TY - JOUR
T1 - Acceptability and Willingness of UAE Residents to Use OTC Vending Machines to Deliver Self-Testing Kits for COVID-19 and the Implications
AU - Jairoun, Ammar Abdulrahman
AU - Al Hemyari, Sabaa Saleh
AU - Abdulla, Naseem Mohammed
AU - Shahwan, Moyad
AU - Bilal, Farah Hashim Jaber
AU - Al-Tamimi, Saleh Karamah
AU - Jairoun, Maimona
AU - Zyoud, Samer H.
AU - Kurdi, Amanj
AU - Godman, Brian
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Jairoun et al.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - Purpose: Self-testing kits for SARS-CoV-2 appear effective, practical, safe and reliable as well as helping patients with mild-to-moderate symptoms to be successfully managed at home without going to hospital. As a result, ease pressures on hospitals. OTC vending machines offer the potential for SARS-CoV-2 self-testing kits alongside making available OTC treatments to alleviate the symptoms of COVID-19. As a result, providing confidentiality alongside ease of use in case people do not want their status broad casted. Consequently, there was a need to assess the acceptability and willingness regarding the availability of OTC vending machines to dispense self-testing kits for SARS-CoV-2 among UAE residents to provide future direction. Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional survey using a designed questionnaire was based on previous research and expert input and pilot tested. All items in the final questionnaire were seen as acceptable with a satisfactory content validity. A purposive sampling strategy was used in the principal study by primarily sending a link to the questionnaire to UAE universities via Facebook and WhatsApp. Results: A total of 876 respondents participated in the study and completed the whole questionnaire. Most participants were female (63%), Arabic origin (42%) and holding a bachelor’s degree (84.5%). There was high acceptability and willingness to use self-testing kits (87.2%), with 88.6% of respondents believing OTC vending machines would be beneficial for patients with actual or suspected SARS-CoV-2. Gender, nationality, educational level, employment status, having relatives infected with SARS-CoV-2 and being vaccinated were significantly associated with attitudes towards the self-testing kits. Recognised barriers include their potential costs, ease of access and help for those who cannot read the instructions. Conclusion: Overall, there was high acceptability and willingness to use OTC vending machines to deliver self-testing kits for SARS-CoV-2 among the surveyed participants. Key barriers will need to be addressed to enhance their use.
AB - Purpose: Self-testing kits for SARS-CoV-2 appear effective, practical, safe and reliable as well as helping patients with mild-to-moderate symptoms to be successfully managed at home without going to hospital. As a result, ease pressures on hospitals. OTC vending machines offer the potential for SARS-CoV-2 self-testing kits alongside making available OTC treatments to alleviate the symptoms of COVID-19. As a result, providing confidentiality alongside ease of use in case people do not want their status broad casted. Consequently, there was a need to assess the acceptability and willingness regarding the availability of OTC vending machines to dispense self-testing kits for SARS-CoV-2 among UAE residents to provide future direction. Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional survey using a designed questionnaire was based on previous research and expert input and pilot tested. All items in the final questionnaire were seen as acceptable with a satisfactory content validity. A purposive sampling strategy was used in the principal study by primarily sending a link to the questionnaire to UAE universities via Facebook and WhatsApp. Results: A total of 876 respondents participated in the study and completed the whole questionnaire. Most participants were female (63%), Arabic origin (42%) and holding a bachelor’s degree (84.5%). There was high acceptability and willingness to use self-testing kits (87.2%), with 88.6% of respondents believing OTC vending machines would be beneficial for patients with actual or suspected SARS-CoV-2. Gender, nationality, educational level, employment status, having relatives infected with SARS-CoV-2 and being vaccinated were significantly associated with attitudes towards the self-testing kits. Recognised barriers include their potential costs, ease of access and help for those who cannot read the instructions. Conclusion: Overall, there was high acceptability and willingness to use OTC vending machines to deliver self-testing kits for SARS-CoV-2 among the surveyed participants. Key barriers will need to be addressed to enhance their use.
KW - SARS-CoV-2
KW - UAE
KW - attitudes
KW - public acceptability and willingness
KW - self-testing kits
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85137211603&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.2147/JMDH.S370441
DO - 10.2147/JMDH.S370441
M3 - Article
C2 - 36039076
AN - SCOPUS:85137211603
SN - 1178-2390
VL - 15
SP - 1759
EP - 1770
JO - Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare
JF - Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare
ER -
