International Journal of

ADVANCED AND APPLIED SCIENCES

EISSN: 2313-3724, Print ISSN: 2313-626X

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 Volume 8, Issue 3 (March 2021), Pages: 71-77

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 Original Research Paper

 Title: Knowledge, attitude, and practice toward COVID-19 among paramedics in Saudi Arabia: Implications for educational program

 Author(s): Daifallah Alrazeeni *

 Affiliation(s):

 EMS Department, Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz College for EMS, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

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 * Corresponding Author. 

  Corresponding author's ORCID profile: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8149-8650

 Digital Object Identifier: 

 https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2021.03.010

 Abstract:

Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is an ongoing public health issue, which threatens the lives of more than 2.4 million people worldwide. This study's purpose is to establish paramedics’ knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) towards COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia. An online cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted among paramedics in four hospitals via WhatsApp Messenger. The study population was composed of paramedics aged 18 years and above. A pre-validated questionnaire was used to evaluate KAP towards COVID-19. Bloom’s cut-off of 80% was used to assess sufficient knowledge (≥80%), positive attitude (≥4), and good practice (≥2.4). All analyses were performed using SPSS version 26 of the approaching 300 paramedics, 71 (24%) responded. The majority of participants were male (n=61, n=85.9%), with an average age of 33 (range: 18–57) years. Overall, 4.2% (n=3) had sufficient knowledge, 42% (n=30) had a positive attitude, and 4% (n=4) had good practice regarding to COVID-19. There was a statistically significant difference between paramedics’ KAP according to their socio-demographic characteristics. Younger paramedics (≥ 18) have sufficient knowledge and a good practice toward COVID-19 than older paramedics (≥37) (p=0.000, p=0.005), respectively. Older paramedics (≥37) have a positive attitude towards COVID-19 relative to younger paramedics (≥ 18) (p=0.000). A statistically significant difference between the total KAP and the level of education (p=0.000) at which the diploma (p=0.000) had sufficient knowledge of COVID-19 than the bachelors and the postgraduate level. Bachelor's and graduates have a positive attitude (p=0.000) towards COVID-19 than the diploma. Saudi paramedics have poor knowledge of COVID-19. In addition, the results of this study have shown that there are statistically significant differences in KAPs’ paramedics according to their demographic characteristics. The author suggests follow-up studies concerning emergency medical services (EMS) settings around the country. Relevance to clinical practice: Ongoing professional education program for Saudi paramedics is encouraged to improve knowledge of paramedics, thus preventing negative attitudes and encouraging constructive preventive and therapeutic practices. 

 © 2021 The Authors. Published by IASE.

 This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

 Keywords: COVID-19, Saudi Arabia, KAPs, Paramedics

 Article History: Received 14 September 2020, Received in revised form 22 November 2020, Accepted 23 November 2020

 Acknowledgment:

PSCEMS, Deanship of Scientific Research, KSU, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia supported this work, to which we are very grateful. The researcher also extends our gratitude to the PSCEMS students for their involvement in this study.

 Compliance with ethical standards

 Ethical considerations

This study was carried out with the approval of the ethical committee of King Saud University (reference no. E-20-5244). Prior to the start of data collection, the objectives, benefits, and risks of the study were addressed with the participants, and it ensured that participation in the study is voluntary. In addition, all participants were made aware that the information presented in a group format and that anonymity and confidentiality were assured. Participants are allowed to terminate the survey at any time they desire. Participants informed that they may not directly benefit from their participation in the study, but that the findings of the study may be used to develop a professional education program that can help in improving knowledge of paramedics hence averting negative attitudes and promoting positive preventive and therapeutic practices. The risks may associate with participating in this study are considered to be minimal as an inconvenience in studying participants include time and energy spend during data collection.

 Conflict of interest: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

 Citation:

  Alrazeeni D (2021). Knowledge, attitude, and practice toward COVID-19 among paramedics in Saudi Arabia: Implications for educational program. International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 8(3): 71-77

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