Abstract
Current study aims to investigate the level of knowledge, attitudes, and practices to COVID-19 precautionary measures among urology patients attending outpatient clinics in the public hospitals at Al-Jouf region, Northern of Saudi Arabia.
A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in Al-Jouf region, Northern of Saudi Arabia. The study sample was recruited conveniently. The sample size was 274 urology patients who attended three public hospitals in Al-Jouf region; they are Prince Muteab bin Abdulaziz public hospital, Al-Qurayyat General hospital and Tabarjal public hospital. A self-filled questionnaire consisting of four parts was distributed over the study participants. The questionnaire will consist of 32 items measuring the knowledge, attitudes, and practice of COVID-19 precautionary measures. A three-point Likert scale will be used to scale each item (Agree, neutral, and disagree).
The study findings revealed that Saudi urology patients in Al-Jouf region had a level of knowledge about COVID-19 precautionary measures (2.15 +/- 0.74). In addition, the results showed that the participants had positive attitudes towards COVID-19 precautionary measures (2.47 +/- 0.68). Finally, the study results indicated that there was a high degree of compliance to the safety practices of COVID-19 pandemic (2.32 +/- 0.63).
The study concluded that the urology patients attending the outpatient clinics in Al-Jouf region had a high level of knowledge, positive attitudes and high compliance to the COVID-19 precautionary measures. The study recommended performing more extensive educational programs and awareness campaigns to increase patients' knowledge, awareness and compliance to the precautionary measures of COVID-19 outbreak.