Hand Hygiene Knowledge, Perception, and Practices among Domestic Visitors to the Prophet’s Mosque in Al Madinah City Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study

Hashim A. Mahdi, Hamza M. Assaggaf, Mohammad Alfelali, Omar B. Ahmed, Radi Alsafi, Ramon Z. Shaban, Robert Booy and Harunor Rashid
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Hashim A. Mahdi: National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance, The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Westmead, NSW 2145, Australia
Hamza M. Assaggaf: Department of Environmental and Health Research, The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Institute for Hajj and Umrah Research, Umm Al Qura University, Makkah 24381, Saudi Arabia
Mohammad Alfelali: Department of Family and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine in Rabigh, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 22252, Saudi Arabia
Omar B. Ahmed: Department of Environmental and Health Research, The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Institute for Hajj and Umrah Research, Umm Al Qura University, Makkah 24381, Saudi Arabia
Radi Alsafi: Department of Environmental and Health Research, The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Institute for Hajj and Umrah Research, Umm Al Qura University, Makkah 24381, Saudi Arabia
Ramon Z. Shaban: Faculty of Medicine and Health, Susan Wakil School of Nursing and Midwifery & Marie Bashir Institute for Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
Robert Booy: National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance, The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Westmead, NSW 2145, Australia
Harunor Rashid: National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance, The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Westmead, NSW 2145, Australia

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 2, 1-11

Abstract: This study aimed to assess hand hygiene knowledge, perception, and practices of visitors to the Prophet’s Mosque in Al Madinah City, Saudi Arabia. Using a self-administered electronic questionnaire, a cross-sectional survey was conducted among domestic residents, who visited the mosque between 31 July and 3 August 2020. Participants’ demographic data, hand hygiene knowledge, perception, and practices were collected. Four hundred participants aged 18–65 (median 36) years completed the survey, of which 215 (53.8%) were female. The visitors’ mean knowledge score about hand hygiene was 6.4 (± standard deviation (SD) 1.35) of total 12. Most participants (392, 98%) were aware of the role of hand hygiene in preventing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19); nevertheless, 384 (96%) said hand hygiene lowers body immunity and 316 (79%) thought <60% alcohol is sufficient for hand disinfection. Males had a higher knowledge score than females (6.46 (±1.41) vs. 6.14 (±1.27), p = 0.02) and, visitors who had no formal education scored higher than those with post-graduate education (6.88 (±1.45) vs 5.73 (±1.12), p = 0.01). Washing hands with soap and water was the predominant method practiced after a meal (365, 91.7%), after toilet visit (354, 88.5%), after touching a surface (262, 65.7%), after waste disposal (332, 83.2%), and when hands were visibly dirty (357, 89.5%). Al Madinah visitors had moderate knowledge about hand hygiene, but demonstrated some knowledge gaps and negligence in practice that are crucial to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; hand hygiene; knowledge; practice; visitors to the Prophet’s Mosque (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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