Knowledge, attitude, and practice toward COVID-19 among the public in three Gulf countries - a cross-sectional survey.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the knowledge, attitude, and practice toward COVID-19 among residents/citizens of Saudi Arabia (KSA), the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Kuwait. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional online survey on 3,920 citizens/residents from three Gulf-countries (KSA, UAE, and Kuwait) was conducted between June 15 and August 25, 2020. The survey instrument consisted of demographic characteristics, 13 items on knowledge, 4 items on attitudes, and 7 items on practice towards prevention and control of COVID-19. The Survey link was constructed to be available in Arabic and English. Descriptive statistics of frequency distribution and percentages were calculated, and non-parametric tests were applied to compare the mean knowledge, attitude, and practice scores among different countries. RESULTS: This study included participants from KSA (2,938, 74.9%), UAE (403, 10.3%), and Kuwait (579, 14.8%). The study subjects from KSA, UAE, and Kuwait showed significant differences in the mean knowledge (10.13, 10.52, and 9.19, p<0.001), attitude (2.84, 3.12, and 5.98, p<0.001), and practice (6.11, 5.98 and 5.38, p<0.001) scores towards COVID-19. In addition, Kuwaiti citizens and residents showed significantly lower knowledge, attitude, and practice scores toward COVID-19 than UAE and KSA participants. Participants from Kuwait showed significantly lower knowledge, attitude, and practice scores than the UAE and KSA. However, in general (38.2%), the study participants were optimistic about controlling Coronavirus. Nearly 48.6% started to take an immune-boosting diet to protect themselves from the Coronavirus. CONCLUSIONS: Study participants from KSA, UAE, and Kuwait demonstrated adequate knowledge, positive attitude, and acceptable practices towards COVID-19 control. Electronic and social media should be effectively utilized to spread awareness of COVID-19 among the public.

Comparative evaluation of oral health attitudes and behaviors among dental and medical students during COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study was to compare the oral health attitudes and behaviors of medical and dental students/interns during the Corona pandemic in Saudi Arabia using Hiroshima University Dental Behavioral Inventory (HU-DBI). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the oral health attitudes and behaviors of dental and medical students/interns in Saudi Arabia using an online Hiroshima University-Dental Behavioral Inventory (HUDBI). An English version of the questionnaires consisting of personal information and 20 HUDBI items were responded by the 638 (46.8%) dental and 726 (53.2%) medical students/interns. The mean score of oral health attitude and behavior of the study participants was calculated based on 12 point scale of the HUDBI items. The Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests compared the HUDBI scores across different groups. RESULTS: The study sample's overall mean HUDBI score was 6.44±1.80 (Median 7). Dental students/interns (825.60) demonstrated a significantly higher HUDBI mean score than medical students/interns (556.75) (p<0.001). Similarly, female students (712.25) than the male students (712.25 vs. 642, p=0.001), and those studying in private universities compared to government universities (741.56 vs. 673.52, p=0.028) showed significantly higher HUDBI mean scores. CONCLUSIONS: During the COVID-19 pandemic, dental students/interns displayed a better oral health attitudes and behaviors than medical students/interns. Therefore, oral health promotion programs aimed at medical and dental students/interns are essential for improving oral health attitudes and behaviors.