Volume 26, Issue 122, April 2022

Conjunctivitis in Makkah region, Saudi Arabia: A school and university level of knowledge experience

Yaser Mohamed Elhams¹, Salah Mohammed Taha Bakry², Amr Ali Almousa^2♦, Saad Naif Albagami², Abdullah Yasser Fakieha², Ayoub Saleh Alzahrani², Abdullah Ahmed Alsubhi²

¹Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah city, Saudi Arabia
²Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah city, Saudi Arabia

^♦Corresponding author
Amr Ali Almousa. Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah city, Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

Background: Conjunctivitis is an epidemic disease with a self-limiting and short-lasting course with varieties of causes inflecting the prevalence and the way of spread. This study surveyed school and Umm Al-Qura University students in the western region of Saudi Arabia. Methods: A survey-based study was conducted between October 2021 and January 2022, including high school students in Makkah region and Umm Al-Qura University students of both genders. The study compared the awareness and knowledge of conjunctivitis and discussed the informational similarities and contradictions between the educational levels. Results: The participant’s number in this study was 367. Students with less than 20 years old predominantly represented 60.8%, compared with 20 years old or more with 39.2%. The majority were female with 50.7%, and 49.3% for males. Most of them were Saudis 88.0%. The highest respondents were school students, while university students were the least with 41.4%. Most students were single. Moreover, the correlation between students’ age and educational level’ were significantly positive (p-values: 0.000, 0.000 respectively). Conclusion: Educational programs are vital to enhancing students’ recognition to control conjunctivitis spreading among communities. The current finding shows a poor level of knowledge towards conjunctivitis basic knowledge. Consequently, we recommend further studies among universities and schools.

Keywords: Conjunctivitis, School students, University students, Knowledge, Saudi Arabia

Medical Science, 2022, 26, ms120e2167

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi/v26i122/ms120e2167

Published: 06 April 2022