The behavior of populations in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic is influenced by sociodemographic, health and cultural factors. This study sought to analyze the perceptions and daily practices for the prevention of COVID-19 that were adopted by users of Basic Health Units in the Midwest region of Brazil. This is a cross-sectional study. A total of 403 Primary Health Care users participated in the survey. A block-structured questionnaire covering sociodemographic issues, preventive practices for COVID-19 and sources of information about the infection was applied. A robust Poisson model was generated to determine the factors associated with the perception of avoiding crowding as very important. The most searched sources of information were newspapers and the internet (73.9%), television (65.0%) and social networks (61.8%). Mask use (82.6%), alcohol gel (65.0%) and hand washing (63.0%) were the most adopted preventive methods. The majority (91.1%) perceived social isolation as a very important preventive method against COVID-19, associated with working in an essential service, getting information on TV, considering government officials as reliable source for information and social distancing practice. In addition to the development of health education actions in their territories by the basic health professional teams, it is essential that the health professional assumes the role as a source of health information for the user, as well as develops self- autonomy and the ability to distinguish reliable sources from fake news, whether in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic or in other health situations and their social determinants.