Risk Communication Effectiveness During COVID-19 Pandemic Among General Population in Saudi Arabia

Almuzaini, Yasir; Mushi, Abdulaziz; Aburas, Alhanouf; Yassin, Yara; Alamri, Fahad; Alahmari, Ahmed; Yezli, Saber; Khan, Anas; Jokhdar, Hani

doi:10.2147/rmhp.s294885

Cited by 17 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…During the COVID-19 pandemic, the highest Saudi authority responsible for credible information is the MOH. 15 Our study shows that traditional media like television, radio, and newspapers, although used by the MOH for health messaging before and during the pandemic, the caregivers did not turn to traditional media for health advice. This could be because the caregivers’ age group (young adult aged 18–35 years) tends to seek more information online, 16 and the electronic format of the survey can result in a sampling bias.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 65%

Caregivers’ Sources of Information About Immunization as Predictors of Delayed Childhood Vaccinations in Saudi Arabia During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Questionnaire Study

Baghdadi¹,

Hassounah²,

Younis³

et al. 2021

RMHP

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Purpose This study compared the most used sources of information by caregivers for scheduled childhood vaccination in Saudi Arabia before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and examined the effect of this decision-making. Methods An electronic survey was administered to 577 caregivers of children aged ≤2 years residing in Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 pandemic curfew. The sources of information on childhood vaccination considered by the caregivers and their influence on the caregivers’ decision to delay scheduled vaccination were assessed and statistically analyzed. Results Most participants (90.8%) were mothers aged 32.6 ± 5.7 years. Before the pandemic, most caregivers sought information about children’s vaccinations personally from the healthcare workers, or trustworthy sources, including the Ministry of Health (MOH), MOH call center 937, and MOH Sehha app. However, during the pandemic, there was a noticeable decrease in the searches for health information through professional consultations (in person and health websites) and a significant increase in the use of social media platforms. Twitter was the most used platform (29.9%) and the use of Snapchat was significantly higher during the lockdown period compared to its use before the pandemic (21.9% vs 17.2%, P < 0.001). The use of social media not only increased the level of fear among the caregivers but also had a negative effect on their decisions about children’s vaccinations. Searches on YouTube and Facebook particularly increased the odds of delaying vaccinations by 2.63 times ( P = 0.008) and 3.66 times ( P = 0.025), respectively. Conclusion During the pandemic, caregivers’ health-information seeking behavior was directed towards social media networking. In Saudi Arabia, YouTube and Facebook, in particular, played an important role in the caregivers’ decision-making about childhood vaccinations. The results of this survey provide valuable information on how to reach the Saudi population and launch an effective awareness campaign using the most commonly accessed and influential sources of information.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 65%

Caregivers’ Sources of Information About Immunization as Predictors of Delayed Childhood Vaccinations in Saudi Arabia During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Questionnaire Study

Baghdadi¹,

Hassounah²,

Younis³

et al. 2021

RMHP

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“…Twitter, the most widely used social media network, followed by WhatsApp and other social media platforms used by the public, 14 was utilized by government officials and concerned institutions to reach the populace by broadcasting daily updates on confirmed cases, fatalities, and recoveries. Social media were also used to spread health awareness, educational messages, and visual infographics to keep the public informed on current precautionary measures and encourage individuals to follow government instructions.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The use of digital technology in the eight pillars of response is vital for the function and success of each respective area of preparedness and response. [13][14][15] These technologies have been adapted worldwide to perform multiple tasks related to the pandemic, including prevention and such surveillance as contact tracing. 12 Moreover, these different technologies had several benefits, including 35 separate beneficial effects that improved patients' outcomes and decreased the impact of the outbreak.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Digital Technology in Responding to COVID-19 Pandemic: Saudi Arabia’s Experience

