Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices among People in Saudi Arabia regarding Covid-19: A Cross-Sectional Study

• Published in: Journal of public health research Vol. 9; no. 3
• Main Authors: Alhazmi, Amani, Ali, Maha Hamed Mohamed, Mohieldin, Ali, Aziz, Farah, Osman, Osman Babiker, Ahmed, Waled AM
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: PAGEPress Publications, Pavia, Italy 18.09.2020; SAGE Publishing
• Subjects: attitudes; COVID-19; knowledge; pandemic; practices; preventive measures
• DOI: 10.4081/jphr.2020.1867
• ISSN: 2279-9036; 2279-9028

Background: The general population’s compliance with preventive measures and legislation is mainly influenced by their knowledge level, attitude, and practices. This study assessed the knowledge, attitude, and practices of public residents towards corona virus disease-2019 preventive measures in Saudi Arabia. Design and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study; it used a validated cross-sectional online survey that received responses from 13 Saudi administrative regions. Results: There were 1513 participants who completed the study (55% females; 77.7%, university education). Knowledge level, attitude, and practices towards corona virus disease-2019 were 81.3%, 86.6%, and 81.9%, respectively. The knowledge subscales showed that 1496 (98.9%) participants knew the system targeted by the virus, 96.2% and 97.3% knew the causative agent and symptoms, 783 (52.2%) participants knew the transmission modes, and 696 (46.0%) participants knew about the complications. The attitude subscales included 1465 (96.5%) participants who had dealt with an infected person, 1451 (95.9%) participants who isolated in a health facility, 1195 (97.0%) participants who knew about hand washing, and 1387 (91.7%) participants who thought the virus spread through home delivery. The practice subscales included 1505 (99.5%) participants who properly disposed of gloves and tissues and 1347 (89.0%) participants who reported safe practices when coughing or sneezing. Conclusions: This study showed satisfactory knowledge, attitude, and practice towards corona virus disease-2019 in Saudi Arabia. The educational level is a dominant influencing factor for knowledge, attitude, and practice. Significance for public health COVID-19 pandemic posed a new lifestyle of population in many countries, the variation depends on the level of communities’ knowledge, attitude and practice. Assessing public knowledge, attitude and practices helps the health authorities in each country to find out the gap for health education efforts. Subsequently, the ministry of health will prioritize the actions needed accordingly. The current study identifies the general people knowledge, attitude and practice on COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia.