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. 2024 Sep 19;12(18):1877.
doi: 10.3390/healthcare12181877.

Assessment of General Population Understanding and Awareness of Drug Addiction before and after a Health Educational Campaign in Taif City, Saudi Arabia

Mohammad S Alzahrani  1 , Huriyyah A Alotaibi  2 , Shahad M Alhumayani  2 , Hadeel F Aljuaid  2 , Refah S Alghamdi  2 , Yusuf S Althobaiti  2   3
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Assessment of General Population Understanding and Awareness of Drug Addiction before and after a Health Educational Campaign in Taif City, Saudi Arabia

Mohammad S Alzahrani et al. Healthcare (Basel). .

Abstract

Objectives: An awareness campaign was carried out in Taif City to increase awareness about substance abuse and its dangers. This study sought to evaluate the effectiveness of the campaign in enhancing the study participants' awareness and knowledge about drug addiction.

Methods: Using pre- and post-campaign surveys, we assessed the campaign's impact on participants' understanding of drug addiction. The survey included demographic items, followed by 12 items for awareness, rated on a 5-point Likert scale, with the total scores ranging up to 60.

Results: A total of 146 visitors, with a mean age of 33.4 years (SD = 9.2), completed both the pre- and post-questionnaires. Notably, in the post-campaign, 47.3% of the participants acknowledged the risk of IV drug-related infections, a substantial increase from 28.1% from the pre-campaign. Overall, the mean total awareness score increased significantly, from 47.4 (SD = 6.6) pre-campaign to 50.4 (SD = 6.4) post-campaign (paired t = -4.052, p < 0.001).

Conclusion: These findings highlight the potential of such campaigns to significantly improve understanding and awareness of drug addiction.

Keywords: Saudi Arabia; attitude; awareness; knowledge; substance use disorders.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Change in participants’ total awareness scores towards substance use before and after the campaign.
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