The Global Centre for Mass Gatherings Medicine, Ministry of Health, Riyadh 12341, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Emergency Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh 11472, Saudi Arabia.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019 Sep 3;16(17):3215. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16173215.
The Hajj mass gathering attended by over two million Muslim pilgrims from around the world is a risk for heat-related illnesses (HRIs). We investigated the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of pilgrims attending the 2017 Hajj regarding HRIs and their prevention. Adult pilgrims (1801) from six countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Pilgrims had a mean age of 47.2 years (SD = 12.6) and a male:female ratio of 2.2:1. Over 83% declared having at least a secondary education. Pilgrims generally had good knowledge and above average attitude and practice according to our scoring criteria. Most pilgrims were aware of HRIs and preventive measures. However, poor hydration and reluctance to use certain preventive measures or to change Hajj activities' schedule based on environmental temperature were noted. Age, nationality and level of education were significantly associated with a good knowledge of HRIs. Only nationality was significantly associated with good attitude, and good practice was significantly associated with gender, age and nationality. There were significant positive correlations between the KAP scores. These results can serve as baseline data to design effective general or targeted interventions to improve pilgrims' knowledge and behavior and to reduce their risk of HRIs during Hajj.
每年都有超过 200 万来自世界各地的穆斯林朝圣者参加麦加朝圣，这是与热相关疾病（HRI）相关的风险。我们调查了参加 2017 年麦加朝圣的朝圣者对 HRI 及其预防的知识、态度和实践（KAP）。我们使用结构化问卷对来自非洲、亚洲和中东的六个国家的成年朝圣者（1801 人）进行了访谈。朝圣者的平均年龄为 47.2 岁（SD=12.6），男女比例为 2.2:1。超过 83%的人宣称至少受过中等教育。根据我们的评分标准，朝圣者的知识一般较好，态度和实践均高于平均水平。大多数朝圣者都意识到了 HRI 和预防措施。然而，我们注意到，他们的水合作用不佳，不愿意采取某些预防措施，或根据环境温度改变朝觐活动的日程安排。年龄、国籍和教育水平与对 HRI 的良好认识显著相关。只有国籍与良好的态度显著相关，而良好的实践与性别、年龄和国籍显著相关。KAP 评分之间存在显著的正相关。这些结果可以作为基准数据，用于设计有效的一般或针对性干预措施，以提高朝圣者的知识和行为，并降低他们在朝觐期间发生 HRI 的风险。
