Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice Toward Prevention of Respiratory Tract Infections among Hajj and Umrah Pilgrims: KSA

Hajj and Umrah are two of the major gatherings that draw a lot of pilgrims from a wide geographical area. Respiratory Tract Infections (RTI) are the most common illness during this season which makes it a big challenge for Saudi Arabia and other countries to prevent the risk of importing infectious diseases into their home countries when they return. This study aims to assess knowledge, attitude, and practice toward the prevention of respiratory tract infections among Hajj and Umrah pilgrims in Saudi Arabia in 2022. A observational study was carried out in Saudi Arabia. A self-administered randomized anonymous questionnaire, written in English and Arabic, was used as a study tool. The study included 434 participants, 68% of them were females and 32% of them were males. Almost half of the participants were between 20- 30 years old. 95.2% of participants received the influenza vaccine, 27.2% received the meningococcal vaccine and 16.6% received the pneumococcal vaccine. 86.9% of participants had good knowledge of respiratory tract infections while 13.1% had poor knowledge scores. 32.7% of participants had a positive attitude toward respiratory tract infections, 55.1% had a neutral attitude and 12.2% had a negative attitude. However, 37.3% had acceptable practice. The study illustrated good knowledge with bad attitudes and practices from participants with respiratory tract infections in Hajj Umrah pilgrims. Knowledge score was only associated with participants’ jobs. Attitude was significantly associated with marital status and participants’ jobs. However, practice was significantly associated with age and marital status.