health belief model is ideal for this
study because it seeks to understand why individuals are willing or not willing
to participate in preventive programs. The model indicates that while health messages may indicate a desired
course of action for the audience, message recipients still need to have a
reason to believe the message, understand why it is worthwhile to their
personal lives and believe that recommended measures will have positive impact
on their health (DuPre, 2010). More particularly, in
regard to effectiveness of fear appeals and adoption of health preventive
measures, the health belief model asserts that when message recipients are
presented with a fear appeal, resulting feelings of susceptibility lead them to
evaluate whether or not adopting the messages recommendations will protect them
from the threat-related negative consequences. Fear appeals, according to De
Hoog, Stroebe and De Wit (2007) and Witte and Allen (2000), are said to be
effective if message recipients decide that adopting the recommended action(s)
will protect them. 3.
LITERATURE
REVIEW
3.1. EFFICACY OF FEAR APPEALS ON ADOPTION OF HEALTH PREVENTIVE MEASURESFear appeals, “are
persuasive messages that emphasize the potential danger and harm that will
befall individuals if they do not adopt the messages recommendations” (Dillard,
Plotnick, Godbold, Freimuth,
& Edgar, 1996; Maddux & Rogers, 1983). A fear appeal, according to
Gore, Madhavan, Curry and McClurg (1998) comprises of
three main components: fear, threat and perceived efficacy. Fear is a negative
emotional reaction that is usually accompanied by heightened physiological
arousal to a perceived threat (Gore et al., 1998). Fear emanates from a threat
on an individual’s well-being, which in turn motivates the person to align
their attitudes and/or behaviors with those recommended in the message (Maddux
& Rogers, 1983; Williams, 2012; Witte, 1992). Threat is an external
stimulus that creates a perception in message receivers that they are
susceptible to some negative situation or outcome (Gore et al., 1998). A threat
is a trigger to the emotion of fear to occur. This reaction of fear emanating
from threat is causal in nature (Bates, 2014). Perceived efficacy, on the other
hand, is an individual’s belief that the recommendations in the message can be
implemented and will effectively reduce the threat depicted (Gore et al.,
1998). The desired outcome
of a fear appeal is the acceptance of the message and adoption of its
recommendations by the target recipients. However, fear appeals can either be
effective or ineffective. Additionally, they can have positive effects, while
others have null effects or negative effects (De Hoog et al., 2007; Peters,
Ruiter, & Kok, 2012; Witte & Allen, 2000).
The efficacy of fear appeals can be determined by the amount of fear a message
is meant to arouse in the recipient. Two competing theories, the linear and
curvilinear models, make predictions about the amount of depicted fear. The
linear model predicts that high depicted fear is more effective in increased
adoption of a message’s recommendations than moderate depicted fear (Witte
& Allen, 2000). However, the curvilinear model predicts that high levels of
depicted fear is less effective in adoption of a message’s recommendations than
moderate levels of depicted fear (Hovland, Janis
& Kelly, 1953; Janis & Feshbach, 1953). According to Witte
and Allen (2000), fear appeals are more effective when they involve health
related behaviors, including messages which assure recipients that they are
capable of performing the appeal’s recommended actions (self-efficacy) and/or
that performing the recommendations will result in desirable consequences. On
the same note, Rogers (1983) found that effective fear appeals: “(1) have a
message that is credible as it warns [that] if the current behavior continues,
the probability of negative health consequences is high, and (2) the warning
provides a person with an effective method of changing behavior that guarantees
protection from the predicted aversive health outcome.” Further, Robertson
(1975) and Rothman, Martino, Bedell, Detweiler and Salovey (1999) assert that
persuasive messages that recommend a one-time behavior (e.g. getting
vaccinated), are likely to be adopted because they require less effort. On the
other hand, behaviors that must be repeated over an extended period of time
(e.g. exercising), are not likely to be adopted because more effort is needed. Similar to Robertson
(1975) and Rothman et al. (1999) assertions, Tannenbaum, et al. (2015)
conducted a meta-analysis study on fear appeals effectiveness for influencing
attitudes, intentions and behaviors. The meta-analysis included 127 articles (9%
unpublished) yielding 248 independent samples collected from diverse
populations. Study findings revealed that effectiveness of fear appeals
increased when the message included efficacy statements, depicted high
susceptibility and severity, recommended one-time only (versus repeated)
behaviors and a target audience that included a large percentage of female
message recipients. An experimental study on fear, threat and perceptions of
efficacy from frightening skin cancer messages, was conducted by Stephen and
Witte (1998). The results indicated that highly threatening fear appeals, were
more effective when combined with a strong efficacy message emphasizing the
effectiveness of the recommended behavior. Contrary to fear
appeals that achieve the desired outcome(s), ineffective fear appeals contain
messages that do not produce fear (Shen & Dillard, 2014). Fear appeals may
have negative consequences for recipients with low self-efficacy, as the
message may strengthen the recipient’s belief that they cannot avoid health
threats (Hastings, Stead, & Webb, 2004). In addition, the fear appeal may
psychologically reduce the evoked fear by opposing the message. Such defense
mechanisms can make the recipient deny the message by viewing it as not true.
