Abstract
Aims: The study aimed to evaluate perceptions and preventive practices regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and oral health care perceptions during the lockdown in the Saudi Arabian population. Materials and Method: This cross-sectional study was performed by collecting the data from individuals belonging to various parts of the Saudi Arabian Population through an online self-reported questionnaire. The questionnaire had two main parts: first comprised of demographic data include the region of residence, gender, nationality, age, the number of family members, monthly income of the family, and the second was further divided into three sections of perception (P), practice (PRA) and oral health care practice (D) questions. All these (P, PRA, and D) were analyzed by comparing all of the demographic characteristics. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS IBM (version 21.0), and statistical significance was set at a 5% level. Results: Overall, 2013 participants (54% males and 46% females) contributed to the Saudi Arabia study. Only 5% of non-Saudis live in Saudi Arabia were participated in the study, while the majority of participants were of 21–40 years age group (45%), 59% of having more than five family members, and 60% of them had ≤10 K Suadi riyal monthly income respectively. The majority of the participants were from Riyadh (33.7%) and Asir (25.1%) in the study. Overall, 89.5% of the participants were aware of the COVID-19 global pandemic. The majority of the participants (55%) from Saudi Arabia utilized the Ministry of Health website, a source of information regarding COVID-19. However, 56.5% of the participants had COVID-19 related perception, and 74.3% followed an appropriate preventive practice. Approximately 60% had good oral health practice. The study participants showed mixed opinions on perceptions regarding COVID-19, preventive practice, and oral health practices. Conclusion: The present study suggested that the Saudi Arabian population has good attention to COVID-19, but preventive practice and oral health perception need better awareness to control this novel virus spread. The Ministry of Health website utilized as a significant source of information among the Saudi Arabian population regarding COVID-19.
Highlights
Coronavirus disease is referred to as “COVID-19” and is caused by a novel respiratory virus [1] and this single-stranded RNA virus belongs to a Coronaviridae family [2,3]
The present study suggested that the Saudi Arabian population has good attention to COVID-19, but preventive practice and oral health perception need better awareness to control this novel virus spread
A similar survey in Saudi Arabian population was published in which the knowledge score was found to be 81.64%, which is less than the present study suggesting that the people of Saudi Arabian have a better understanding of the present scenario and are updating them with the COVID-19 knowledge [20]
Summary
Coronavirus disease is referred to as “COVID-19” and is caused by a novel respiratory virus [1] and this single-stranded RNA virus belongs to a Coronaviridae family [2,3]. The governments and public health organizations have adopted numerous measures worldwide to improve awareness, raise knowledge, and increase preventive practice to control COVID-19 transmission [5,6]. It originated from China at the end of the year 2019 and subsequently circulated globally [7]. The government authorities of Saudi Arabia have focused on precautionary measures with general population interest [9] These include lockdown, airport and border surveillance, quarantine of suspicious and infected patients, and infection control training for healthcare workers [10]. The severe stage of COVID-19 is characterized by septic shock, acute respiratory distress syndrome, bleeding, coagulation disorders, and metabolic acidosis [15,16]
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