Healthcare workers’ worries and Monkeypox vaccine advocacy during the first month of the WHO Monkeypox alert: Cross-sectional survey in Saudi Arabia (original) (raw)
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Monkeypox Post COVID19: Knowledge, Worrying, and Vaccine Adoption of the Arabic General Population
BackgroundThe outbreak of monkeypox was designated a global public health emergency by the World Health Organization on July 23, 2022. There have been more reported 60000 cases worldwide, most of which are in places where monkeypox has never been seen due to the travel of people who have the virus. This research aims to evaluate the Arabic general population on monkeypox disease, fears, and vaccine adoption after the WHO proclaimed a monkeypox epidemic and to compare these attitudes to those of the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was performed in some Arabic countries (Syria, Egypt, Qatar, Yemen, Jordan, Sudan, Algeria, and Iraq) between August 18 and September 7, 2022 to examine the Arabic people perspectives on monkeypox disease, fears, and vaccine adoption and to compare these attitudes to those of the COVID-19 pandemic. The inclusion criteria were the general public residing in Arabic nations and older than 18. This questionnaire has 32 questions separated in...
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Background: Monkeypox outbreaks in non-endemic countries emphasize the importance of being prepared to prevent its progression to a pandemic. To effectively control monkeypox, healthcare providers must have sufficient knowledge and good attitudes and practices to limit its spread. We initiated this project to assess the factors associated with health workers’ knowledge and attitude toward monkeypox in southwestern Saudi Arabia. Methods: We included 398 eligible health workers working at various health facilities. Data was collected using an online survey, and participants had an opportunity to consent. We conducted descriptive statistics for all variables and used chi-square statistics, t-test, and multivariate analysis to establish the association between health workers’ demographic characteristics and knowledge of monkeypox disease. Results: The mean age was 30.93 ± 8.25 years for the included participants, and most of them were between 22 and 29 years, male, single, nurses, worki...
Monkeypox Post-COVID-19: Knowledge, Worrying, and Vaccine Adoption in the Arabic General Population
Vaccines
Background: The outbreak of monkeypox was declared a global public health emergency by the World Health Organization on 23 July 2022. There have been 60,000 cases reported worldwide, most of which are in places where monkeypox has never been seen due to the travel of people who have the virus. This research aims to evaluate the general Arabic population in regard to the monkeypox disease, fears, and vaccine adoption after the WHO proclaimed a monkeypox epidemic and to compare these attitudes to those of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed in some Arabic countries (Syria, Egypt, Qatar, Yemen, Jordan, Sudan, Algeria, and Iraq) between 18 August and 7 September 2022. The inclusion criteria were the general public residing in Arabic nations and being older than 18. This questionnaire has 32 questions separated into three sections: sociodemographic variables, prior COVID-19 exposure, and COVID-19 vaccination history. The second portion assesses the kn...
BackgroundMonkeypox disease (MPD) recently re-emerged in May 2022 and caused international outbreaks in multiple non-endemic countries. This study aimed to assess the Saudi Arabian public and healthcare workers (HCWs) knowledge about MPD and their information-seeking attitudes before any cases were yet reported in Saudi Arabia.MethodsThis online survey of HCWs and the public in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) was conducted from May 27 to June 5, 2022. The survey tool was adopted from our published research on COVID-19 with modifications related to the new MPD outbreak, which was validated for content, language, and consistency. Participants were invited by convenience sampling techniques through various social media platforms (i.e., Twitter and WhatsApp groups) and email lists.Variables surveyed included participants’ sociodemographic and job-related characteristics, COVID-19 infection status, and advocacy for MPD vaccination. Multiple questions assessing the participants’ knowled...
Frontiers in Public Health
BackgroundThe aim of this study was to explore potential healthcare workers' (HCWs) concerns about the monkeypox virus in order to create practical solutions to manage this disease.MethodsOnline cross-sectional research was conducted in 11 Arabic countries (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Syria, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, Iraq, Palestine, Jordan, and Sudan) from 2 August 2022 to 28 December 2022.ResultsApproximately 82% of respondents felt the need to acquire further information. The acceptability of the vaccine against monkeypox has been indicated by more than half of the participants (54.5%). Furthermore, we state that 45% of the participants are knowledgeable about the monkeypox virus, and 53.1% of the participants have never been affected with COVID-19 before are more worried about COVID-19 than about monkeypox. Participants diagnosed with COVID-19 were 0.63 times less likely to worry about monkeypox than those who were not diagnosed with COVID-19. A greater willingness to get the...
