Social knowledge of symptoms, risk factors, causes, and preventive measures of CO poisoning among Saudi Arabia's general population

Abstract

Background: Carbon monoxide (CO) is a highly poisonous gas that has no identifiable colour or odor. People could be affected by CO emissions from various sources that include gas stoves, water heaters, fire places and motor vehicles. Aim: The study aims to assess the perception & knowledge regarding symptoms, risk factors, causes and preventive measures of CO poisoning among the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) general population. Subjects and methods: This is a cross sectional study of the general population of the KSA.The study targeted non health care providers using an electronic survey. The questionnaire mainly consists of three parts; socio-demographic data, knowledge assessment, habitual factors and practices related to CO poisoning.Results: Out of 568 participants, (52.8%) were aged between 18 to 25 years with (64.1%) being females. The majority had poor knowledge (67.6%), negative attitude (72.4%) but good prevention practices (64.4%). Conclusion: There was a deficiency in terms of knowledge and attitude. However preventive practices are inspiring. Respondents who have heard about CO poisoning tend to exhibit better knowledge and practices as compared to the rest of the population.