This mechanism results in the fear diminishing and the message not being taken
seriously (Lewis, Watson, Tay & Witte, 2007). Further, Shen and Dillard
(2014) noted that, people who experience the highest degree of fear are the
same persons who will most likely reject the message. Muthusamy, Levine
and Weber (2009) conducted an experimental study on the role of fear-inducing
message content in a high fear context, specifically that of HIV/AIDS pandemic
in Namibia. A total of 434 male and female undergraduate students enrolled in
various departments in the University of Namibia (UNAM) participated in the
study. Findings revealed that, fear appeals have little substantive yield in
scaring those already scared. In addition, a survey on the use of fear appeal
on antismoking advertising campaigns on Turkish youth was conducted by Akyuz (2017). Using questionnaires to collect data from
smoker and non-smoker individuals, the study found that advertisements that
contain fear appeals that stimulate quit behavior among cigarette users are not
effective. However, fear appeals may be effective in creating avoidance to
start cigarette use among potential young cigarette users. 3.2. COVID-19 PREVENTIVE MEASURESSince the outbreak
of the coronavirus disease, the World Health Organization has stipulated a
number of preventive measures to curb the life-threatening disease. The
measures include: (1) regular and thorough cleaning of hands with running water
and soap or alcohol-based hand sanitizer, (2) maintenance of one meter distance
between oneself and another, (3) avoiding crowded places, (4) avoiding touching
of eyes, nose and mouth, (5) covering the mouth and nose with a bent elbow or
tissue when coughing or sneezing, (6) staying at home if one is unwell, and (7)
if one has a cough, fever and difficulty in breathing, they should seek medical
attention (WHO, 2020). In addition to the
WHO preventive measures, most countries in the world that are experiencing the
COVID-19 outbreak, have implemented more measures. For example, on 21st
March 2020, the Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Cone, announced a number of
restrictions which were imposed on the country’s citizens. The restrictions
included; closure of all non-essential production services, bars and
restaurants, prohibition of outdoor activities, visits to the park, gardens and
movement of persons entering or leaving some regions of Southern Italy, such as
Calabria and Campania (Lorenzo & Trolio, 2020).
