Psychosocial impacts of coughing in public places during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study in the western region of Saudi Arabia

  • Abdulrahman Dakheel Alahmadi Department of Respiratory Therapy, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; King Abdullah International Medical Research Centre (KAIMRC), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
  • Amjed Yunus Mandeeli Department of Respiratory Therapy, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; King Abdullah International Medical Research Centre (KAIMRC), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
  • Abdulaziz Mohammed Alshamrani Department of Respiratory Therapy, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; King Abdullah International Medical Research Centre (KAIMRC), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
  • Mohsen Hani Alharbi Department of Respiratory Therapy, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; King Abdullah International Medical Research Centre (KAIMRC), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
  • Mohamed Eldigire Ahmed King Abdullah International Medical Research Centre (KAIMRC), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Department of Basic Sciences, College of Science and Health Professions, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
  • Raju Suresh Kumar King Abdullah International Medical Research Centre (KAIMRC), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Department of Basic Sciences, College of Science and Health Professions, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9561-6208
DOI: https://doi.org/10.13181/mji.oa.247213
Keywords: cough, COVID-19, psychosocial factors, public, stress
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Abstract

BACKGROUND Dry cough is a prevalent symptom of COVID-19. During the pandemic, people may mistake this cough for symptoms associated with other respiratory diseases. This increases the risk of individuals with a cough being falsely judged as having COVID-19. This study aimed to investigate the impact of coughing in public places on adults’ mental and social well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic and to explore the role of demographic factors in the relationship between coughing and psychosocial life in public places in the western region of Saudi Arabia.

METHODS This cross-sectional study was conducted in the western region of Saudi Arabia, targeting healthy adults aged ≥18 years. The participants were randomly selected using a cluster sampling technique. Data were collected through a self-administered validated questionnaire to explore the psychosocial impact of coughing in public places during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the questionnaire collected demographic information, smoking habits, cough frequency, consumption of cough medications, history of mild respiratory diseases, and family history of chronic respiratory illnesses. The mean and standard deviation were used to calculate continuous variables, and frequency and percentages were used to present categorical variables. We analyzed the relationships between study variables using the analysis of variance test.

RESULTS 288 adults participated in the study, with a 67.2% agreement score. 82.0% of the participants avoided people who coughed in public, while 51.8% felt angry and frustrated when someone coughed in public during the pandemic.

CONCLUSIONS COVID-19 has changed how people react to coughing in public. Mild coughs can be mistaken for COVID-19, leading to avoidance.

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Published
2024-03-27
How to Cite
1.
Alahmadi AD, Mandeeli AY, Alshamrani AM, Alharbi MH, Ahmed ME, Kumar RS. Psychosocial impacts of coughing in public places during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study in the western region of Saudi Arabia. Med J Indones [Internet]. 2024Mar.27 [cited 2024May2];1(1). Available from: http://mji.ui.ac.id/journal/index.php/mji/article/view/7213
Issue
Online First
Section
Community Research

Copyright (c) 2024 Abdulrahman Dakheel Alahmadi, Amjed Yunus Mandeeli, Abdulaziz Mohammed Alshamrani, Mohsen Hani Alharbi, Mohamed Eldigire Ahmed , Raju Suresh Kumar

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