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BACKGROUND: Antimicrobial resistance is a global issue that causes significant morbidity and mortality. Therefore, this study aims to assess knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of the general Saudi populations toward antibiotics use. DESIGN AND METHODS: A cross-sectional, anonymous online survey was conducted from January 1 to May 11, 2020, across five major regions of Saudi Arabia. Participants (aged ≥18 years) were invited through social media to complete an online self-structured questionnaire. All data were analyzed by Statistical Package (SPSS v.25). Descriptive statistics, Pearson's Chi-squared, t-tests, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Pearson correlation analyses were conducted. RESULTS: Out of 443 participants, the majority (n=309, 69.8%) were females, 294 (64.4%) were married, 176 (39.7%) were 25-34 years of age, 338 (76.3%) were living in the Eastern Province, 313 (70.7%) had college or higher education, 139 (31.4%) were not working, and 163 (36.8%) had a monthly income of USD 800-1330. Overall, most participants demonstrated good knowledge and practice (88% and 85.6%, respectively). However, 76.8%had inadequate attitude score levels towards antibiotics use. Of all the respondents, 74.9% knew that not completing a full course of antibiotics may cause antibiotics resistance, 91.33% did not agree that antibiotics should be accessed without a prescription, and 94.04% will not hand over leftover antibiotics to family members. Factors associated with adequate knowledge were female, medical jobs, and higher income (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings revealed that while most participants were aware of antibiotics use and demonstrated good knowledge, good practices, they had negative attitudes towards antibiotics use.
RESUMEN
(1) Background: COVID-19 has become a worldwide public health problem. No previous study has investigated factors associated with COVID-19 knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) after completely lifting the curfew in all Saudi Arabia regions and cities. Therefore, adequate knowledge, a positive attitude, and correct control of COVID-19 are essential to eradicate the disease. Hence, this study aims to assess factors associated with KAP of COVID-19; (2) Methods: This cross-sectional web-based survey was performed with the participation of 4305 individuals aged over 15 years living in Saudi Arabia from 11 to 19 August 2020. They were included using the snowball sampling method; (3) Results: Of the 4305 participants, 94.9% were Saudis, 60% females, and 45.4% were in the age group of 20-34 years, 61.7% married, and 49.3% from the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Most of the participants demonstrated good KAP levels (89.6%, 87.2%, and 87.2%) towards the COVID-19 pandemic, respectively. In addition, most of the participants (85.8%) used the internet and social media as a source for COVID-19 information (4) Conclusions: The finding showed that most of the participants demonstrated good knowledge of COVID-19, positive attitudes, and demonstrated good practices for preventing the spread of disease infection.