In Spain, on the 14th of March 2020, limited movement of persons,
suspension of all on-site educational activities, and closure of public retail
establishments, bars, hotels and restaurants, were the adopted measures to
contain the progress of the disease (Rodl & Parter, 2020). In India, social isolation and lockdown,
were the two main preventive measures used by the government (Tomar & Gupa, 2020). In Africa,
presidents of countries such as South Africa, Rwanda and Uganda ordered
nationwide lockdowns in a bid to combat further spread of the deadly
coronavirus. However, rather than a nationwide lockdown, the president of Ghana
ordered a three-week lockdown in its two biggest cities, Accra and Kumasi
(CGTN, 2020). In Kenya, a number of mitigation measures were put in place. Some
of these measures include: Closure of all schools and institutions of learning,
suspension of all gatherings, meetings and events, an everyday dusk to dawn
curfew, cancellation of all passenger flights, regular handwashing, wearing of
masks, maintenance of social distance (the one-meter distance rule) and
restricted movement in and out of the Nairobi Metropolitan area. 3.3. USE OF FEAR APPEALS IN THE ADOPTION OF COVID-19 PREVENTIVE MEASURES
In order to make
people adopt the various COVID-19 preventive measures, different governments
introduced fear appeals in the form of threats, fines and arrests to its
citizens. For instance, provincial police in Ontario, a province in
east-central Canada, warned that people would face fines for violating orders
to close certain businesses as a way of limiting gatherings (National Post,
2020). In the United Arab Emirates, on 20th May 2020, less than a
month after partially relaxing restrictions, the government revised some of its
penalties. This was as a result of an increase in infections believed to have
stemmed from people who had violated the already set COVID-19 preventive
measures. Some of the penalties included 10,000 dirhams ($2,722.59) fine for
those found hosting parties with each attendee having to pay 5,000 dirhams. A
daily national curfew that was initially shortened by two hours, was also
extended back to its original duration lasting from 8.00 p.m. to 6.00 a.m.
(Abigail, 2020). In Uganda, as
President Yoweri Museveni announced tougher measures in an address to the
nation, he also warned that he would act harshly against citizens who would
disregard his directives. Further, the president also threatened to severely
punish police and army officers caught beating people who were not adhering to
the preventive measures (Olukya, 2020). Similarly,
the Kenyan government signed into law the rule that says persons who breach the
travel, mass gatherings and isolation rules will face a fine of up to Kenya
shillings 50,000, or a jail term of up to three years or both in line with the
public health law. In addition, the government in its social distancing
measures stated that travelers coming into the country would be put under
mandatory quarantine at their own cost. In a bid to make Kenyans comply with
the COVID-19 preventive measures, the Health Cabinet Secretary, Mutahi Kagwe said, “Much to our
disappointment, the majority of people continue to ignore measures spelt out
earlier. If we behave normally, this disease will treat us abnormally” (Mutai,
2020). 4.
METHODOLOGY
4.1. STUDY DESIGN
Case study research
design which focused only on boda boda
riders was used in this study. The design was appropriate because the study
sought to investigate the efficacy of fear appeals on the adoption of COVID-19
preventive measures among boda boda
riders in Nairobi County. 4.2. POPULATION OF THE STUDY
The population of
the study targeted all the boda boda
riders operating in Nairobi County. Of importance to note is that the
researcher found no official statistics on the exact number of boda boda riders operating in
Nairobi County. According to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries
Commission (2013), Nairobi County is divided into 17 constituencies namely: Westlands, Dagoretti North, Dagoretti South, Langata, Kibra,
Kasarani, Roysambu, Starehe,
Ruaraka, Mathare, Embakasi
North, Embakasi East, Embakasi South, Embakasi West, Embakasi Central, Makadara and Kamukunji. All
constituencies in Nairobi County were included, such that the findings of the
study formed a representative section of the entire county. 4.3. SAMPLE AND SAMPLING TECHNIQUE
This study used the
qualitative sampling technique. A qualitative sample size is best determined by
the time allocation, resources available, the objectives of the study (Patton, 1990) and data saturation (Fusch &
Ness, 2015). Different scholars give varying numbers for
participants to be interviewed in a qualitative study. For example, Guest, Bunce and Johnson (2006) found that 12
interviews conducted from a homogeneous sample is enough to reach data
saturation. Similarly, Kuzel (1992) recommended 6-12
interviews for a homogeneous sample. However, Green and Thorogood (2004) noted
that most qualitative researchers experienced data saturation after
interviewing approximately 20 participants belonging to one analytical relevant
category. Therefore, based on Green and Thorogood (2004), Guest et al. (2006)
and Kuzel (1992) recommendations, this study
interviewed one boda boda
rider from each of the 17 constituencies in Nairobi County totaling to a sample
size of 17 respondents. Convenience sampling
was used to identify boda boda
riders who were available and willing to participate in the study. In order to
achieve a sample size of 17 respondents, the researcher contacted friends,
colleagues and relatives who reside in different constituencies in Nairobi
County to help in identifying boda boda operators in their area of residence who were willing
to participate in the telephone interview. 4.4. DATA COLLECTION
The researcher used
qualitative data collection methods. The main data collection tool was
telephone interviews with boda boda
riders. Advantages of telephone interviews include decreased cost and travel,
ability to reach respondents who are dispersed in a large geographical area and
enhanced interviewer safety (Aday 1996; Bernard,
2002). In this study, telephone interviews were the most appropriate data
collection tools because they enabled the researcher to work from home and have
physical distance with the respondents. This, in turn, prevented the researcher
and respondents from contracting and spreading the coronavirus disease during
data collection. 5.
