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.

Objectives: Hand sanitizers and disinfectants have been commonly used during epidemic and pandemic situations. Despite the proven efficacy and safety of sanitizers and disinfectants, the publics' knowledge about their use is still controversial. In this survey, we aimed to investigate the knowledge of the public about the use of hand sanitizer and disinfectants in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Design and Setting: A self-administered structured questionnaire was sent to the public via online mode. It collected demographic information and collected information about different hand sanitizers and disinfectants and their general knowledge on such products, contraindications, and storage information during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected through the Survey monkey program. Results: A total of 402 participants responded to the questionnaire. Of them, 32.58% were from the western region, and 25.76% were from the central area, and there were statistically significant differences between different regions (p=0.000). Based on nationality, 90.88% of Saudi nationals responded to the questionnaire. In addition, 65.17% of the responders were female, with statistically significant differences (p=0.000). The most prevalent age group was between 18 and 29 years (50.25%), with statistically significant differences between all age groups (p=0.000). The average general knowledge score was 3.90emphasizing the medication administration (4.40) and frequency of usage (4.25). The average score of contraindication knowledge was 2.91. The feature most known by the public was the general side reaction that appears during use (3.21), and usage of the medication with other drugs is forbidden (3.04). The average score for the knowledge of storage was 3.45. The part most known by the patient was the storage of the sanitizer or disinfectant at room temperature (3.91) and sanitizer or disinfectant prices in general (3.58). Conclusion: The knowledge about storage of sanitizers and disinfectants among the public in Saudi Arabia was satisfactory; however, the knowledge about contraindications was insufficient. Therefore, we recommend increasing the general public's awareness about sanitizers and disinfectants in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Objectives:The public had malpractice and attitudes toward hand sanitizer and disinfectants during epidemic and pandemic situations. Even though there is evidence that sanitizers and disinfectants are efficacious and prevent disease transmission, the public's perception and attitude about their efficacy are still controversial. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to investigate the perception and attitude of hand sanitizers and disinfectants in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Design and Setting: A self-administered, structured questionnaire was sent to the public via online mode. The survey collected demographic information and information about perception and attitude about using hand sanitizer or disinfectant during COVID-19. Data were analyzed with the SPSS program. Results: A total of 402 participants responded to the questionnaire. Of them, 32.58% were from the western region, and 25.76% were from the central region, with statistically significant differences between different regions (p=0.000). Most of the responders (90.88%) were Saudi nationals. In addition, the majority of the responders (65.17%) were females, with statistically significant differences between males and females (p=0.000). The average score for attitude was 2.65. The average score for the perception was obtained for the element "dedicate a specific place in the house to store hand sanitizer or disinfectant" (3.90). The responders accepted the sanitizer of disinfectant information from the health practitioners (3.75). The average score of perception was 3.18. The part with most perception by the patient was "the efficacy and safety of sanitizer and disinfectant is the best factor to get them" (4.01), and "there is a big difference between sanitizer and disinfectant in effectiveness and safety" (3.75). Conclusion: The public's perception of sanitizers and disinfectants was inadequate in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The public had the perception of knowledge of sanitizers and disinfectants, appropriate storage conditions, non-usage of herbal medications, and use of sanitizers and disinfectants. However, they had a wrong perception of the benefits of sanitizer and disinfectant-related problems. Therefore, public awareness about sanitizer and disinfectants should be improved in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.