Volume 25, Issue 114, August 2021

Knowledge and attitudes of family physicians towards coronavirus disease 2019 infection burden: A cross-sectional study

Molook Alotibi^1♦, Ola Alqudah², Safa Alqudah³

¹Family Medicine Resident, King Fahad Medical City, Saudi Arabia
²Consultant Family Medicine, King Fahad Medical City, Saudi Arabia
³Assistant Professor of Audiology, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Jordan

^♦Corresponding author
Family Medicine Resident, King Fahad Medical City, Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

Objectives: Investigate the knowledge and attitudes of family physicians towards coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Methods: Data were collected from family medicine residents at King Fahd Medical City in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, using an online questionnaire that assessed demographics, knowledge about COVID-19, and attitudes towards the disease. Data were analyzed using Stata software version 14. Results: A total of 179 participants (median age: 28 years) responded; 94 (52.5%) were female. Average knowledge score on a scale of 0– 10 was 8.64 ± 0.97. Knowledge scores were similar between males and females (mean deviation *MD+ = −0.14, p = 0.3). Fourth-year residents had higher knowledge scores compared to those in their first (MD = 1.2, p < .001), second (MD = 0.82, p = 0.001), or third (MD = 0.69, p = 0.02) years. Mean attitude score on a scale of 0–18 was 15.6 ± 1.3. Females exhibited slightly higher positive attitude scores (MD = 0.44, p = 0.02). Conclusion: Residents demonstrated high knowledge and positive attitudes towards COVID-19. More experienced physicians exhibited higher knowledge scores; attitude scores were independent of experience

Keywords: COVID-19, family physicians, knowledge, attitudes

Medical Science, 2021, 25(114), 2011-2018

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