FINDINGS
AND DISCUSSION
5.1. DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION
All
the respondents in the study were males. This shows that the boda boda business sector is
dominated by males. In terms of the age of the boda boda riders, most of them ranged between 30- 39 years while
a minority were between 40-49 years and one was 24 years. This indicated that
majority of the boda boda
riders are youths. In addition, majority of the respondents were married while
a minority were single. This shows that the operators rely on the boda boda business as a source of
income to be able to take care of their family financial needs. Majority of the
riders had an experience of between one to ten years in the boda
boda business, while a minority had 11-20 years,
experience. This indicates that the respondents were in the boda
boda business long enough to be able to provide
relevant information for the study. Majority of the boda
boda riders had attained primary school education
followed by those with secondary school education. Further, one rider was a
university graduate and another one had no formal education. This shows that
most boda boda riders have
low levels of education which reduces their chances of getting jobs in the
formal sector. 5.2. PERCEIVED THREATS
All
the seventeen Boda boda
operators in this study, were in consensus that they were at the risk of
contracting the coronavirus disease, being arrested, motorcycles being
impounded, fined and/or being quarantined if they did not adhere to the
COVID-19 preventive measures. However, the riders emphasized that they were
more susceptible to contracting the virus because in a day, they carry many
people including taking the sick to hospital. With
regard to whether the coronavirus disease would have serious effects on their
lives should they contract it, all respondents asserted that the disease was a
serious threat to their health and lives. One respondent said, “Going by
what we see in the international news channels regarding the coronavirus
disease, it is dangerous because it is life threatening. Many people who live
abroad have lost their lives to the disease.” When
the respondents were asked if they had received warnings not to flout the
preventive measures, study respondents said that the health CS, Mutahi Kagwe, had on several
occasions warned that the coronavirus disease is a serious and deadly disease.
The riders also said that they had been warned that should they not adhere to the preventive measure, they risked
being arrested and taken for a fourteen days mandatory quarantine, motor bikes
being impounded, paying a penalty of 20,000 shillings or a jail term of six
months. One respondent said: The government
told us it’s closely watching us. If we don’t follow the stipulated measures,
it will take tougher measures on us. We don’t know what the measures will
entail. Maybe it will give a directive that boda bodas should not operate anymore. Findings revealed
that respondents were susceptible to contracting the coronavirus
disease, police arrests, fourteen days mandatory quarantine, motorcycles being
impounded and payment of fines, if they did not adopt the COVID-19 preventive
measures. However, the coronavirus disease posed a more serious threat to the
riders’ health and lives. These findings were in tandem with those of
Tannenbaum, et al. (2015) who found that the effectiveness of fear appeals
increased when the message depicted high susceptibility and severity. Further,
the current research revealed that the government, which is considered a
credible source of information, had issued threat messages to boda boda operators flouting
regulations set in place to contain the spread of the coronavirus. The
warnings, in turn, made the boda boda
riders adopt the COVID-19 preventive measures. This finding support those of
Rogers (1983) who found that effective fear appeals have a message that is
credible as it warns if the current behavior continues, the probability of
negative health consequences is high. 5.3. FEAR EMANATING FROM THE PERCEIVED THREATS
All
the respondents said that they feared contracting the coronavirus disease
because the disease has neither cure nor vaccine and that one can either get
well or lose their life. The riders also feared being taken into mandatory
quarantine at one’s own expense, spreading the virus to their wives and
children, inability to work and earn money to provide for family needs. With
regard to the level of fear that emanated from the perceived threats, all
respondents asserted that the level of fear they experienced was high. One
respondent said: “Nobody wants to die. Contracting the coronavirus disease,
according to me, is like a death sentence.” The
study showed that boda boda
riders’ perceived threats of contracting and spreading the coronavirus disease,
being taken into mandatory quarantine at one’s own expense, inability to work
and earn money to sustain their family needs while sick, elicited high levels
of fear that made the operators adopt the COVID-19 preventive measures. This
finding is in agreement with the linear model of fear appeals that predicts
that high levels of fear increase motivation to adopt the message’s
recommendations (Witte & Allen, 2000).
