Mohammed Abdullah Aljumaan, Farah M Althikrallah, Mohammed H Alameer, Fahad B Alsaqer, Reem A Alsulayem, Khadija A Alsunaikh, Wafa Y Alqahtani
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Household cleaning products, when misused, are a common cause of acute poisoning and can lead to severe health issues.
Objective: To assess the levels of awareness, knowledge, and attitude in the population of Saudi Arabia regarding the safe use and potential dangers of household cleaning products.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, adults (aged 18-60 years) from Saudi Arabia were invited through various social media networks between September and October 2024, to complete an online survey. The questionnaire elicited information regarding demographics, real-life experiences, knowledge, attitudes, and safe handling practices.
Results: A total of 791 participants completed the survey, of which most were females (64.5%), aged 18-25 years (73.2%), Saudi nationals (89.4%), single (79.3%), and had a Bachelor's degree as their highest education (65.1%). Almost all participants (97.3%) recognized that household cleaners may contain harmful chemicals; however, only 19.0% and 20.6% of the participants recognized sterilizers and disinfectants, respectively, as potentially harmful. In addition, 87% mistakenly believed it was safe to use cleaning products in unventilated spaces, and 77.7% incorrectly believed that inducing vomiting was necessary if these products are ingested. The level of awareness did not vary based on any studied variables. In terms of knowledge, non-Saudis and married participants had significantly higher knowledge (P = 0.002 and 0.029, respectively), while those from the Northern region had significantly positive attitude (P = 0.038).
Conclusion: This study found that in Saudi Arabia, there is a high level of general awareness regarding toxicity of household cleaning products, yet significant knowledge gaps and misconceptions exist regarding its safe use and emergency responses in case of poisoning. These findings indicate the need for targeted educational interventions and public health campaigns to improve actionable knowledge.
期刊介绍：
Saudi Journal of Medicine & Medical Sciences (SJMMS) is the official scientific journal of Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University. It is an international peer-reviewed, general medical journal. The scope of the Journal is to publish research that will be of interest to health specialties both in academic and clinical practice. The Journal aims at disseminating high-powered research results with the objective of turning research into knowledge. It seeks to promote scholarly publishing in medicine and medical sciences. The Journal is published in print and online. The target readers of the Journal include all medical and health professionals in the health cluster such as in medicine, dentistry, nursing, applied medical sciences, clinical pharmacology, public health, etc.
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