Is COVID-19 a Disease or “Disease”? Personal Beliefs and Status Vulnerability as Determinants of Preventive Behaviour of Persons with Haemophilia in Croatia

The protection from the coronavirus, especially among persons with severe diseases, has been one of the central topics since the beginning of the pandemic.It has been shown that real (physical) and symbolic threats (beliefs related to the pandemic) have an opposite effect on behaviour: personal vulnerability (threats to physical and material well-being) instigates appropriate preventive behaviour, while symbolic threats result in neglecting or in various ways avoiding of epidemiological measures.In this paper we attempted to examine the extent to which objective (status) vulnerability and personal beliefs regarding the pandemic were absolutely and concurrently relevant factors of preventive behaviour among persons with haemophilia.The survey was conducted among adults with haemophilia in Croatia (N=98).Along with health status, age and income were S o c i o l o g i j a i p r o s t o r also considered as indicators of objective vulnerability.Furthermore, beliefs were examined by exploring satisfaction with the corona crisis management, tendency towards conspiracy theories, opinions on vaccine safety and disease severity, and the fear of becoming infected.The results revealed a correlation between preventive behaviour and age and beliefs (gathered in a unique syndrome), while health and material status did not play a significant role.The regression showed that beliefs were statistically significant and were the only independent determinant of preventive behaviour.The results support the findings suggesting that beliefs grouped around the tendency towards conspiracy theories can be more relevant for preventive behaviour than status vulnerability, including haemophilia-related health impairment.