Attitudes towards COVID-19-Related Medical Misinformation among Healthcare Workers and Non-Healthcare Workers in Saudi Arabia during the Pandemic: An Online Cross-Sectional Survey.

Amna Abdullah Alotiby,Laila Naif Al-Harbi

doi:10.3390/ijerph18116123

Abstract

Since the SARS-CoV-2 virus caused a global pandemic, the amount of misinformation in various media outlets has been on the rise. This has caused confusion among both healthcare workers and the general population about what the proper precautions against COVID-19 are. This study investigated attitudes towards misinformation related to protective measures that can be taken against COVID-19. The study was conducted in Saudi Arabia using an online survey questionnaire during the first three months of lockdown responding to the pandemic. The sample size of the study was N = 1294, of which 275 were healthcare workers and 974 were non-healthcare workers. The findings indicate that the Saudi Arabian population has a “Neutral” attitude towards COVID-19-related misinformation, meaning that, overall, they neither agree nor disagree with the most common COVID-19-related misinformation. Both healthcare workers and non-healthcare workers displayed a “Neutral” attitude towards herbal remedies for COVID-19. The level of agreement regarding the SARS-CoV-2 virus remaining in the throat for two days and the BCG vaccine protecting against COVID-19 was low. The findings of this research imply that knowledge dissemination is severely lacking in Saudi Arabia and that the Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia should sincerely consider educating healthcare workers better about verified and true information regarding COVID-19. Conclusion: Future research should include larger sample sizes for each of the healthcare specialties surveyed in this study and analyse their attitudes towards COVID-19 misinformation.

Highlights

The SARS-CoV-2 virus can infect patients with the COVID-19, the severity of which can range from being completely void of symptoms to being fatal [1,2,3]
The medical misinformation constructs consisted of the following items: garlic cures infections caused by COVID-19, onions cure infections caused by COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2 remains in the throat for two days and can be removed by gargling with salty water, and being vaccinated against TB serves as protection against COVID-19
The previous section suggested the possibility that the cultural significance of herbal remedies might promote agreement with medical misinformation

Summary

Introduction

The SARS-CoV-2 virus can infect patients with the COVID-19, the severity of which can range from being completely void of symptoms to being fatal [1,2,3]. After COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic by the WHO in March 2020 [3], misinformation regarding causes, cures, and treatments of COVID-19 appeared in several media outlets. Has created a webpage about the common misconceptions of COVID-19 [4]; several of the unsupported claims about protective measures against COVID-19 continue to be disseminated. Misinformation surrounding COVID-19 has led to confusion, lack of consensus, and a failure to take the severity of the coronavirus pandemic as seriously as it should have been by the general public [5]. Misinformation circulated heavily in social media [6] and, with not enough resources available to label all misinformation as false, or unverified, herbal remedies started providing a false sense of security to the public [7].

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Results

Conclusion