RESUMEN
Rational and responsible self-medication (SM) is an essential core element for better health outcomes. It is influenced mainly by the level and adequacy of knowledge, attitude, and appropriateness of practice (KAP) towards SM. The present study explored the level and adequacy of KAP among residents of Riyadh city, Saudi Arabia. A convenient snowball sampling method was utilized to recruit the study participants. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 27. Six hundred and eleven participants completed the questionnaire. Residents with good knowledge, positive attitude, and proper practice were 43.7%, 33.1%, and 90.0%, respectively. The level of KAP was significantly influenced by the participant's occupation, age, gender, nationality, marital status, presence of chronic disease, and COVID-19 infection status. The mean knowledge, attitude, and practice scores observed were 5.11 (SD = 1.27), 22.28 (SD = 2.6) and 5.20 (SD = 1.29), respectively. Pearson correlation and scattered plot matrix analysis revealed a significant positive weak correlation among KAP, indicating that residents with good knowledge possess better attitude (r = 0.142, p < 0.001) and follow the proper practice (r = 0.256, p < 0.001) towards SM. Multivariate linear regression revealed a significant (p < 0.001) negative (ß = -0.059) influence of occupation, family members working in the health sector (p = 0.046, ß= -0.426), Body Mass Index (p = 0.019, ß = -0.049), and physical activity (p = 0.018, ß = -0.292) on the overall KAP score. Understanding the residents' level of KAP towards SM would enable the health care system to identify the gap and develop a mechanism to educate the people and make them knowledgeable about SM and self-care.
RESUMEN
To manage the COVID-19 outbreak, the WHO recommends adult and child vaccination. Vaccine skepticism has been a major worldwide health concern for decades, and the situation is worsening. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate parental willingness to vaccinate their children (aged 5 to 11 years) against COVID-19 and to describe its relationship with attitude, barriers, facilitators, and sources of knowledge regarding the vaccine. Methods: From February to March 2022, a community-based cross-sectional survey was undertaken among the parents of Riyadh city, Saudi Arabia. We employed a convenient sampling procedure to gather the required sample. Using the Raosoft sample size calculator, a minimum sample size of 385 was determined based on a 95% confidence level, a 5% margin of error, and a 5% precision level. The data were analyzed using version 26 of SPSS. A p-value less than 0.05 was judged statistically significant. The Chi-square test and likelihood ratio were utilized to describe the relationship between socio-demographic characteristics, driving factors, and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Vaccine hesitancy associated factors were identified using multivariate binary logistic regression. A total of 528 replies were received. The majority of respondents were mothers (77.7%), aged 26 to 40 years (67.8%), married (91.5%), Saudi nationals (96.2%), college graduates (70.6%), with a monthly family income of more than SAR 10,000 (46.4%), non-healthcare professionals (84.7%), employed in the government sector (33.7%), with three children (23.3%), and children aged 5 to 11 years (88.7%). A little more than half of the parents (55.7%) exhibited considerable vaccination hesitancy. About 16.28% of parents were willing to vaccinate their children as soon as possible, compared to 38.44% who had no interest whatsoever in vaccination. A greater proportion of mothers and unemployed parents were unwilling to vaccinate their children. Parents with a higher monthly income (above SAR 10,000), who worked as healthcare professionals, and whose children suffered from chronic conditions were significantly more ready to vaccinate their children against COVID-19. Parents who were aware of anti-vaccination campaigns and who vaccinated their children with required childhood vaccines were also much more likely to vaccinate their children against COVID-19. Most parents (66.9%) obtained information on COVID-19 via the Saudi Ministry of Health website, followed by social media (48.1%). The vaccine's novelty and the dearth of reliable information about its safety (65%) and insufficient information about its effectiveness (36.2%) were the primary reasons for not vaccinating children against COVID-19, whereas preventing children from contracting COVID-19 (55.9%) and government mandate (38.8%) were the primary reasons for vaccinating children against COVID-19. Conclusions: There was significant parental hesitancy to immunize their children against COVID-19. To involve and educate parents, multi-component interventions must be developed and implemented.