en Nursing Orginal research <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height:2;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><b><span style="color:#2980b9;">Background:</span><span style="color:#2f5496"> </span></b>Healthcare behaviors, including preventive practices, treatment adherence, and decision-making during health crises, are strongly influenced by individual risk perceptions.<span style="color:black"></span></span><br> <span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="color:#2980b9;"><b>Objectives:</b></span><span style="color:black"> This study aimed to understand risk perception during the COVID-19 pandemic.</span><br> <span style="color:#2980b9;"><b>Methods:</b></span> A hybrid concept analysis was conducted using the Schwartz-Barcott and Kim model in three phases: theoretical (systematic review of 51 articles from PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, SID, MagIran, and IranMedex, 2019&ndash;2024), fieldwork (semi-structured interviews with seven COVID-19 patients), and final analytical integration.</span><br> <span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="color:#2980b9;"><b>Results:</b></span><span style="color:black"> The theoretical phase generated 139 initial codes and 10 subcategories, whereas the fieldwork phase yielded 172 initial codes and nine subcategories. COVID-19 risk perception emerged as a multifaceted phenomenon comprising three categories: antecedents (information overload, personal vulnerability, awareness of an unknown disease, distrust of guidelines, and observing pandemic realities), attributes (cognitive dimensions, including information seeking and severity judgment, and emotional dimensions of fear and anxiety), and consequences (ranging from adherence to protective protocols and altruism to pandemic fatigue and non-adherence). The fieldwork phase also identified culturally specific influences within the Iranian context, including reliance on spiritual beliefs and traditional medicine.</span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""></span></span><br> <span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><b><span style="color:#2980b9;">Conclusion:</span><span style="color:#2f5496"> </span></b>COVID-19 risk perception is a multidimensional construct with cognitive and emotional attributes shaped by specific antecedents and leading to behavioral consequences. This definition enables nurses to systematically assess patients&#39; risk perceptions, identify barriers to preventive behaviors, and develop culturally sensitive interventions to improve adherence during future public health emergencies.</span></span></span></span><br> &nbsp;</div> Risk Perception, COVID-19, Pandemic, Hybrid Model, Concept Analysis, Schwartz-Barcott and Kim. 85 104 http://nmcjournal.zums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-1051-2&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Mahsa Nouri MahsaN@gmail.com 100319475328460016829 100319475328460016829 No Nursing Department, Zanjan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Zanjan, Iran Mahtab Aligholipour aligholipourmahtab@gmail.com 100319475328460016830 100319475328460016830 No Emergency and Critical Care Nursing Department, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran Cristina Costeira cristina.costeira@ipleiria.pt 100319475328460016831 100319475328460016831 No Nursing Department, Health Sciences School, Polytechnic University of Leiria, Portugal Nasrin Hanifi nasrinhanifi@gmail.com 100319475328460016832 100319475328460016832 Yes Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Health and Metabolic Diseases Research Institute, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran