The Knowledge and Attitude of the Community from the Aseer Region, Saudi Arabia, Toward COVID-19 and Their Precautionary Measures Against the Disease

BACKGROUND: Community adherence to current control measures is one of the vital factors that determines the success of controlling the spread of COVID-19. This adherence depends on the knowledge and attitude of a community toward COVID-19 and their precautionary measures against the disease. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate the knowledge and attitude of the community from the Aseer Region, Saudi Arabia, toward COVID-19 and their precautionary measures against the disease. METHODS: The descriptive cross-sectional study involved an online sample of participants from the Aseer Region, Saudi Arabia, who were recruited based on a nonprobability convenience sampling method from April to May 2020. The self-administered online questionnaire comprised four parts: the first included the demographic details of the participants; the second consisted of 11 closed-ended questions that assessed the participants’ knowledge of COVID-19; the third contained six closed-ended questions that assessed the participants’ overall attitude toward COVID-19; and the fourth comprised six closed-ended questions on the participants’ precautionary measures against COVID-19. The data were analyzed using Statistisoftware SPSS 21.0. RESULTS: Altogether, 740 participants completed the online questionnaire. The mean knowledge score concerning COVID-19 was 8.08 ± 1.765. Graduate participants scored significantly higher for all knowledge items than those from other educational levels. Furthermore, the main source of COVID-19 information was the Ministry of Health website 661 (89.3%). The mean attitude score regarding COVID-19 was 9.74 ± 1.935, whereas the mean precautionary measures score was 10.09 ± 1.91. University-educated participants scored significantly higher for all knowledge items than those from other educational levels. Female participants had significantly higher precautionary measures scores than male participants. CONCLUSION: This study confirms that residents of the Aseer Region have high knowledge of, demonstrate a positive attitude toward, and use appropriate precautionary measures against COVID-19, which is associated with obtaining information about the virus from the Ministry of Health website.