RESUMEN
Background: In confronting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), informing the public through social media is one of the most important strategies. Objectives: The present study aimed to assess the knowledge level of social media users about COVID-19 and its challenges in Iran. Methods: This mixed-methods study was conducted in 2020. In the quantitative phase, the knowledge level of 299 social media users about COVID-19 was assessed in Khorramabad, Iran, using a questionnaire. Data were analyzed using the SPSS software ver-sion 23. The mean score of knowledge was measured utilizing the t-test and analysis of variance. In the qualitative phase, data collection was completed through semi-structured interviews. Purposive sampling was used, and ten faculty members and experts were interviewed. The content analysis method was used to analyze data using the MAXQDA10 software. Results: We observed that the mean knowledge score was 73.73 out of 100. Knowledge score had a significant relationship with educational level, field, and profession. Challenges of raising the knowledge of social media users included five themes: The nature of the disease, challenges related to users, stewardship challenges, the nature of social media, and problems related to domestic messengers. Conclusions: Proper and active management of social media, along with the decisive and effective presence of health system authorities in social media, can make this platform the most important source to the public for knowledge raising during the outbreaks of communicable diseases.
RESUMEN
The global pandemic of COVID-19 has rapidly increased the number of infected cases as well as asymptomatic individuals in many, if not all the societies around the world. This issue increases the demand for accurate and rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2. While accurate and rapid detection is critical for diagnosing SARS-CoV-2, the appropriate course of treatment must be chosen to help patients and prevent its further spread. Testing platform accuracy with high sensitivity and specificity for SARS-CoV-2 is equally important for clinical, regional, and global arenas to mitigate secondary transmission rounds. The objective of this article is to compare the current detection technology and introduce the most accurate and rapid ones that are suitable for pandemic circumstances. Hence, the importance of rapid detection in societies is discussed initially. Following this, the current technology for rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2 is explained and classified into three different categories: nucleic acid-based, protein-based, and point of care (PoC) detection testing. Then, the current issues for diagnostic procedures in laboratories are discussed. Finally, the role of new technologies in countering COVID-19 is also introduced to assist researchers in the development of accurate and timely detection of coronaviruses. As coronavirus continues to affect human lives in a detrimental manner, the development of rapid and accurate virus detection methods could promote COVID-19 diagnosis accessible to both individuals and the mass population at patient care. In this regard, rRT-PCR and multiplex RT-PCR detection techniques hold promise.