The bivariate analyses for each of the demographic characteristics and each investigated PMT construct are documented inTable1. The assumptions of the nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis H test were met, which illustrated a statistically significant difference between the genders. Post hoc Dunn-Bonferroni tests indicated that male respondents had significantly higher self-efficacy (t= 2.85,P< 0.005), whereas the female nurses had significantly higher response cost (t= 2.81,P= 0.005). Among the age groups, there was a statistically significant difference with regard to the emergency nurses' passive protection motivation (2(3)= 29.04,P< 0.0001),perceived vulnerability (2(3)= 18.48,P< 0.001),and response cost (2(3)=18.41,P< 0.001). Post hoc Dunn-Bonferroni tests indicated that participants aged 50 years to 65 years, when compared with those who were aged 21 years to 35 years and 36 years to 49 years, had significantly lower passive protection motivation (t= 4.89 and 4.26 respectively, bothP< 0.0001). Furthermore, participants aged 50 years to 65 years perceived themselves to be less vulnerable to the infection than those aged 21 years to 35 years (t= 3.76,P< 0.001). In addition, compared with those aged 36 years to 49 years (t= 3.88,P< 0.001) and 21 years to 35 years (t= 2.41,P< 0.05), participants aged 50 years to 65 years believed that the response cost associated with protecting themselves from the infection was relatively lower