Volume 25, Issue 114, August 2021

Knowledge, attitude, and practices of healthcare workers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia regarding the use of face masks for limiting the spread of coronavirus disease

Sulaiman Al Shammari^1♦, Abdulrahman Alrasheed², Abdulrahman Aljurayyan³, Muath Aljufayr⁴, Shatha Alghaihb⁵, Abdullah Alelaiwi⁶

¹Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
²College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
³College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
⁴College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
⁵College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
⁶College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

^♦Corresponding author
Professor and Consultant of Family Medicine; Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) declared Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) a global pandemic in March 2020. Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at a higher risk of infection with the virus than other individuals. Therefore, among the recommended protective methods is the wearing of a surgical mask. There is limited information regarding the knowledge, practices, and attitude of HCWs in Saudi Arabia towards the use of face masks. To our knowledge, only one single-center study has investigated this subject. Objective: To investigate knowledge, attitude, and practices concerning the use of face masks among HCWs in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Methods: This was a cross-sectional observational study. We surveyed HCWs using a self-administered online questionnaire. The respondents provided information regarding their demographic characteristics and answered questions on knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding face mask use during the pandemic. Results: A total of 506 HCWs (men, 202; women, 304) were included. Of them, 273 (54.0%) participants had good knowledge, 304 (60.1%) had good practice, and 475 (93.3%) had a positive attitude towards using face masks. When knowledge was assessed, 463 (91.5%) had the knowledge to wear a face mask properly. Regarding attitude, 475 (93.9%) was confident that they knew the correct way to wear a face mask. Conclusions: The level of knowledge and the practice of using surgical masks were poor among HCWs. HCWs exhibited a favorable attitude but possessed low levels of knowledge and good practice. We highly recommend awareness campaigns and training programs on the proper use of surgical masks.

Keywords: Coronavirus, Healthcare workers, Mask, Riyadh

Medical Science, 2021, 25(114), 2001-2010

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