Knowledge, attitude, and practice study of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus in Oman

Jabir Al Araimi; Anbu Clemensis Johnson; Mohammed Juma Al Araimi

doi:10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20230908

Authors

Jabir Al Araimi School of Medicine, Taylor’s University, Lakeside Campus, Selangor, Malaysia
Anbu Clemensis Johnson NUIST Reading Academy, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
Mohammed Juma Al Araimi Department of Food Inspection and Monitoring, Muscat Municipality at Bousher, Sultanate of Oman

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20230908

Keywords:

MERS-CoV, Survey, Questionnaire, Muscat, SPSS

Abstract

Background: In the 21^st century, there has been an increase in the spread of various diseases. Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) disease is one of them. In order to contain and eradicate the spread of MERS-CoV, assessing public knowledge, attitude, and practice is important. This public study was conducted in the eleven governorates of Oman for its assessment.

Methods: A national level cross-sectional survey was conducted online for a period of nine days using a questionnaire that contained forty-one questions. The questions were designed to evaluate public perception and understanding of MERS-CoV disease. The acquired data were analysed using SPSS software.

Results: A total of 505 people participated in the survey. The majority of the participants were males from the Muscat region (46%). The ages of the participants were between <20 to 60 years. The survey revealed that 60% of the participants were unaware about the disease (p<0.001) and about 48% (p=0.003) of them were unsure about the symptoms of the disease. Most people had a positive attitude towards preventing the spread of the infection. Adherence to precautionary measures was higher among the female participants (69%, p=0.021). Primary information source for the public was through social media.

Conclusions: Overall, the surveyed population had a varied perspective about the disease and fair knowledge on the preventive measures. However, a large percentage of the participants were unclear about the epidemic situation and lacked knowledge on the disease, but showed a positive attitude towards curbing the spread of infection.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

References

WHO. Pneumonia of unknown cause China, 2020. Available at: https://www.who.int/csr/don/05-january-2020-pneumonia-of-unkown-cause-china/en/. Accessed on 10 February 2023.

WHO. Naming the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the virus that causes it, 2020. Available at: https://www. who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/technical-guidance/naming-the-coronavirus-disease-(covid-2019)-and-the-virus-that-causes-it. Accessed on 10 February 2023.

Worldometer. COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic, 2023. Available at: https://www.worldometers. info/coronavirus/#countries. Accessed on 10 February 2023.

CDC. 2018 Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/ Vhf/Ebola/Outbreaks/Drc/2018-August.Html. Accessed on 10 February 2023.

Zaki AM, van Boheemen S, Bestebroer TM, Osterhaus ADME, Fouchier RAM. Isolation of a novel coronavirus from a man with pneumonia in Saudi Arabia. N Engl J Med. 2012;367(19):1814-20.

De Groot RJ, Baker SC, Baric RS, Brown CS, Drosten C, Enjuanes L, et al. Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS‑CoV): Announcement of the Coronavirus Study Group. J Virol. 2013;87(14):7790-2.

Peeri NC, Shrestha N, Rahman MS, Zaki R, Tan Z, Bibi S, et al. The SARS, MERS and novel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemics, the newest and biggest global health threats: what lessons have we learned?. Int J Epidemol. 2020;49(3):717-26.

WHO. Middle East respiratory syndrome, 2022. Available at: http://www.emro.who.int/health-topics/mers-cov/ mers-outbreaks.html. Accessed on 10 February 2023.

Al-Abaidani IS, Al-Maani AS, Al-Kindi HS, Al-Jardani AK, Abdel-Hady DM, Zayed BE, et al. Overview of preparedness and response for Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in Oman. Int J Infect Dis. 2014;29:309-10.

WHO. Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus Oman, 2022. Available at: https://www.who.int/ emergencies/ disease-outbreak-news/item/2022-DON380. Accessed on 10 February 2023.

Al-Mutair A, Ambani Z. Narrative review of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection: updates and implications for practice. J Int Med Res. 2019;48(1):1-6.

Zaki AM, van Boheemen S, Bestebroer TM, Osterhaus AD, Fouchier RAM. Isolation of a novel coronavirus from a man with pneumonia in Saudi Arabia. N Engl J Med. 2012;367(19):1814-20.

Durai P, Batool M, Shah M, Choi S. Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus: transmission, virology and therapeutic targeting to aid in outbreak control. Exp Mol Med. 2015;47(8):1-10.

Annan A, Baldwin HJ, Corman VM, Klose SM, Owusu M, Nkrumah EE, et al. Human betacoronavirus 2c EMC/2012‑related viruses in bats, Ghana and Europe. Emerg Infect Dis. 2013;19(3):456‑9.

Azhar EI, El-Kafrawy SA, Farraj SA, Hassan AM, Al-Saeed MS, Hashem AM, et al. Evidence for Camel-to-Human Transmission of MERS Coronavirus. N Engl J Med. 2014;370(26):2499-505.

Omrani AS, Al-Tawfiq JA, Memish ZA. Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERSCoV): animal to human interaction. Pathog Glob Health. 2015;109(8):354-62.

