| Popis: |
Objective: This study aimed to assess the basic knowledge, attitude, and practice among people from nine Middle Eastern and North African countries about COVID-19 symptoms, modes of transmission, acceptance of recovered patients, and practice of some basic preventive measures. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, data was collected from 3515 participants in nine Middle Eastern and North African countries using an online self-administered questionnaire to assess participants' basic knowledge, attitude, and practice of some preventive measures related to COVID-19. Results: In this study, most of the participants were aware of the basic preventive measures against coronavirus. Despite this awareness, the practice of these measures was low, with a significant variation among participating countries and gender. Social media was the major source of their information. More than half of participants (53.2%) would not accept recovered patients in the community without protective measures, and the majority (84%) of them believed that people living in hot and sunny areas are less susceptible and affected by COVID-19. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that participants of Middle Eastern and North African countries have relatively good knowledge and attitudes regarding COVID-19. Still, they have unsatisfactory preventive practices, and more than half of them refuse to accept recovered patients as normal in the community without protective measures. |
