Authors: Ibtihal Alattas , Mohammad Sindi , Hesham Ajaj , Ghufran Abuazzah , Hasan Al-Shamrani , Sultan Alwajeeh

Abstract

Background: As an emerging infectious disease, COVID-19 has led to overwhelming pressure on healthcare facilities and has caused significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. The WHO declared it a pandemic in early 2020, and due to a lack of knowledge at the initial phase, there were numerous misconceptions. During the pandemic, evidence-based practices improved patient care. Here we surveyed a representative sample of Saudi emergency medicine physicians in-training to assess their knowledge, attitudes, and practices about COVID-19. Methods: An online survey with 18 questions was generated using survey monkey and provided to the target audience via the messaging service WhatsApp. Results: Most of the participants' ages ranged between 26 and 31 years old, and males were slightly higher in number. Most of the participants demonstrated awareness of the cardinal symptoms of COVID-19 and risk factors for the severity of the infection. Half of the participants believed they could differentiate between COVID-19 and the common cold based on clinical encounters alone, and a quarter of them believed antibiotics decrease overall mortality. Conclusion: General knowledge about COVID-19's cardinal symptoms was adequate; however, there are gaps in knowledge in multiple areas with regard to treatment and practice, and our study shows certain misconceptions that need to be addressed.

Keywords: COVID-19, emergency medicine, knowledge, attitude, and practices