Public health awareness: knowledge, attitude and behaviors of the public on health risks during COVID-19 pandemic in sultanate of Oman

Purpose - This study aims to measure the level of public awareness about the threat of the emerging coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic among the Omani population. It also aims to investigate the mediating effect of the Omanis' attitudes and behaviors with underlying conditions of COVID-19. Design/methodology/approach - A cross-sectional study was conducted to collect data via an online survey of Omani citizens and residents from various geographic areas in Oman, 305 responses were received. SPSS and partial least square-structural equation modeling were used for data analysis. Findings - The study revealed that public awareness regarding the COVID-19 pandemic was significantly influenced by people's perceived risk, information source and health-related knowledge. Further, preventive behavior during the disease spread has a significant direct and indirect impact on their awareness. However, an insignificant mediation effect of public attitude was found between the source of information and public awareness. Research limitations/implications - This study is limited by the scarcity of related literature in the Omani context. It is recommended that future research complete an in-depth study of public awareness regarding COVID-19, using other constructs and/or other data collection techniques. Practical implications - This research will provide governmental health authorities and policymakers with a guideline to establish more efficient pandemic containment strategies to control public behavior toward the COVID-19 pandemic and curb viral prevalence. Social implications - This research will help in improving prevention measures against COVID-19 are recommended to be more educated through a more effective mechanism to raise public attitude regarding pandemic prevalence positively. Originality/value - The originality of this research can be drawn from key findings that indicate that people overall gained knowledge about how to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and the accuracy of information significantly impacts public awareness.