Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences Epidemiology and Health System Journal 2980-7891 10 1 2023 03 30 The Reasons for Avoidance of Wearing a Face Mask by Some People During COVID-19 Outbreak: A Qualitative Study 22 30 10.34172/ehsj.2023.04 EN Mohammad-Rafi Bazrafshan https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3655-7778 Farshad Bargrizaneh https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8823-4017 Amir Mansouri https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4281-8877 Seyede Fatemeh Ahmadpoori https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4760-7630 Omid Soufi https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5515-0194 Maasumeh Elahi https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7571-2278 Hamed Delam https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2054-4892 Journal Article 10.34172/ehsj.2023.04 2022 04 27 2023 01 07 Background and aims: Since one of the most important methods of preventing the transmission of COVID-19 is wearing a mask, the present research was conducted to clarify the reasons for avoiding wearing a face mask by some people during the coronavirus outbreak. Methods: This is a qualitative content analysis study. In this study, 45 people from the cities of Evaz, Lar, and Gerash participated and were interviewed. The interview method was semi-structured, and the participants were selected based on purposive sampling. The collected data were analyzed by the conventional approach of the qualitative study. Results: The participants of this study consisted of 45 individuals. The mean age of the samples was 41.89±12.88 years. A total of 30 themes were extracted during the qualitative content analysis and then divided into 6 categories, including personal, social, cultural, environmental, economic, and physical factors. Conclusion: According to the findings of this study, the factors influencing the lack of tendency to wear masks by people in the COVID-19 epidemic period are numerous and interact with each other. Therefore, for encouraging people to perform such protective behavior during the coronavirus epidemic, it is necessary to consider individual, social, environmental, economic, and physical factors together.