Background The control measures during COVID-19 such as curfew, lockdown, and social distancing had observed differences in controlling the spread of the disease around the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; however, they might contribute to psychological illnesses such as anxiety, depression, panic disorder, and distress. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted to assess psychological distress and the factors affecting it among general population in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results Seven hundred and thirty-nine people completed an online questionnaire which included the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10). Psychological distress was found among 35% of the study sample. Western and northern regions reported higher rates of distress. In addition, higher rates were found among younger and unmarried individuals. Distress was significantly positively correlated with perceptions of susceptibility and severity of COVID-19 infection, and the fear to lose a job as a result of the pandemic and the related precautions. Conclusion Psychological support programs should be provided targeting high-risk groups of younger and unmarried population. Further research should be conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of psychological support interventions.

Consanguineous marriage is preferred in many countries, especially by Muslims. Despite the increasing education rate in Saudi Arabia, the prevalence of consanguineous marriage does not seem to be decreasing as quickly as expected. The present study aimed to investigate the current prevalence of consanguineous marriage among educated married adults in Riyadh and to determine the factors favouring it. The cross-sectional study was conducted in 2017–18 using an online questionnaire. A total of 550 questionnaires were sent to married adults of both sexes and 417 responded, giving a response rate of 75.8%. The questionnaire consisted of two parts: the first section asked for demographic data such as age, sex, educational level, residential area and family size. The second part was about consanguineous marriage and its degree if present, family history of consanguineous marriage and level of awareness of its potential negative impact on offspring. It was found that the prevalence of consanguineous marriage among the participating educated adults was 39.8% and most of these were married to a first cousin. Neither level of education nor age affected the likelihood of consanguineous marriage, but predictors for the practice among the educated participating adults were having a family history of consanguineous marriage, having consanguineous parents and having a personal preference for consanguineous marriage. In conclusion, the prevalence of consanguineous marriage among educated adults in Riyadh was still high in 2018, especially among first-cousin relatives, and this was related to family history and personal preference rather than educational level or age. It is recommended that further research is conducted to assess the level of knowledge about, and attitude towards, consanguineous marriage among adults in Saudi Arabia.

Objectives: Infectious diseases are the most common cause of disease stigmatisation, which can lead to a denial of healthcare, education, housing, and employment, as well as physical violence. Stigmatisation is common during pandemics. This study set out to examine the social stigmatisation of COVID-19 among resident of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in Riyadh in May 2020. Non-probability convenient sampling was used to recruit the 847 participants through social media and WhatsApp. Descriptive statistics, the Pearson correlation coefficient, and a chi-square test were used, as well as a multiple linear regression model. Results: The study revealed a high level of stigma among 21% of participants and an intermediate level in almost 49% of participants. Low stigma was indicated among 30% of the study sample. A highly significant association existed between stigma and older age groups, married individuals, and participants with lower levels of education. Conclusions: Future programmes should educate patients and their families about stigma, as well as the consequences of stigmatising COVID-19. Stigma eradication policies and interventions should be implemented to avoid potential consequences for public health. Keywords: social stigma, COVID-19, Saudi Arabia, pandemic.

Introduction: This cross-sectional descriptive study aimed to use the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) model as a framework to assess compliance with preventive measures against COVID-19 among residents of the city of Riyadh. Methodology: In May 2020, electronic study questionnaires on Microsoft Forms were distributed to a sample of 886 Riyadh residents via social media and WhatsApp groups. Results: We found that the participants had good knowledge. However, less than half of the participants exhibited positive attitudes and good practices toward COVID-19. There was a statistically significant positive correlation between their practices, attitudes, and knowledge. The most practiced behaviours among the participants were (1) a commitment to home quarantine, (2) the use of a tissue or the inside of an elbow when coughing or sneezing, (3) hand washing for a minimum of 20 seconds, and (4) sterilization of surfaces/equipment and wearing masks in public places. Regression analysis showed that knowledge, attitudes, and age were the three factors that could predict the practices of preventive behaviours against COVID-19. Conclusions: A higher likelihood of practicing preventive measures during the COVID-19 pandemic was significantly associated with one’s total knowledge and attitude scores. Future educational campaigns are recommended to focus on residents’ susceptibility to COVID-19, its severity, mask wearing, and the disinfection of surfaces and appliances when targeting public audiences. In addition to raising awareness, public policies that support preventive practices would improve the likelihood of compliance.

