Background Huge efforts are being made to control the spread and impacts of the coronavirus pandemic using vaccines. However, willingness to be vaccinated depends on factors beyond the availability of vaccines. The aim of this study was three-folded: to assess children’s rates of COVID-19 Vaccination as reported by parents, to explore parents’ attitudes towards children’s COVID-19 vaccination, and to examine the factors associated with parents’ hesitancy towards children’s vaccination in several countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR). Methods This study utilized a cross-sectional descriptive design. A sample of 3744 parents from eight countries, namely, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia (KSA), and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), was conveniently approached and surveyed using Google forms from November to December 2021. The participants have responded to a 42-item questionnaire pertaining to socio-demographics, children vaccination status, knowledge about COVID-19 vaccines, and attitudes towards vaccinating children and the vaccine itself. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS- IBM, Chicago, IL, USA) was used to analyze the data. A cross-tabulation analysis using the chi-square test was employed to assess significant differences between categorical variables and a backward Wald stepwise binary logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the independent effect of each factor after controlling for potential confounders. Results The prevalence of vaccinated children against COVID-19 was 32% as reported by the parents. Concerning parents’ attitudes towards vaccines safety, about one third of participants (32.5%) believe that all vaccines are not safe. In the regression analysis, children’s vaccination was significantly correlated with parents’ age, education, occupation, parents’ previous COVID-19 infection, and their vaccination status. Participants aged ≥50 years and those aged 40-50 years had an odds ratio of 17.9 (OR = 17.9, CI: 11.16-28.97) and 13.2 (OR = 13.2, CI: 8.42-20.88); respectively, for vaccinating their children compared to those aged 18-29 years. Parents who had COVID-19 vaccine were about five folds more likely to vaccinate their children compared with parents who did not receive the vaccine (OR = 4.9, CI: 3.12-7.70). The prevalence of children’s vaccination in the participating Arab countries is still not promising. Conclusion To encourage parents, vaccinate their children against COVID-19, Arab governments should strategize accordingly. Reassurance of the efficacy and effectiveness of the vaccine should target the general population using educational campaigns, social media, and official TV and radio channels.

Aims: This study aimed to (1) assess the non-pharmaceutical intervention (NPI) measures that were used by the Jordanian population against COVID-19, and (2) determine the sociodemographic and behavioral predictors of contracting COVID-19 with a focus on the utilization of personal precautionary measures.Methods: A descriptive questionnaire-based cross-sectional survey was used in this study. A structured web-based questionnaire was disseminated to the Jordanian community through social media platforms. Participants were asked a series of questions about socio-demographic characteristics, in addition to the knowledge, attitudes, and commitment toward using various personal precautionary measures (e.g., face mask, hand washing, social distancing) against the COVID-19. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, cross-tabulation, and binary logistic regression through SPSS®.Results: Responses from 7,746 participants were included in our final analyses. Descriptive statistics showed that most participants (82.6%) believed that face mask protects against COVID-19. Around 69.5% of the participants were completely committed to wearing a face mask, while 65% of the participants were completely committed to hand washing. The results of the regression analysis revealed that female gender (AOR = 1.2; 95% CI: 1.07–1.35; p = 0.002), having a family member infected with COVID-19 (AOR = 8.5; 95% Cl: 7.51–9.70; p = 0.001), having a health-related work or study (AOR = 1.2; 95% Cl: 1.09–1.38; p = 0.001), believing that face masks do not protect against COVID-19 (AOR = 1.3; 95% Cl: 1.12–1.47; p = 0.001), and partial commitment to handwashing (AOR = 1.2; 95% Cl: 1.11–1.75; p = 0.006) were all associated with an increased odds of contracting COVID-19 among the participants.Conclusion: Overall, commitment to non-pharmaceutical intervention (NPI) measures, such as wearing a face mask, hand washing, and physical distancing, was not optimal among Jordanians. This might explain the dramatic increase in the infectivity rate of the COVID-19 virus in the past few months in the country. More sustainable efforts regarding health promotion and strict policies are required to prevent a third wave of hitting the country and to prevent similar infectious threats in the future.

This study aimed to explore the gap between patients' expectations of healthcare service quality in Jordanian hospitals against their perceptions of service received using SERVQUAL model. Methods:The study used a cross-sectional design. The study data were collected randomly from 415 patients (participants) who completed the SERVEQUAL questionnaire. The data were analyzed using statistical procedures such as descriptive, t-test, and ANOVA. Results: The results showed that there is a gap between mean score of patients' expectations of what should be available in the hospital and patients' perceptions of the service received in the hospital. Patients' expectations were higher than their perceptions on all five SERVQUAL domains (Tangibles, Reliability, Responsiveness, Assurance, and Empathy). Conclusion: Hospital managers should take necessary actions to improve healthcare services in their hospitals with respect to all SERVQUAL domains. These actions should be directed to reduce the gap between patients' expectation and their perceptions in order to provide services meet patients' needs.

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Background: The symptoms of COVID-19 have a wide range of severity ranging from no symptoms at all to mild symptoms, such as fever, cough, sore throat, general weakness. Moreover, in some situations, patients may develop severe complications as pneumonia, and sepsis, leading to death. This study aims to investigate the characteristic features of COVID-19 patients based on their medical condition prior to COVID-19 diagnosis. Methods: A retrospective cohort study took place between the 1st of April 2020 and the 31st of June 2020 in Prince Hamzah Hospital, Jordan. Patients were diagnosed by the Real-Time Reverse Transcriptase (RT)–PCR Diagnostic Panel, either through screening or for those who developed symptoms. During this period, patients who tested positive for COVID 19 were admitted to the hospital regardless of their symptoms according to the local government health policies. A total of 508 Patients were involved and divided into two groups based on the presence or absence of chronic illnesses prior to COVID-19 diagnosis. Results: A total of 371 patients were medically free (220 males and 151 females). Among them, 153 patients were symptomatic (41.2%), with an average hospitalization of 18 days. Generalized malaise, dry cough, and fever were the most common reported symptoms (51%, 45.8%, and 41.8%, respectively). On the other hand, the total number of COVID-19 patients with predefined comorbidities was 137 (93 males and 44 females). Among them, 86 patients (62.8%) were symptomatic, with an average duration of admission of 19.3 days. Similar to medically free patients, dry cough, generalized malaise, and fever were the most commonly reported symptoms (50%, 43%, and 38.4%, respectively). There was a statistically significant correlation between the presence of chronic illnesses and the development of symptoms among COVID-19 patients (P = 0.0001). Conclusion: Dry cough, generalized malaise, and fever were the most commonly reported symptoms among our patients regardless of their medical condition. The average duration of hospitalization in medically free patients was less than patients with comorbidities, and it was less among asymptomatic compared to symptomatic patients. More than half of our COVID-19 patients were male and asymptomatic. A significant correlation between patients' medical condition and the possibility of developing symptoms in response to COVID-19 was identified.