Aims: To evaluate attitude toward and knowledge of first aid of the public in Makkah region, Saudi Arabia, considering the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on changing perceptions. Study Design:  A descriptive cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Medicine, between June 2020 and November 2021. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study targeted the whole accessible population in Makkah region. All those aged 18 or older living in the region were invited to participate in the survey. Data collection was through an online pre-structured questionnaire from July 15th to August 12th, 2021. It covered sociodemographic data, knowledge, and attitude regarding first aid, and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: A total of 1,368 participants met the inclusion criteria. Ages ranged from 18 to 70 years. A total of 1,132 (82.7%) participants had poor knowledge, and 1,028 (75.1%) reported they would help in providing first aid. Conclusion: Despite high motivation and readiness to attain knowledge of first aid, public knowledge was very low. Attitudes were very good, but practice was restricted by some barriers.

Introduction: Emergency department (ED) overcrowding is a global public health threat that affects both patients and ED staff. In Saudi Arabia, ED crowding is a challenge to the Ministry of Health. To date, the direct relationship between patient perceptions of ED crowding and their satisfaction has not been fully explained. We aim to assess the perception of our population on ED overcrowding and how it affects their satisfaction level. Methods: A quantitative, cross-sectional study where data collection took place through a pre-structured online questionnaire targeting all accessible adult population in the Western Region of Saudi Arabia. Results: Most of our 373 participants agreed that the decreased number of available emergency departments, lack of coordination, and short staffing were the main reasons of emergency departments overcrowding. The majority were neutral regarding staff incompetence and around 22% of them disagreed. More than half of our participants (59.8%) were unsatisfied, 62.2% of them reported delayed services as the reason behind their dissatisfaction. All participants who reported a delay in the provided services, reported an overall dissatisfaction with the emergency department’s provided care and services (P-Value <0.001) Conclusions: There is a need to provide more ED departments in the western region, designing educational programs for emergency physicians and all the ED staff, and designing awareness campaigns for the public to educate them on the concept of urgent cases and how to access healthcare properly to avoid ED crowding. Keywords: Emergency Department, Overcrowding, Satisfaction, Saudi Arabia.