Prevalence and Perception Among Saudi Arabian Population About Resharing of Information on Social Media Regarding Natural Remedies as Protective Measures Against COVID-19

Figures & data

Table 1 Descriptive Statistics of Survey Respondents

Personal Data	Total (%)	Study Groups
		HCWs (n=275)		NHCWs (n=974)
		n	%	n	%
Region
Central region	403 (32.3%)	76	27.6%	327	33.6%
Eastern region	123 (9.8%)	27	9.8%	96	9.9%
Northern region	83 (6.6%)	8	2.9%	75	7.7%
Southern region	80 (6.4%)	23	8.4%	57	5.9%
Western region	560 (44.8%)	141	51.3%	419	43.0%
Nationality
Saudi	1192 (95.4%)	254	92.4%	938	96.3%
Non-Saudi	57 (4.6%)	21	7.6%	36	3.7%
Gender
Male	288 (23.1%)	98	35.6%	190	19.5%
Female	961 (76.9%)	177	64.4%	784	80.5%
Age group
Young adults (18–40)	824 (66.0%)	193	70.2%	631	64.8%
Middle-aged adults (41–59)	391 (31.3%)	70	25.5%	321	33.0%
Older adults (60–70)	34 (2.7%)	12	4.4%	22	2.3%
Educational level
Less than high school	32 (2.6%)	0	0.0%	32	3.3%
High school	178 (14.3%)	3	1.1%	175	18.0%
Bachelor’s degree	713 (57.1%)	142	51.6%	571	58.6%
Post graduate degree	326 (26.1%)	130	47.3%	196	20.1%
Health care workers speciality among HCWs study group
Physician	100	Public Health promotion			5
Laboratory technologist	78	Medical care and rehabilitation			6
Pharmacist	23	Radiologist			5
Nurse	21	Medical equipment engineer			4
Clinical nutrition	16	Infection control			2
Health administrator	15

Table 2 Prevalence of Circulating the Information Regarding Using Natural Remedies as Protective Measures Against the COVID-19 Infection by Study Groups

Question	Response	Total		Groups				P-value
				HCWs		NHCWs
		n	%	n	%	n	%
Have you participated in recirculating the information related to natural remedies uses as protective measures during COVID-19 pandemic with others	Never	503	40.3%	132	48.0%	371	38.1%	0.049*
	Sometimes	291	23.3%	56	20.4%	235	24.1%
	Often	71	5.7%	14	5.1%	57	5.9%
	Usually	103	8.2%	21	7.6%	82	8.4%
	Always	281	22.5%	52	18.9%	229	23.5%

Notes: P: Pearson X² test. *P < 0.05 (significant).

Table 3 Distribution of the Most Preferred Social Media Platforms for COVID-19 Related Information Among the Study Group

Social Media Used	Total (%)	Study Groups				P-value
		HCWs		NHCWs
		n	%	n	%
WhatsApp	644 (51.6%)	144	52.4%	500	51.3%	0.018*
Twitter	345 (27.6%)	88	32.0%	257	26.4%
Snapchat	172 (13.8%)	21	7.6%	151	15.5%
Facebook	4 (0.3%)	0	0.0%	4	0.4%
Instagram	8 (0.6%)	1	0.4%	7	0.7%
Telegram	9 (0.7%)	2	0.7%	7	0.7%
All social media	67 (5.4%)	19	6.9%	48	4.9%

Notes: P: Exact probability test. *P < 0.05 (significant).

Table 4 Participants’ Perception Regarding the Recirculation of the Information Related to Natural Remedies Uses as Protective Measures During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Reason for Sharing the Medical Information without Referring to the Source or Evidence During the COVID-19 Pandemic	Total		Groups				P-value
			HCWs		NHCWs
	n	%	n	%	n	%
I never contribute to share the medical information with others	503	40.3%	132	48.0%	371	38.1%	0.010*
I do not share any medical information until I can be sure it is correct	295	23.6%	69	25.1%	226	23.2%
I only share the information with professional people to make sure if it is correct	82	6.6%	14	5.1%	68	7.0%
I think sharing the information without evidence is harmless and may be beneficial	128	10.2%	20	7.3%	108	11.1%
I think most of the published medical information is correct	84	6.7%	8	2.9%	76	7.8%
I do not have the experience or knowledge even if I return to the original sources	18	1.4%	5	1.8%	13	1.3%
I do not have time to search for the reliability of the information source before sharing it.	12	1.0%	3	1.1%	9	0.9%
I think the information is correct based on my experience	127	10.2%	24	8.7%	103	10.6%

Notes: P: Pearson X² test. *P < 0.05 (significant).

Table 5 Information Recirculation Based on Demographic Details

Personal Data		Have You Participated in Recirculating the Information Related to Natural Remedies Uses as Protective Measures During COVID-19 Pandemic with Others		P-value
		n	%
Region	Central region	233	57.8%	0.397
	Eastern region	68	55.3%
	North region	49	59.0%
	Southern region	54	67.5%
	Western region	342	61.1%
Gender	Male	171	59.2%	0.825
	Female	575	59.9%
Age group	Young adults (18–40)	450	54.6%	0.001*
	Middle-aged adults (41–59)	269	68.8%
	Older adults (60–70)	27	79.4%
Educational level	Less than high school	19	59.4%	0.065
	High school	117	66.1%
	Bachelor’s degree	404	56.7%
	Post graduate degree	206	63.0%
HCWs specialty	Clinical nutrition	5	31.3%	0.187
	Health Administrator	12	70.6%
	Laboratory technologist	43	55.1%
	Medical equipment engineer	4	40.0%
	Nurse	11	52.4%
	Pharmacist	12	52.2%
	Physician	49	49.0%
	Public Health promotion	2	40.0%
	Radiologist	5	100.0%

Notes: P: Pearson X² test. *P < 0.05 (significant).