03014nas a2200253 4500008004100000245007700041210006900118260001800187300001100205490000600216520225800222653001802480653001302498653001102511653001402522653001802536653001002554653001602564100002502580700003102605700002702636700003202663856006502695 2021 eng d00aPublic Practice of using Hand Sanitizer and Disinfectant in Saudi Arabia0 aPublic Practice of using Hand Sanitizer and Disinfectant in Saud cDecember 2021 a95-1010 v73 a

Objectives: Hand sanitizer and disinfectants have become essential because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the efficacy of sanitizers and disinfectants in preventing disease transmission, the practice of using them has still not improved among the public. Therefore, in this survey, we analyzed the usages of hand sanitizers and disinfectants in the people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Designs and Setting: A self-administered, structured questionnaire was sent to the public online, including questions on the responders’ demographics and questions about the type of sanitizer or disinfectant used, the situations, places, and locations where the sanitizer was used during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected through the Survey Monkey system and analyzed via SPSS software. Results: A total of 402 individuals responded to the questionnaire. Of them, 32.58% of the responders were from the western region, and 25.76% were from the central region, and there were statistically significant differences between all regions (p=0.000). The majority of the responders (90.88%) were Saudi nationals. Small- (3.75) and medium-sized (3.13) sanitizers were the most used. In the case of disinfectants, the highest usage of disinfectants was Dettol (3.97) and Clorox (3.13), with statistically significant differences between the responses (p=0.000). The majority of the times when sanitizers or disinfectants were used during COVID-19 was after going out from the market (4.32), before entering the market (4.19), and during entering the house (4.13), with statistically significant differences between responses (p=0.000). Toilet (214 (54.31%)) and a kitchen (208 (53.06%)) were the sites with the majority of the responses, with statistically significant differences between responses (p<0.001). Conclusion: Most people in Saudi Arabia use small sanitizers and phenolic and quaternary ammonium salt-containing disinfectants. There was malpractice of the sanitizer or disinfectant. Therefore, we highly recommend increasing the public’s awareness about sanitizer and disinfectants used in Saudi Arabia.

10aDisinfectants10aPractice10aPublic10aSanitizer10aSaudi Arabia.10aUsage10aUtilization1 aAlomi, Yousef, Ahmed1 aAlHamdan, Basmah, Sulimain1 aAlosaimi, Sahar, Obaid1 aAltuwayhir, Deema, Abdullah uhttps://www.ptbreports.org/article/2021/7/3/105530ptb2021716