Abstract
Objective: The objective of this study is to evaluate people's opinions about their health education needs during the H1N1 Influenza A pandemic.
Method: A cross sectional study was conducted during December 2009 in primary care clinics at King Khalid University hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. An Arabic questionnaire was distributed to adult males and females who attended the primary care clinics. The questionnaire contained demographic data and their different opinions about health education activities during the H1N1 Influenza A pandemic. 400 questionnaires were collected, and data was entered and analyzed using Statistical Package of Social Science (SPSS version 12).
Results: The study showed that 57.5% of participants had fear and anxiety to some extent during the H1N1 epidemic, and 64.8% of the participants admitted their need for health education to improve their understanding of the H1N1 illness and decrease their anxiety and fear. Most of the participants in this study (77%) got their health information from television, which might be more attractive for the public, while only (22.8%) got their health education from physicians. About a quarter to a third of participants were not satisfied at all regarding health education activities in the teaching hospital, primary health care center, and in the community.
Conclusion and recommendation: It is highly important to improve strategic planning for scientific health education activities during epidemic periods at primary health care centres, hospitals and in the community, to avoid misunderstanding and minimize fear and anxiety and improve people's satisfaction.