Teaching adults how to prevent COVID-19 infection by health workers: The application of intervention mapping approach

INTRODUCTION: Education is one of the most important approaches to preventing infectious diseases at the time of the pandemic. The purpose of the study was to develop an intervention-training program using an intervention mapping approach (IMA) to prevent COVID-19 infection in adults at the time of the pandemic by health workers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present study was a study protocol where IMA was used as a planning framework for developing an intervention-training program to prevent COVID-19 infection in adults at the time of the pandemic by health workers in Ardabil city. Six intervention mapping (IM) steps have been described in this protocol. As the first step, needs assessment was performed by reviewing the studies, qualitative evaluation, and interviews. In the second step, the matrix of change objectives was designed from the intersection of performance goals and determinants. Later on, after designing the program and planning the program implementation, the program evaluation plan was developed. RESULTS: IMA guided us in designing and implementing a control-oriented training program with the participation of the participants along with the definition of outcomes, performance goals and determinants, theoretical methods and practical applications, intervention program, implementation, and step by step assessment. CONCLUSION: IM is a control-oriented, systematic, participation-based approach to design and implement targeted and on-going health promotion programs based on the needs of the target group at the time of the pandemic by health workers.