en Occupational Health Original Article <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="line-height:150%"><span courier="" new="" style="font-family:"><span style="color:black"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="line-height:150%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times="">Background:</span></span></span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="line-height:150%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""> The COVID-19 virus has caused concern and fear among people worldwide. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a <a name="_Hlk36977439">Community- Based Intervention </a>(CBI) based on the Protection Motivation Theory in preventing<a name="_Hlk36731036"> COVID-19</a> infection among bank employees. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br> <span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="line-height:150%"><span courier="" new="" style="font-family:"><span style="color:black"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="line-height:150%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times="">Materials and Methods:</span></span></span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="line-height:150%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""> This research was a quasi-experimental study (pre- and post-intervention). The study participants were 180 bank employees selected randomly from banks in Sirjan. The CBI was conducted over three months, and participants received educational interventions about promoting health-related behaviors and improving their working environment. Data were collected by a questionnaire with 62 questions in four parts: demographic information, knowledge, questions related to the structures of PMT, and questions about behaviors. Data was analyzed by paired t-test and Mc Nemar&rsquo;s test in SPSS23 software. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br> <span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="line-height:150%"><span courier="" new="" style="font-family:"><span style="color:black"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="line-height:150%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times="">Results:</span></span></span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="line-height:150%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""> The mean age of participants was 41.6 &plusmn; 2.16. There were significant differences in the mean scores of knowledge and perceived severity, perceived susceptibility, response efficiency, rewards, self-efficacy, response cost, fear, and protection motivation after the CBI (p<0.05). Also, health behaviors improved significantly after the CBI (P<0.001); for example, the prevalence of regular hand washing among the target group increased from 36.6% to 93.4%. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br> <span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="line-height:150%"><span courier="" new="" style="font-family:"><span style="color:black"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="line-height:150%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times="">Conclusion:</span></span></span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="line-height:150%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""> The results showed that Protection Motivation Theory was effective in improving COVID-19 prevention strategies among bank employees and may help prevent infection and control this disease outbreak.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div> COVID-19,Self-Efficacy,Knowledge,Health Behaviors, 39 45 http://johe.rums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-777-3&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Reza Sadeghi reza.sadeghi351@yahoo.com 1 22400319475328460012602 No Associated Prof., Dept. of Public Health, Sirjan School of Medical Sciences, Sirjan, Iran. Sirjan School of Medical Sciences Seyed Ali Razavinasab razavinasab57@gmail.com 2 22400319475328460012603 No Assistant Prof., Samen Alhojaj Hospital, Sirjan School of Medical Sciences, Sirjan, Iran. Sirjan School of Medical Science Narges Khanjani narges.khanjani@gmail.com 3 22400319475328460012604 Yes Professor, Dept. of Medical Education, Paul L. Foster School of Medicine, Texas Tech Health Sciences Center El Paso, Texas, USA. Texas Tech Health Sciences Center El Paso Victoria Momenabadi vici.momeni@yahoo.com 4 22400319475328460012605 No Assistant Prof., Dept. of Public Health, Bam University of Medical Sciences, Bam, Iran. Bam University of Medical Sciences