Background: In Saudi Arabia there is still a high prevalence of consanguineous marriage in spite of increased educational level. This may be attributed to the fact that this practice is more influenced by attitude towards this type of marriage rather than educational level. The Aim of this study was to determine knowledge and attitude towards consanguineous marriages among educated Saudi adults.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted using an online questionnaire. A total of 680 educated Saudi adults living in Riyadh were asked about their socio-demographic characteristics, their knowledge and attitude towards consanguineous marriage.Results: Most of participants had poor knowledge and negative attitude (53.31% and 57.21% respectively). One third of participants had no idea about the possibility that consanguineous couples may have diseased offspring more than non-consanguineous couples. Those who had significantly higher attitude score towards consanguineous marriage were older age group, males, those who are married to their relatives, people who have frequent family history of consanguineous marriage and participants with parental consanguinity. Attitude towards consanguineous marriage can be predicted by age and knowledge.Conclusions: Changing the attitude can be done by changing level of knowledge. So, educational programs are recommended and should be directed to groups with higher attitude score.

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Background: The hazards and life-threatening conditions resulting from using household chemical products can be avoided or minimized by following certain safety measures. To investigate following safety measures during use of household chemical products (HHCP) among women and to explain that behaviour using the Health belief model (HBM).Methods: This was a cross sectional study. The study was conducted among adult females in Riyadh. The total sample size was 449 by convenience Sampling. this study started in September 2019 till April 2020. the questionnaire included 3 sections which were sociodemographic characteristics, safety measures followed during use of HHCP and the last section assessed the six components of health belief model.Results: Data analysis was done using JMP version 14.2 and the cutoff point of significance was 0.05. 30.3% of the studied sample demonstrated good level of following safety measures. There was no association between the level of following safety measures during the use of HHCP and level of education among studied sample (p value>0.05). The mean of each component of HBM was higher among women with good level of following safety measures than those who follow safety measures poorly. This was significant for perceived susceptibility (1.397 vs 1.269, p=0.03), perceived barriers (8.080 vs 7.038, p=0.0001), self-efficacy (2.889 vs 2.750, p=0.0240) and motivation factors (cues to action) (14.75 vs 13.69, p=0.0001).  Conclusions: Health belief model can successfully explain following safety measures behaviour during use of HHCP. Motivation factors has the greatest impact on this behaviour.

Background: Dietary patterns are influenced by behavioral factors in early adulthood. Nutritional education has a major role in improving health status of adolescents. Objective (s):This study aimed at assessing the knowledge, attitude and behavior about healthy dietary habits among adolescent females before and after a nutrition education program in Riyadh, KSA. Methods: An intervention study was conducted in two schools among 105 students (57 from intermediate school and 48 from high school). Nutrition-related knowledge, attitude and behavior were assessed pre-intervention and one week post-intervention using the same instrument. The nutrition education program consisted of three sessions This study was approved by Institutional Review Board (IRB) of Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University. Results: After the intervention, there was significant improvement in students' attitude (from 21.6±5.4 to 23.7 ± 3.2) and behavior towards healthy dietary habits (from 48±12.1 to 51.5 ± 7.2) with a P-value of 0.02 and 0.006 respectively. Knowledge score did not improve after the intervention. There was a significant decrease in the total barrier score from 12.2 ± 2.7 to 11.2 ± 2.7 with a pvalue of 0.01, and significant change in the consumption of daily breakfast, fresh food and whole grain (p-value 0.01, 0.05 & 0.02 respectively) and in checking expiry date of food (p-value 0.03) The Avoidance of fatty meals also improved significantly (p-value 0.03) . Conclusion: This nutrition education program was effective in improving adolescents' attitude and behavior in relation to healthy diet.