en Nursing Orginal research <span style="line-height:2;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><span sans-serif=""><span style="color:#2980b9;"><b><i><span new="" roman="" times="">Background:</span></i></b></span> <span new="" roman="" times="">People&rsquo;s<b> </b>attitude and performance regarding social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic play a crucial role in determining society&rsquo;s readiness to adopt new hygiene practices</span><span new="" roman="" times="">. </span></span></span><br> <span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><span sans-serif=""><span style="color:#2980b9;"><b><i><span new="" roman="" times="">Objectives: </span></i></b></span><span new="" roman="" times="">This study aims to evaluate the attitude and performance of the adult population regarding social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic in the city of Gerash, Iran.</span></span></span><br> <span new="" roman="" times=""><span style="color:#2980b9;"><b><i>Methods:</i></b></span><span style="color:black"> This cross-sectional study included 623 adults in Gerash who were recruited through convenience sampling. The data collection instrument was a self-designed social distancing attitude and performance questionnaire. The data were analyzed using SPSS v. 16.</span></span><br> <span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><span sans-serif=""><span style="color:#2980b9;"><b><i><span new="" roman="" times="">Results</span></i><span new="" roman="" times="">:</span></b></span><span new="" roman="" times=""><span style="color:#000066;"> </span>The results showed that 66% of the participants were female, and 51% were aged between 18 and 29 years. The participants&rsquo; mean (SD) scores for attitude and performance were 19.41 (2.36) and 14.76 (1.75), respectively. Approximately 16% of the participants had a<b> </b>negative attitude, and 15% had poor performance regarding social distancing. The mean (SD) score of attitude and performance was significantly higher in females, married, and older participants (p<0.05). In addition, logistic regression showed that the performance of the subjects with a negative attitude was 0.26 times that of the performance with a positive attitude (P= 0.001, OR= 0.265).</span></span></span><br> <span style="color:#2980b9;"><b><i><span new="" roman="" times="">Conclusion:</span></i></b></span><span new="" roman="" times=""> According to the study findings, it is recommended that the healthcare authorities in the city of Gerash take effective measures to educate the age group under 30 years, the male population, and single individuals to change their attitude and improve their performance to better control the spread of COVID-19</span></span></span></span> Attitude, COVID-19, Performance, Social Distancing 14 25 http://nmcjournal.zums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-888-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Sajad Pouryousef Pourusefsajad@gmail.com 100319475328460013829 100319475328460013829 No MSc of Nursing, School of Paramedical, Gerash University of Medical Sciences, Gerash, Iran Rouhollah Rouhandeh r.rouhandeh@gmail.com 100319475328460013830 100319475328460013830 No School of Paramedical, Gerash University of Medical Sciences, Gerash, Iran Sedigheh Yeganeh sedighe.yegane@yahoo.com 100319475328460013831 100319475328460013831 Yes MSc of Nursing, Gerash Amir-al-Momenin medical and educational center, Gerash University of Medical Sciences, Gerash, Iran Hajar Haghshenas haghshenah@gmail.com 100319475328460013832 100319475328460013832 No PhD Candidate, School of nursing, Gerash University of Medical Sciences, Gerash, Iran Esmail Parsayee Manesh parsalary@gmail.com 100319475328460013833 100319475328460013833 No MSc of Nursing, School of nursing, Gerash University of Medical Sciences, Gerash, Iran Tayebeh Bahmani Bahmani.t@yahoo.com 100319475328460013834 100319475328460013834 No Instructor of operating room, department of operating room, school of Nursing, fasa University of Medical Science, Fasa, Iran Ahmad Reza Simin ahmadrsimin7979@gmail.com 100319475328460013835 100319475328460013835 No Student Research Committee, Gerash University of Medical Sciences, Gerash, Iran Misagh Mashi 100319475328460013836 100319475328460013836 No Student Research Committee, Gerash University of Medical Sciences, Gerash, Iran Samira Daneshvar Dehnavi s_daneshvar@yahoo.com 100319475328460013837 100319475328460013837 No MSc in Critical Care Nursing, Shaheed Rajaei Cardiovascular Medical and Research Center, Tehran, Iran