en Nursing Review Articels <p><span style="line-height:2;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><span sans-serif=""><span style="color:#2980b9;"><b><i><span new="" roman="" times="">Background:</span></i></b></span><span style="color:#000066;"> </span><span new="" roman="" style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt; font-family:" times="">The COVID-19 disease has worse outcomes in individuals with underlying diseases and elderly individuals. Therefore, identifying COVID-19 risk perception and its related factors and outcomes</span><span new="" roman="" times="">&nbsp;in vulnerable groups<span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt; padding:0in">&nbsp;is essential for the health system</span></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 style="color:#000066;"><b><i><span new="" roman="" times=""> </span></i></b></span><span new="" roman="" style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt; font-family:" times="">This study aimed to determine COVID-19 risk perception, its related factors, and outcomes in vulnerable groups (individuals with underlying diseases, smokers, opioid addicts, the elderly, and pregnant women)</span><span new="" roman="" times="">.</span></span></span><br> <span new="" roman="" times=""><span style="color:#2980b9;"><b><i>Methods:</i></b></span><span style="color:black"> <span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt; padding:0in">This systematic review was conducted based on the</span>&nbsp;Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA)<span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt; padding:0in">. The search was carried out using the keywords &ldquo;Risk perception&rdquo; and &ldquo;COVID-19&rdquo; in PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, SID, Proquest, and Magiran databases in the period from 2019 to July 3, 2021. The quality of selected studies was checked by two authors independently according to the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale adapted for cross-sectional</span>.</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="" style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt; font-family:" times="">In the initial search, 640 articles were found, of which 56 remained in the screening phase. Then, the full text of 56 articles was studied. Eventually, based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria of the articles, 8 articles were reviewed. This systematic review showed that suffering from an underlying disease, more anxiety, younger age, and female gender are associated with higher COVID-19 risk perception. </span><span new="" roman="" times="">The outcomes of COVID-19 risk perception were higher COVID-19 risk perception, delayed treatment sessions, increased anxiety and fear, increased ineffective safety behaviors, and greater compliance with health protocols</span><span new="" roman="" times="">.</span></span></span><br> <span style="color:#2980b9;"><b><i><span new="" roman="" times="">Conclusion:</span></i></b></span> <span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;"><span new="" roman="" times="">Creating sensitivity and proper COVID-19 risk perception is necessary to follow health protocols, but high COVID-19 risk perception can endanger vulnerable groups&rsquo; mental and physical health. Besides, reducing the sensitivity of vulnerable groups toward COVID-19 can expose them to the disease</span></span></span></span></span></p> <strong><span dir="RTL"></span></strong> COVID-19, Risk, Perception, Vulnerable Populations 1 13 http://nmcjournal.zums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-852-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Mahsa Nouri mahsa.noori1375@gmail.com 100319475328460013825 100319475328460013825 No Department of Medical Surgical Nursing, Zanjan Nursing and Midwifery School, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran Nasrin Hanifi nasrinhanifi@zums.ac.ir 100319475328460013826 100319475328460013826 Yes Department of Critical Care and Emergency Nursing, Zanjan Nursing and Midwifery School, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran Negin Babaeivahed nbabaivahed69@gmail.com 100319475328460013827 100319475328460013827 No Department of Critical Care and Emergency Nursing, Zanjan Nursing and Midwifery School, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran Masoumeh Mortaghy Ghasemy 100319475328460013828 100319475328460013828 No Department of Medical Surgical Nursing, Zanjan Nursing and Midwifery School, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran