Medical Research Center, Faculty of medical sciences, Lebanese University, Hadath, Lebanon.
Gilbert and Rose Marie Chagoury School of Medicine, Lebanese American University, Byblos, Lebanon.
J Prev Med Hyg. 2023 May 16;64(1):E13-E26. doi: 10.15167/2421-4248/jpmh2023.64.1.2903. eCollection 2023 Mar.
Monkeypox is a currently re-emerging disease in the world and several cases have been detected in Lebanon. For this reason, an assessment of the knowledge and attitude of the Lebanese population towards monkeypox and smallpox or monkeypox vaccines had to be done.
A cross-sectional study was conducted using a questionnaire developed from previous literature among a sample of Lebanese residents. It recorded the sociodemographic characteristics and comorbidities of the participants and analyzed the patterns of knowledge and attitudes in Lebanon.
Among 493 participants, it was found that there is a generally low knowledge of and an average attitude toward monkeypox. However, knowledge is better with higher educational levels, COVID-19 vaccination, and residency in the south of Lebanon and poorer with marriage and residency in Beirut. Attitude is better in females but poorer with higher educational levels. Several other effectors have been devised too. As for vaccination, taking the smallpox vaccine as a proactive measure is predicted with previous COVID-19 vaccination and better attitude but not in the residents of the north of Lebanon and married Lebanese residents. Higher educational levels and a better attitude were positive predictions of taking the monkeypox vaccine whenever it is developed.
This study revealed low level of knowledge and attitude towards monkeypox and its vaccines, which can be a rich resource when proactive measures are developed.
猴痘是目前在全球重新出现的疾病，黎巴嫩已发现几例病例。因此，必须评估黎巴嫩民众对猴痘和天花或猴痘疫苗的知识和态度。
本研究采用横断面研究，使用从先前文献中开发的问卷对黎巴嫩居民进行抽样调查。它记录了参与者的社会人口统计学特征和合并症，并分析了黎巴嫩的知识和态度模式。
在 493 名参与者中，发现人们对猴痘的总体知识水平较低，态度一般。然而，知识水平与较高的教育水平、COVID-19 疫苗接种和居住在黎巴嫩南部有关，与婚姻和居住在贝鲁特有关则较差。女性的态度较好，但教育水平较高的态度较差。还设计了其他几个效应器。至于疫苗接种，将接种天花疫苗作为主动措施的预测因素是以前接种过 COVID-19 疫苗和更好的态度，但不适用于黎巴嫩北部的居民和已婚的黎巴嫩居民。较高的教育水平和更好的态度是在开发猴痘疫苗时积极接种的预测因素。
本研究揭示了对猴痘及其疫苗的知识和态度水平较低，这在制定主动措施时可能是一个丰富的资源。
