Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Aurobindo College of Pharmaceutical Science, Warangal, India.
Front Public Health. 2022 Mar 21;10:723229. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.723229. eCollection 2022.
Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and represents a major public health threat that aggressively promotes increased morbidity and mortality. Changes in public behavior were more common during the pandemic to protect against the infection. Suboptimal behavioral practices for a specific disease would increase the susceptibility of the public to infection. This study aimed to determine changes in behaviors of the general public during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A cross-sectional study was conducted using an online questionnaire survey to determine the extent of public behavioral changes in Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected with a self-reported survey, and analysis was conducted using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 26 (SPSS). A chi-square test was performed to determine the association among variables. A ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Of 348 respondents, 244 (70.1%) were male, and 270 (77.6%) had a university degree. Approximately 48% used social media to seek COVID-19 information, and 36% ( = 124) avoided large gatherings. Approximately one-fourth of the respondents always avoided public transportation, while 65.8% reported avoiding traveling to infected areas. Of the participants, 33% always washed their hands, while 36% always used an alcohol-based sanitizer. There was a significant association between age group and employment status with respect to hand washing frequency ( < 0.05). There was also a significant association between age group ( < 0.0001) and employment status and wearing of face masks ( < 0.048).
This study highlights changes in the public's behaviors in Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 pandemic for protection against the infection and reports acceptable preventative practices against COVID-19 in the Saudi community. Furthermore, continuous awareness of recommended protective measures for COVID-19 is still warranted.
由严重急性呼吸系统综合征冠状病毒（SARS-CoV）引起的 2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）是对公众健康的重大威胁，可导致发病率和死亡率显著上升。在大流行期间，为了防止感染，公众的行为发生了更多变化。针对特定疾病的行为不当会增加公众感染的易感性。本研究旨在确定 COVID-19 大流行期间公众行为的变化。
采用横断面研究，通过在线问卷调查来确定 COVID-19 大流行期间沙特阿拉伯公众行为变化的程度。数据采用自报式调查收集，使用社会科学统计软件包（SPSS）版本 26 进行分析。采用卡方检验确定变量之间的关联。P 值≤0.05 为差异有统计学意义。
在 348 名受访者中，244 名（70.1%）为男性，270 名（77.6%）拥有大学学历。约 48%的人使用社交媒体获取 COVID-19 信息，36%（=124）避免参加大型聚会。约四分之一的受访者总是避免乘坐公共交通工具，而 65.8%的人报告避免前往感染地区旅行。33%的参与者总是洗手，而 36%的人总是使用酒精基消毒剂。洗手频率与年龄组和职业状况之间存在显著关联（P<0.05）。年龄组（P<0.0001）和职业状况与戴口罩之间也存在显著关联（P<0.048）。
本研究强调了 COVID-19 大流行期间沙特阿拉伯公众为防止感染而改变行为的情况，并报告了沙特社区中针对 COVID-19 的可接受预防措施。此外，仍然需要持续提高对 COVID-19 推荐防护措施的认识。