Khan¹,

Alahmari

Almuzaini

et al. 2021

RMHP

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Introduction:The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a single-chain ribonucleic acid (RNA) virus. As of March 25, 2021, the total number of positive cases and fatalities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) had reached 386,300 and 6624, respectively, with a case fatality rate of 1.71%. The KSA was among the leading nations to heed the advice of WHO officials and put strict precautionary and preventive measures in place to curb the early spread of COVID-19 before it was declared a global pandemic. Methodology: This was an uncontrolled before-after study following a mixed-method approach for data collection. National and regional data were extracted from the Health Electronic Surveillance Network (HESN), a centralized public health collection system for quantitative and statistical data. Quantitative and qualitative methods have been utilized in studying data derived from tech media. Results: The Saudi authorities utilized different technological tools to aid in managing and combating the COVID-19 pandemic. In the case of Al Madinah Al Mounawarah, after the implementation of several technologies, the most important being Tawakkalna, the number of active daily cases decreased by 61%. Conclusion:The use of the Tawakkalna application was proven to be a successful method in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic in the KSA. This vital and essential experience warrants the use of different digital technology that offers a personalized profile displaying the person's status (affected, vaccinated, or no history of infection). This application played and will continue to play a crucial and effective role in pandemic containment in Saudi Arabia.

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“…And another study showed that the most common source of information for COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia were official government social media, and Twitter [48] . Other sources of getting information regarding COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia includes text messages, television, and the official Saudi MOH call center (the 937 number) [49] . Other studies also showed dependence on the Saudi and US Centers for Disease control and preventions [50] , or the official websites of the Saudi MOH and the World Health Organization (WHO) [51] .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 vaccine uptake among healthcare workers in the fourth country to authorize BNT162b2 during the first month of rollout

Barry¹,

Temsah²,

Aljamaan³

et al. 2021

Vaccine

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Background The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) was the fourth country in the world to authorize the BNT162b2 coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine, which it rolled out on December 17, 2020 and first targeted at healthcare workers (HCWs). This study assesses vaccine uptake among this group during the first month of its availability. Methods A national cross-sectional, pilot-validated, self-administered survey was conducted among HCWs in the KSA between December 27, 2020 and January 3, 2021. The survey included sociodemographic details, previous contact with COVID-19 patients, previous infection with COVID-19, receiving (or registering with the Ministry of Health website to receive) the COVID-19 vaccine, sources of HCWs’ information on vaccines, awareness of emerging variants of concern, and anxiety level using the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder assessment. A descriptive bivariate analysis and multivariate logistic binary regression analysis were performed. The primary evaluated outcome was vaccine uptake. Results Of the 1058 participants who completed the survey, 704 (66.5%) were female, and 626 (59.2%) were nurses. Of all the respondents, 352 (33.27%) were enrolled to receive or had already received the vaccine, while 706 (66.73%) had not enrolled. In a bivariate analysis, not enrolling for vaccination was more likely in females than males (78.5% vs. 21.5%, P < 0.001), HCWs between the ages of 20 and 40 years than those >40 years (70.4% vs. 29.6%, P = 0.005), Saudi HCWs than expatriates (78% vs 22%, P < 0.001), and among HCWs who used social media as a source of information than those who did not (69.8% vs. 38.6%, P < 0.001). In a multivariate analysis, independent factors associated with uptake were being a Saudi national (aOR = 1.918, 95 %CI = 1.363–2.698, P < 0.001), working in an intensive care unit (aOR = 1.495, 95 %CI = 1.083–2.063, P = 0.014), and working at a university hospital (aOR = 1.867, 95 %CI = 1.380–2.525, P < 0.001). Conclusions A low level of vaccine uptake was observed especially in female HCWs, those younger than 40 years old, and those who used social media as their source of vaccine information. This survey provides important information for public health authorities in order to scale up vaccination campaigns targeting these HCWs to increase vaccine enrollment and uptake.

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Risk Communication Effectiveness During COVID-19 Pandemic Among General Population in Saudi Arabia

Cited by 17 publications

References 42 publications

Caregivers’ Sources of Information About Immunization as Predictors of Delayed Childhood Vaccinations in Saudi Arabia During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Questionnaire Study

Caregivers’ Sources of Information About Immunization as Predictors of Delayed Childhood Vaccinations in Saudi Arabia During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Questionnaire Study

The Role of Digital Technology in Responding to COVID-19 Pandemic: Saudi Arabia’s Experience

COVID-19 vaccine uptake among healthcare workers in the fourth country to authorize BNT162b2 during the first month of rollout

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