Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Medical Interns Toward COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Survey, April-May 2020

Background: COVID-19 is a highly infectious, rapidly spreading disease without any proven vaccine or treatment. Poor knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) toward COIVD-19 prevention measures among healthcare workers may lead to further transmission of the disease. Lack of attention towards non-frontline healthcare workers may put them at higher risk of infection from undetected cases. Here, we evaluate medical interns’ KAP toward COVID-19 prevention measures in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Methods: : We conducted a cross-sectional online survey. We distributed a structured questionnaire to the medical interns through different social media. Data was collected between April and May 2020. We estimated the prevalence of good KAP toward COVID-19 prevention measures. We did T -test or ANOVA to investigate the mean differences in KAP between socio-demographic groups. In addition, we did multivariable logistic regression analysis to investigate the socio-demographic determinants of good KAP. Results: : Of the total 250 participants, 60% were males, 64% were aged between 20 and 25 years, and 90% was Saudi. 24% interns are relying on social media, newspaper, television or friends as primary source of COVID-19 information, while others are relying on formal sources like official websites of national and international bodies. Overall, the prevalence of good knowledge, attitude and practices are 38% (95% CI: 32.2-44.2), 55.2% (48.9-61.3) and 24% (19.1-29.7), respectively. Graduating from government universities are associated with higher odds of good knowledge (aOR: 3.87; 95% CI: 1.05-14.22) and positive attitude (aOR: 4.84; 95% CI: 1.28-18.23) than private or foreign universities. While, practicing in the west region-Mecca and Medina (aOR: 2.35; 95% CI: 1.05-5.23); and the North region-Hail, Jouf, Tabuk & Northern borders (aOR: 3.2; 95% CI: 1.32-7.75) are associated to higher odds of moderate/good practice compared to practicing in the central region- Riyadh and Qassim. Conclusions: : Our findings reveal gaps in KAP among medical interns. Medical interns in Saudi Arabia are not deployed as front-line health worker to combat COVID-19. However, community transmission of COVID-19 make it critical to improve KAP of medical interns toward COVID-19 prevention measures. Repeated training to improve KAP and competency of the medical interns in this regard are warranted.