Kayali G, Peiris M. A more detailed picture of the epidemiology of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus. Lancet Infect Dis. 2015;15(5):495-7.

Adegboye OA, Elfaki F. Network Analysis of MERS Coronavirus within Households, Communities, and Hospitals to Identify Most Centralized and Super-Spreading in the Arabian Peninsula, 2012 to 2016. Can J Infect Dis Med Microbiol. 2018;2018:1-9.

Assiri A, Al-Tawfiq JA, Al-Rabeeah AA, Al-Rabiah FA, Al-Hajjar S, Al-Barrak A, et al. Epidemiological, demographic, and clinical characteristics of 47 cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus disease from Saudi Arabia: a descriptive study. Lancet Infect Dis. 2013;13(9):752-61.

Al-Dowyan, NM, Ahmed AS, El-Gharabawy RM. Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) Study about Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) among Population in Saudi Arabia. Int Arch Med. 2017;10(254):1-12.

Guery B, Poissy J, El-Mansouf L, Séjourné C, Ettahar N, Lemaire X, et al. Clinical features and viral diagnosis of two cases of infection with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus: a report of nosocomial transmission. Lancet. 2013;381(9885): 2265-72.

Asaad A, El‐Sokkary R, Alzamanan M, El‐Shafei M. Knowledge and attitudes towards Middle East respiratory syndrome‐coronavirus (MERS‐CoV) among health care workers in south‐western Saudi Arabia. East Mediterr Health J. 2019;26(4):435-42.

Albarrak AI, Mohammed R, Al-Elayan A, Al-Fawaz F, Al-Masry M, Al-Shammari M, et al. Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS): Comparing the knowledge, attitude and practices of different health care workers. J Infect Public Health. 2021;14(1):89-96.

Aldohyan M, Al-Rawashdeh N, Sakr FM, Rahman S, Alfarhan AI, Salam M. The perceived effectiveness of MERS-CoV educational programs and knowledge transfer among primary healthcare workers: a cross-sectional survey. BMC Infect Dis. 2019;19:1-9.

Kharma MY, Alalwani MS, Amer MF, Tarakji B, Aws G. Assessment of the awareness level of dental students toward Middle east respiratory syndrome‑coronavirus. J Int Soc Prev Community Dent. 2015;5(3):163-169.

Elrggal ME, Karami NA, Rafea B, Alahmadi L, Al-Shehri A, Alamoudi R, et al. Evaluation of preparedness of healthcare student volunteers against Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in Makkah, Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional study. Z Gesundh Wiss. 2018;26(6):607-12.

Rabbani SA, Mustafa F, Mahtab A. Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS): awareness among future health care providers of United Arab Emirates. Int J Med Public Health. 2020;10(1):8-13.

Medani KT, Al-Duwayhis NM, Al-Ameer AA, Al-Maymoni SK, Al-Otaibi FA, Al-Hassan MA. Knowledge, attitude and practice of middle east respiratory syndrome corona virus (MERS-CoV), among male primary school students in Almajmaah City, Saudi Arabia. Indo Am J Pharm Sci. 2018; 5(12):16288-96.

Al-Otaibi AA, Al-zahrani AA, Al-Sheikh HA, Al-Shalhoub KS, Al-Rashdi NN, Al-Dawsari SA, et al. Knowledge and Attitude of secondary school students in Sudair area, Saudi Arabia about Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV). Majmaah J Health Sci. 2017;5(2):76-86.

Bawazir A, Al-Mazroo E, Jradi H, Ahmed A, Badri M. MERS-CoV infection: Mind the public knowledge gap. J Infect Public Health. 2018;11(1):89-93.

Althobaity HM, Alharthi RAS, Altowairqi MH, Alsufyani ZA, Aloufi NS, Altowairqi AE, et al. Knowledge and awareness of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus among Saudi and Non-Saudi Arabian pilgrims. Int J Health Sci. 2017;11(5):20-5.

Alqahtani AS, Rashid H, Basyouni MH, Alhawassi TM, BinDhim NF. Public response to MERS-CoV in the Middle East: iPhone survey in six countries. J Infect Public Health. 2017;10(5):534-40.

Citypopulation. OMAN: Administrative Division, 2020. Available at: https://www.citypopulation. de/en/oman/admin. Accessed on 10 February 2023.

World Bank. Population. Female (% of total population) - Middle East & North Africa, 2021. Available at: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/ SP.POP.TOTL.FE.ZS?locations=ZQ. Accessed on 10 February 2023.

Khan MU, Shah S, Ahmad A, Fatokun O. Knowledge and attitude of healthcare workers about middle east respiratory syndrome in multispecialty hospitals of Qassim, Saudi Arabia. BMC Public Health. 2014;14:1-7.

Bawazir A, Al-Mazroo E, Jradi H, Ahmed A, Badri M. MERS-CoV infection: Mind the public knowledge gap. J Infect Public Health. 2018;11(1):89-93.

Faridi U. Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV): Impact on Saudi Arabia, 2015. Saudi J Biol Sci. 2018;25(7):1402-5.