2.2.5. Perceived Benefits of Face Masks

People’s understanding and awareness of the benefits that face masks offer in controlling and preventing the transmission of infectious viral diseases is termed perceived benefits of face masks (PBFM) [53]. People compare the performance of face masks with conventional preventive methods and decide according to the effectiveness of face masks as a social health measure [54]. They perceive that wearing face masks minimizes the spread of the virus from infected to healthy individuals in public gatherings. In addition, face masks remind people to practice social distancing measures [55]. Hansstein and Echegaray [56] assessed the motivations behind wearing face masks among young Chinese adults and found that as the air quality has worsened, awareness among the Chinese population of climate issues and health consequences has rapidly increased. Consequently, individuals have formed positive beliefs regarding the benefits of wearing face masks. Moreover, accessibility and convenience of use have further strengthened their beliefs in favor of face masks. Thus, we devised the fifth hypothesis, considering the above arguments, as follows:

The perceived benefits of face masks positively influence public willingness to wear face masks.