General public knowledge and practices about the common cold

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge and practices of the general public about the common cold in Taif, KSA

Methods: A pre-validated questionnaire was developed and administered to 1700 respondents using a non-probability convenience sampling technique. A total of 1487 completed and valid questionnaires were successfully obtained. All data were analysed using IBM SPSS version 22.0 at an alpha value of 0.05

Results: The majority of respondents demonstrated poor knowledge about the common cold. Forty percent of respondents believed that there was no difference between the common cold and the flu. Sixty-six percent of participants believed that antibiotics would cure the common cold. Only 24% believed that coughing and direct contact with patients suffering from the common cold would spread this illness. A small number of participants, after catching the common cold, took precautionary measures such as avoiding contact with other people

Conclusion: It can be concluded that the general public has poor knowledge about the common cold, which is reflected in their routine practices towards illness management. Healthcare policy makers should consider these findings in developing plans for improving public knowledge and practices

General public knowledge, preferred dosage forms, and beliefs toward medicines in western Saudi Arabia

To measure general public knowledge, source of knowledge, preferred dosage forms, and beliefs toward medicines. A cross-sectional study design using convenience-sampling technique was used. A pre-validated questionnaire was designed and distributed to the general public through face-to-face interviews. All data were analyzed, and p-values less than 0.05 were considered significant. The study took place in the Clinical Pharmacy Department, Taif University, Taif, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia between August 2012 and February 2013. Nine hundred participants successfully responded to this study. Males represented two-thirds of the respondents [66.8%]. In addition, 52% of respondents were of high education level. Modern [74.2%] and alternative medicines [88.7%] were understood by most respondents. Tablets [69.6%] and capsules [37.6%] represented the highest preferred dosage forms. In addition, physicians [66.6%] and pharmacists [46.2%] were the main sources of information regarding medicines. In terms of beliefs, respondents showed wrong beliefs in many statements used in this study. There is a need to improve public knowledge and beliefs toward medicines as well as utilizing public preferred dosage forms. In addition, pharmacists should play a major role in these programs since they are experts on medicines and play a more active role in patient education and counseling