5.4. PERCEIVED EFFICACY
To
avert the contraction and spread of the coronavirus disease, all the
respondents stated that they together with their passengers, wear masks, keep
distance, wash hands with soap if they are near a handwashing station and if
not, they use alcohol-based hand sanitizers. The riders also carry only one
passenger at a time to enable them to have physical distance with the
passenger. One rider said, “One of the boda boda regulations is that we should only carry one
passenger. Therefore, even before the coronavirus pandemic, I have always been
carrying one passenger at a time.” However, some riders asserted that
maintaining physical distance when carrying a passenger was difficult. The
passenger is usually pushed forward thus having contact with the rider,
whenever the rider slows down after riding at a high speed. On the same note,
other riders pointed out that a motorcycle is not big enough to enable the
rider and passenger maintain one or one-and-a-half-meter physical distance. The
respondents also stated that they believed adhering to the measures reduced the
risk of being arrested, quarantined and contracting the coronavirus disease.
One boda boda rider said: From the time Kenya recorded its first
coronavirus positive case, I have carried many passengers. Since I strictly Another respondent
said: The coronavirus preventive measures have
protected us not only from contracting the virus but other diseases as Findings
of the study revealed that all the boda boda riders adopted the covid-19 preventive measures. The
measures include carrying one passenger, wearing masks, keeping distance,
washing hands with soap if they are near a handwashing station and if not, they
use alcohol-based hand sanitizers. The respondents also stated that they
believed adhering to the measures reduced the threat of contracting the
coronavirus disease, being arrested and quarantined. These findings are in
agreement with those of Rogers (1983) and Witte and Allen (2000) who found that
effective fear appeals provide an effective method of changing behavior and
guarantee protection from the predicted aversive health outcome. 6.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, this
study revealed that fear appeals were effective in the adoption of COVID-19
preventive measures among boda boda
riders in Nairobi County. The boda boda riders’ felt that they were susceptible
to the coronavirus disease, police arrests, fourteen days mandatory quarantine,
motorcycles being impounded and payment of fines, if they did not adopt the
COVID-19 preventive measures. Moreover, the riders believed that COVID-19 posed
a more serious threat to their health and lives. The feelings of susceptibility
to the threats, in turn, elicited high levels of fear among the boda boda operators. The COVID-19 preventive measures, also, provided the
riders with an effective method of changing behavior which they believe will
protect them from contracting the virus. 7. RECOMMENDATION
Drawing from
the conclusions, this paper recommends that the government should frequently
give boda boda riders masks
and hand sanitizers. This will motivate the operators to continue adopting the
COVID-19 preventive measures because behaviors that must be repeated over an
extended period of time require more effort. Further, more communication
campaigns should be developed and conducted on COVID-19 awareness and
prevention among boda boda
riders. SOURCES OF FUNDING
None. CONFLICT OF INTEREST
None. ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I am thankful to all boda boda riders who took part in
the study. REFERENCES
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