Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32904846›Full record

ArticleSaudi pharmaceutical journal : SPJ : the official publication of the Saudi Pharmaceutical Society2020

Knowledge about COVID-19 and beliefs about and use of herbal products during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study in Saudi Arabia.

Hamad S Alyami, Mohamed A A Orabi, Fahad M Aldhabbah, Hamad N Alturki, Wejdan I Aburas, Abdulrahman I Alfayez, Abdullah S Alharbi, Rawan A Almasuood, Njood A Alsuhaibani

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PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Saudi pharmaceutical journal : SPJ : the official publication of the Saudi Pharmaceutical Society, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 71 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
71citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
14.5field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

71 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 204 citations in OpenAlex.

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11 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Hamad S AlyamiDepartment of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, Najran University, Najran, Saudi Arabia.
Mohamed A A OrabiDepartment of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, Najran University, Najran, Saudi Arabia.
Fahad M AldhabbahCollege of Pharmacy, Qassim University, Al-Qassim, Saudi Arabia.
Hamad N AlturkiCollege of Pharmacy, Qassim University, Al-Qassim, Saudi Arabia.
Wejdan I AburasCollege of Pharmacy, University of Hail, Hail, Saudi Arabia.
Abdulrahman I AlfayezCollege of Pharmacy, Qassim University, Al-Qassim, Saudi Arabia.
Abdullah S AlharbiCollege of Pharmacy, Qassim University, Al-Qassim, Saudi Arabia.
Rawan A AlmasuoodCollege of Pharmacy, Qassim University, Al-Qassim, Saudi Arabia.
Njood A AlsuhaibaniCollege of Pharmacy, Qassim University, Al-Qassim, Saudi Arabia.
Qassim University · SAAl-Azhar University · EGNajran University · SAUniversity of Ha'il · SA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The lack of treatment options for COVID-19 has raised many concerns among populations worldwide, which has led to many attempts to find alternative options to prevent the transmission of the disease or to alleviate the progression of the infection, including focusing more on preventive measures (to prevent transmission to other individuals) and the use of natural products and herbal extracts to increase immunity and decrease the probability of getting infected. This study explored the knowledge of the population of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) about COVID-19 preventive measures and their belief about the consumption of herbal products for the prevention of COVID-19 infection. A total of 5,258 individuals participated in this study. Participants' knowledge about the appropriate COVID-19 preventive measures in terms of handwashing procedures, self-quarantine and social distancing was moderate, with a mean score of 5.5 (SD: 1.7) out of 10 (representing around 55.0% of the total score). About 22.1% (n = 1,161) of the participants reported that they have used herbal products or nutritional supplements during the pandemic period, to protect themselves from the disease. Social media and the Internet (39.4%, n = 372) were the main motivators for the participants to try herbal products. Vitamin C was the most commonly used food supplement to increase immunity and reduces the chance of contracting COVID-19. Our study demonstrated that the general population in Saudi Arabia has a moderate level of knowledge about COVID-19 transmission and preventive measures. A considerable proportion of the population reported the use of herbal products or food supplements in order to protect themselves from the disease. Policymakers are suggested to provide further educational campaigns that increase population knowledge about the disease transmission routes and preventive measures. In addition, the use of herbal products should be evidence-based to ensure patient safety.

Indexed as

COVID-19Food supplementsHerbal productsSaudi Arabia

Identifiers

PMID32904846
PMCPMC7462475
OpenAlexW3082232816

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.