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© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Monkeypox is re-emerging and spreading over the world, posing a serious threat to human life, especially in non-endemic countries, including Saudi Arabia. Due to the paucity of research on knowledge about monkeypox in Saudi Arabia, this study aimed to evaluate the general population’s knowledge of monkeypox in a sample of the country. A web-based cross-sectional survey was conducted from 25 May 2022 to 15 July 2022. Participants’ knowledge about monkeypox on a 23-item scale and socio-demographic characteristics were gathered in the survey. Pearson’s Chi-square test was used to compare knowledge level (categorized into high and low) and explanatory variables. Out of 480, only 48% of the respondents had high knowledge (mean score > 14). Participants’ age, marital status, residential region, living in the urban area, education level, employment status, being a healthcare worker, income, and smoking status were significantly associated with the level of knowledge about monkeypox (p < 0.01). Overall, social media (75.0%) was the most frequently reported source from where participants obtained monkeypox-related information followed by TV and radio (45.6%), family or friend (15.6%), and healthcare provider (13.8%). We found that overall knowledge of monkeypox infection was slightly poor among the Saudi population. These findings highlight the urgent need for public education on monkeypox to promote awareness and engage the public ahead of the outbreak.

Details

Title
Assessment of Knowledge of Monkeypox Viral Infection among the General Population in Saudi Arabia
Author
Alshahrani, Najim Z 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Alzahrani, Faris 2 ; Alarifi, Abdullah M 3 ; Algethami, Mohammed R 4 ; Maathir Naser Alhumam 5   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Hatim Abdullah Mohammed Ayied 6 ; Awan, Ahmed Zuhier 7   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Almutairi, Abdullah Faisal 8 ; Saeed Abdullah Bamakhrama 7 ; Budur Saad Almushari 9 ; Sah, Ranjit 10   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

 Department of Family and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Jeddah, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia 
 Department of Public Health, General Directorate of Health Affairs in Aseer Region, Ministry of Health, Abha 62529, Saudi Arabia 
 Department of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Saudi Electronic University, Riyadh 13323, Saudi Arabia 
 Preventive Medicine and Public Health Resident, Ministry of Health, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia 
 College of Medicine, King Faisal University, Alahsa 36363, Saudi Arabia 
 College of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha 62529, Saudi Arabia 
 Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia 
 Khaitan Primary Healthcare Center, Khaitan 83001, Kuwait 
 Department of Family Medicine, General Directorate of Health Affairs in Aseer Region, Ministry of Health, Abha 62529, Saudi Arabia 
10  Department of microbiology, Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Kathmandu 44600, Nepal; Research Scholars, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA 
First page
904
Publication year
2022
Publication date
2022
Publisher
MDPI AG
e-ISSN
20760817
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2706282444
Copyright
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.