Assessment of Knowledge, Perception, Experience and Phobia toward Corticosteroids Use among the General Public in the Era of COVID-19: A Multinational Study

Abstract

Background: Corticosteroids play a significant role in managing the vast majority of inflammatory and immunologic conditions. To date, population-based studies on knowledge and attitudes concerning corticosteroids are scarce. This study aims to comprehensively assess knowledge, perception, experience and phobia toward corticosteroid use among the general population in the era of COVID-19. Methods: A cross-sectional self-administrated questionnaire was used to collect the data from 6 countries. Knowledge and corticophobia scores, descriptive statistics and logistic regression were computed. Results: A total of 2354 participants were enrolled in this study; the majority were females (61.6%) with an average age of 30. Around 61.9% had been infected previously with COVID-19, and about one-third of the participants had experience with corticosteroid use. The mean knowledge score was relatively satisfactory (8.7 ± 4.5 out of 14), and Corticophobia ranked a high score in all countries. Age, female gender, and history of COVID-19 were positively correlated with developing corticophobia. Conclusion: Our study highlights that the general knowledge about steroids was satisfactory. However, the phobia toward its use upon indication is high. Therefore, enhancing awareness and providing essential counseling regarding the rational use of corticosteroids may reduce corticophobia.

Knowledge, attitude, and perception of energy drinks consumption among university students in Jordan

“…(42) This can explain why women are often more knowledgeable about health-related information than men, as shown in other studies assessing the public knowledge about various health information. (43)(44)(45) With the increased competition between different brands and manufacturers of energy drinks, which is reflected by various means of advertising these products targeting mainly young people, there is a need to have awareness campaigns to counteract the peer pressure and advertisements' influence young people to decrease their consumption of energy drinks. Hence, these drinks are known for their high caffeine and sugar content, especially with the increasing number of reported caffeine toxicity cases associated with the consumption of energy drinks.…”

An evaluation of pharmacists’ general attitudes, knowledge, and phobias regarding medications that include corticosteroids: a cross-sectional study

“…The study questionnaire was developed after a review of pertinent validated surveys found in the literature [ 12 , 17 – 19 ] and adherence to the fundamental principles of successful survey design [ 20 ]. Through the development of the tool, a pool of questions important to the objectives of the study was added.…”

“…In order to evaluate current practices and perceptions, and to measure how close are these behaviors to corticosteroid guidelines, research efforts were put to assess perceptions, measure knowledge, and determine the actual level of corticophobia among healthcare providers [ 12 ]. In Jordan, healthcare providers tend to have certain preferences or phobias toward prescribing and dispensing corticosteroids to patients in need.…”

Profil Pengetahuan tentang Obat Dexamethasone sebagai Terapi Pengobatan Pasien COVID-19 pada Masyarakat di Jawa Timur

“…Penelitian yang kami temukan berbeda dengan hasil penelitian yang dilakukan oleh Barakat et al (2023), dimana responden pada penelitian tersebut diketahui memiliki pengetahuan yang baik meskipun responden yang menggunakan kortikosteroid hanya sekitar 31,6% dari total responden. Hal ini dikarenakan tingkat pendidikan responden, dimana 63,5% responden merupakan sarjana dan 83,6% responden hidup di wilayah perkotaan.…”

“…Namun, obat dexamethasone tidak dapat digunakan sebagai pencegahan COVID-19 sebab penggunaan obat tidak sesuai indikasi dapat menimbulkan efek samping yang tidak diinginkan. Selain itu, peran tenaga kesehatan sangat penting dalam melakukan konseling kepada pasien secara tepat mengenai penggunaan kortikosteroid yang benar untuk mencegah keraguan, penggunaan tidak sesuai indikasi dan penyalahgunaan kortikosteroid (Barakat et al,2023).…”