Publication:

Knowledge, attitude, and practice study of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus in Oman

Background In the 21st century, there has been an increase in the spread of various diseases. Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) disease is one of them. In order to contain and eradicate the spread of MERS-CoV, assessing public knowledge, attitude, and practice is important. This public study was conducted in the eleven governorates of Oman for its assessment.

Methods A national level cross-sectional survey was conducted online for a period of nine days using a questionnaire that contained forty-one questions. The questions were designed to evaluate public perception and understanding of MERS-CoV disease. The acquired data were analysed using SPSS software.

Results A total of 505 people participated in the survey. The majority of the participants were males from the Muscat region (46%). The ages of the participants were between <20 to 60 years. The survey revealed that 60% of the participants were unaware about the disease (p<0.001) and about 48% (p=0.003) of them were unsure about the symptoms of the disease. Most people had a positive attitude towards preventing the spread of the infection. Adherence to precautionary measures was higher among the female participants (69%, p=0.021). Primary information source for the public was through social media.

Conclusions Overall, the surveyed population had a varied perspective about the disease and fair knowledge on the preventive measures. However, a large percentage of the participants were unclear about the epidemic situation and lacked knowledge on the disease, but showed a positive attitude towards curbing the spread of infection.