BackgroundMonkeypox re-emerged in May 2022 as another global health threat. This study assessed the public’s perception, worries, and vaccine acceptance for Monkeypox and COVID-19 during the first month of WHO announcement.MethodsA national cross-sectional survey was conducted between May 27 and June 5, 2022, in Saudi Arabia. Data were collected on sociodemographic characteristics, previous infection with COVID-19, worry levels regarding Monkeypox compared to COVID-19, awareness, and perceptions of Monkeypox, and vaccine acceptance.ResultsAmong the 1546 participants, most respondents (62%) were more worried about COVID-19 than Monkeypox. Respondents aged 45 years and above and those with a university degree or higher had lower odds of agreement with Monkeypox vaccination (OR .871, p-value .006, OR .719, p-value <0.001), respectively. Respondents with moderate to a high level of self and family commitment to infection control precautionary measures and those who expressed self and...
Medical science, 2022
Background: COVID-19 still poses a threat to healthcare workers (HCW). Aim: Study knowledge and attitude of the HCWs of King Abdulaziz Specialist Hospital (KASH), Taif, Saudi Arabia, about COVID-19 and the vaccine rollout. Methods: A questionnaire was self-administered to achieve study aim. Results: The participants aged 39.3±3.9; 41.5% were physicians, 58.5% non-physicians. A questionnaire's mean overall score [93.5 (62.3%)] <cutoff [105 (70.0%); p<0.001] was recorded; "physician" was predictor for score variability (p<0.001). A mean "COVID-19 epidemiological/clinical knowledge" score [22.2/32 (69.4%)] comparable to the cutoff [22.4/32 (70%), p=0.64]; and that [21.7/38 (57.1%)] for "COVID-19 infection prevention/ control (IPC) guidelines" <cutoff [26.6/38 (70%), p<0.001] were recorded. Perception [21.3/28 (76.0%)] of the latter exceeded the cutoff [19.5/28 (70%), p<0.001]. Despite a modest vaccine response, 86.5% HCWs were vaccinated candidates. Being a physician, male, had COVID-19 infection were vaccination predictors. Conclusion: A satisfactory COVID-19 knowledge and a favorable IPC attitude; with a modest vaccine response yet a notable vaccination acceptance were reported. Supplementing our HCWs' adequate COVID-19 control practice, e.g., through holistic COVID-19 training until enough evidence for vaccine safety has been established is warranted.
Healthcare
The ongoing multi-country human monkeypox (HMPX) outbreak was declared as a public health emergency of international concern. Considering the key role of healthcare workers (HCWs) in mitigating the HMPX outbreak, we aimed to assess their level of knowledge and their confidence in diagnosis and management of the disease, besides the assessment of their attitude towards emerging virus infections from a conspiracy point of view. An online survey was distributed among HCWs in Jordan, a Middle Eastern country, during May–July 2022 using a questionnaire published in a previous study among university students in health schools in Jordan. The study sample comprised 606 HCWs, with about two-thirds being either physicians (n = 204, 33.7%) or nurses (n = 190, 31.4%). Four out of the 11 HMPX knowledge items had <50% correct responses with only 33.3% of the study respondents having previous knowledge that vaccination is available to prevent HMPX. A majority of study respondents (n = 356, 58.7...
Background Monkeypox is a zoonotic disease caused by Monkeypox virus, an Orthopoxvirus. The 2022 Monkeypox outbreak has provoked a considerable amount of fear among the public. Awareness about this disease would modify the public attitudes in the fight against Monkeypox. We conducted this study aiming to assess the awareness and prediction of the middle east public about Monkeypox. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted in August 2022. Data were collected from eight middle east countries using an online self-administered questionnaire distributed through educational and social media platforms. Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS version 26. Results About 11,016 individuals have participated in this study. The majority of the participants have not seen a Monkeypox case, but will not travel to a country with the epidemic. Most of the participants knew the causative organism. Importantly, the majority were not aware of Monkeypox mode of transmission, symptoms, compl...