Fam Community Health. 2015 Oct-Dec;38(4):332-40. doi: 10.1097/FCH.0000000000000082.

Awareness, Attitudes, and Practices Related to Coronavirus Pandemic

Among Public in Saudi Arabia.
Almutairi KM1, Al Helih EM, Moussa M, Boshaiqah AE, Saleh Alajilan A, Vinluan JM, Almutairi A.
Author information
Abstract
New cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) were reported in Gulf
countries in 2014, and to date, it has reportedly infected 837 people and killed 291 globally. Awareness of
an individual's knowledge and being able to predict his or her behavior is crucial when evaluating clinical
preparedness for pandemics with a highly pathogenic virus. The aim of this study was to identify
awareness, attitudes, and practices related to MERS-CoV among the public in Saudi Arabia. A crosssectional study of 1147 adult subjects recruited from various shopping malls in Riyadh was conducted. All
the subjects were interviewed using a questionnaire that tested their knowledge, attitudes, and use of
precautionary measures in relation to the MERS-CoV pandemic. The majority of the participants showed
high levels of concern and had utilized precautionary measures. After adjusting for other variables, gender
was the only significant predictor of the level of concern (P < .001), while knowledge was the significant
predictor of both the level of concern and precaution (P < .001). High concern translated into a higher
compliance with precautionary recommendations. Frequent communication between health care
providers and the public is recommended to help dispel myths about the disease and to empower the
public with the information needed to help the Saudi government in containing the disease outbreak.
PMID:

J Infect Public Health. 2015 Nov 14. pii: S1876-0341(15)00186-0. doi: 10.1016/j.jiph.2015.10.003. [Epub
ahead of print]

Is the Saudi public aware of Middle East respiratory syndrome?

Al-Mohrej OA1, Al-Shirian SD1, Al-Otaibi SK1, Tamim HM2, Masuadi EM3, Fakhoury HM4.
Author information
Abstract
To limit the spread of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in Saudi Arabia, the
Ministry of Health tried to raise public awareness using different public campaigns. We aimed to measure
public awareness of MERS in Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional study was conducted between May and
June 2014 using a newly designed Arabic questionnaire that was distributed and completed online. We
analyzed the response of 1149 respondents across Saudi Arabia. We found that 97% of the participants
were aware of MERS. In addition, 72% realized that coughing and sneezing could spread the infection.
Furthermore, 83% thought that some patients with MERS could be cured. Moreover, 62% knew that no

vaccine can prevent the disease. However, only 36% realized that taking antibiotics will not stop the
infection, and only 41% recognized that no medication has yet been manufactured to treat it. Regarding
protection measures, 74% used hand sanitizers, 43% avoided crowded places, and 11% wore masks in
public places. Moreover, only 47% knew that bats and camels are the primary source of the virus. As
anticipated, this level of awareness varied between the different categories of the studied population.
Female, married, older, and more educated participants were significantly more knowledgeable about the
disease. Public awareness of MERS is generally sufficient. However, some false beliefs about treatment
were fairly common. In addition, almost half of the population remains unaware that bats and camels are
the most likely sources of the virus.
Copyright 2015 King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All
rights reserved.

KEYWORDS:
Coronavirus; MERS; Public awareness; Saudi Arabia
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