Saud Alsulaiman & Dr. Terry Rentner The Coronavirus Crisis in Saudi Arabia Part II: Results On The Ministry Of Health As A Credible Source of Information and Preventive Measures Saud Alsulaiman & Dr. Terry Rentner

What is Coronavirus? The WHO defines the middle east respiratory syndrome (MERS) as a “viral respiratory disease caused by a novel coronavirus” or MERS-Cov. (2014) Majority attributed to human-to human infections, but camels believed to play significant role in transmitting the disease Exact role and route of the transmission has yet to be determined (WHO, 2015).

Initial MOH Response There was no response! Outrage on social media Spread of the virus pushed the MOH to say something Everything is under control!!! Transparency issue One-way communication

New Change of Command “WE CAN STOP IT” Established the Command & Control Center Established a Coronavirus website Free hotline (937) Two- way communication Interactive and visual media Launched a public health campaign “WE CAN STOP IT”

Statistics on Coronavirus First case reported in Saudi Arabia in Sept. 2012 As February 16, 2017: 8 cases under treatment 901 cases recovered 648 cases passed away Total of 1545 cases

Aim of Study 1. Credibility of MOH campaign information 2 Aim of Study 1. Credibility of MOH campaign information 2. Effectiveness of campaign Practicing recommended preventative measures Self-efficacy of performing preventative measures Impact on students in health and agriculture majors Method & Instrument *Online Survey to all King Saud University’s students, 66% response rate (875 participants) *An ordinal Likert scale with 5 points Current Data  Reliability: 0.94 Validity: 0.88  Meyer’s Data  Reliability: 0.92 Validity : 0.83

Health (n) Agriculture(n) Results Gender % n Female 65.15% 359 Male 34.85% 192 Total 100% 551 Health-related Major Health Agriculture Health (n) Agriculture(n) Yes 29.58% 1.45% 163 8 No 70.42% 98.55% 388 543

RQ1: Where do Saudi people first go to obtain information about coronavirus and which source is most likely to be used?

Extremely likely/Likely Extremely unlikely/Unlikely Facebook 8.6% 78% Medium Extremely likely/Likely Extremely unlikely/Unlikely Facebook 8.6% 78% Family & Friends 55.8% 19% Blogs 25.5% 43.5% Newspaper 13.38% 67.5% Radio 16.96% 64.2% TV 40.4% 30% Twitter 73.1% 14.2% MOH’s Website 64.61% 16.4% MOH’s Twitter 69.7% 17.4% MOH’s Facebook 16.9% 69.9% MOH’s YouTube 45.7% 33.5% WHO 45.35% 31.8% CDC 37.23% 37.9% Doctors & Health providers 72.4% 10% YouTube 58.8% 19.8% Internet search engines 87.31 4.6%

Doctors & Health providers Internet search engines Medium M SD MOH Website 21.17 3.330 WHO 20.71 3.726 MOH Twitter 20.63 3.617 CDC 20.38 3.890 MOH YouTube 20.14 3.787 Doctors & Health providers 19.43 3.407 MOH Facebook 19.19 4.122 Internet search engines 15.33 3.739 TV 15.24 3.727 YouTube 14.89 3.653 Newspaper 14.53 3.763 Radio 14.52 3.372 Twitter 14.28 3.903 Blogs 13.97 3.226 Family & Friends 13.83 Facebook 12.88 3.223 Media Credibility RQ2: What sources of information do Saudis believe are most credible when seeking coronavirus information?

RQ3: To what extent are Saudis practicing preventative behaviors RQ3: To what extent are Saudis practicing preventative behaviors? How often do you wash your hands? % Count I don’t wash my hands 0.36% 2 1-2 times 3.99% 22 3-5 times 23.01% 127 5-7 times 30.80% 170 7-9 times 21.20% 117 10 or more times 20.65% 114 Total 100% 552

Do you cover your mouth or use a tissue when coughing or sneezing? Answer % Count Yes 87.50% 483 No 12.50% 69 Total 100% 552

Do you keep yourself away from camels? Answer % Count Yes 90.40% 499 No 9.60% 53 Total 100% 552

Do you follow healthy and balanced diet to increase your immune system? Answer % Count Yes 44.20% 244 No 55.80% 308 Total 100% 552

Do you wear a mask when you visit sick people? Answer % Count Yes 17.39% 96 NO 27.36% 151 I don’t visit sick people 55.25% 305 Total 100% 552

For how many minutes do you exercise weekly? Answer % Count I don’t exercise 36.41% 201 Less than 75 minutes 34.24% 189 Between 75- 140 minutes 15.58% 86 150 minutes or more 13.77% 76 Total 100% 552

RQ4: To what extent do Saudis have the self-efficacy to practice preventative measures? Question Disagree/strongly disagree Neither agree or disagree Agree/Strongly agree I am able to identify coronavirus symptoms. 26% 28.06% 45.8% I am capable of following the ministry of health's coronavirus preventive measures in a daily life basis. 12.9% 23.22% 63.8% I am capable of washing my hands with soap and water regularly. 3.3% 8.97% 87.7% I am capable of searching for updated information regarding coronavirus by myself. 9.4% 12.54% 78% I am capable of avoiding close contact with sick people. 9.12% 20.80% 70.1% I am capable of using proper ways of coronavirus preventive measures, such as using a tissue when I sneeze or cough. 2.85% 8.12% 89% I am capable of keeping myself away from camels. 3.4% 5.84% 90.7% I am able to seek medical help if I feel I have coronavirus symptoms. 6.2% 13.96% 79.8% I am capable of wearing a mask when I visit sick people. 5.1% 9.69% 85%

RQ5: Do students in health and agriculture-related majors view preventative measures differently than students in other majors? Test Statistics   Media Credibility Mann-Whitney U 19343.000 Wilcoxon W 30221.000 Z -2.161 Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed) .031 a. Grouping Variable: Are you a student in a health- related major?   Median Are you a student in a health- related major?   Media Credibility Yes 266.00 No 273.00 Total 271.00

Are you a student in a health- related major? Test Statistics   Believability Accuracy Trustworthiness Biasness Completeness Mann-Whitney U 20344.0 20927.5 21559.0 19561.5 18219.0 Wilcoxon W 31222.0 31805.5 32437.0 30439.50 29097.0 Z -1.385 -.930 -.439 -2.001 -3.038 Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed) .166 .352 .661 .045 .002 a. Grouping Variable: Are you a student in a health- related major?   Are you a student in a health- related major?   Completeness Biasness Yes 49.00 48.00 No 52.00 Total 51.00

Best Practices Understand what media sources are viewed as most credible & trustworthy Disseminate information the public needs NOW (awareness, knowledge, preventative measures) Know that two-way communication is a must Create messages for various target audiences Be sure audiences have the self-efficacy to perform recommendations Understand that transparency is indispensable to gain the public trust