Study of knowledge, attitude and anxiety in Kurdistan-region of Iraqi population during the monkeypox outbreak in 2022

Abstract

On July 23, the WHO declared the rapidly spreading monkeypox epidemic a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). This study attempted to assess the knowledge, attitude, and anxiety levels of the general population during the monkeypox outbreak. An online cross-sectional survey was conducted during the period July 27 and July 30, 2022, using a convenience sampling method. The questionnaire was adapted and developed after an in-depth review of the previous studies. A total of 510 respondents participated in this study. 277 (54.3%) were male, 233 (45.7%) were female. Participants had insufficient knowledge of MPX with a mean and SD deviation 2.096 ± 1.359, 2.576 ± 1.466, having a normal attitude toward MPX 4.031 ± 1.645. Moreover, they had anxiety problems 32.382 ± 10.094. There were significant differences in the mean rank scores of the knowledge of respondents about MPX according to their gender, marital status, religion, level of education, and place of residence, with p-values of 0.009, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, and 0.000, respectively. Also, there were significant differences in the mean rank scores of attitudes of respondents toward MPX according to their gender, level of education, place of residence, and age, with p-values of 0.011, 0.020, and 0.000, 0,029, respectively. Lastly, there were significant differences in the mean rank score of anxiety of respondents toward MPX according to their gender, marital status, religion, level of education, and place of residence, with p-values of 0.000, 0.009, 0.000, 0.000, and 0.000 respectively. There is an urgent need to raise public awareness and manage people's emotional wellbeing.

Assessing Healthcare Workers’ Knowledge and Their Confidence in the Diagnosis and Management of Human Monkeypox: A Cross-Sectional Study in a Middle Eastern Country

“…A recent HMPX KAP study by Matteo Riccò et al reported similar low levels of knowledge among Italian physicians [ 29 ]. Low levels of HMPX knowledge were also reported among the general public in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Kurdistan region of Iraq [ 55 , 56 , 57 ].…”

Socio-demographic determinants of monkeypox virus preventive behavior: a cross-sectional study in Pakistan

“…This inference is consistent with other recent research that revealed that people generally in Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, and the Kurdistan region of Iraq had little knowledge of MPXV. 16,36,37 As MPXV is endemic in tropical rainforest regions, Pakistan lies in a temperate climate zone and there has been no previous exposure to the disease in the country, rendering the disease unknown among the general population. 12,38 The majority were unaware of the origin of MPXV in the DRC.…”

Timely mental health care for the 2022 novel monkeypox outbreak is urgently needed

“…However, no psychological symptoms were measured in any of these investigations because they did not use reliable instruments. Further evidence from a cross-sectional survey conducted in Iraq indicates that the public at large is experiencing anxiety in light of the ongoing monkeypox epidemic [ 4 ].…”