Objective This study aims to determine the level of fear of coronavirus disease—2019 (COVID-19) among the general public in Saudi Arabia and the association of its scores with their level of health literacy. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among the general population in Saudi Arabia from April 2020 to May 2020. A three-part online self-reported survey was used to assess the participants’ demographic characteristics, fear of COVID-19 of the participants, and levels of health literacy. Results Of the 848 participants, 56.8% were in the age group of 25–34, 45.6% were females, and 57.1% had a bachelor’s degree. The total mean score of the fear of COVID-19 scale of the participants was FCoV-19: mean ± SD = 19.60 ± 7.33 and the health literacy was HL index: mean ± SD = 27.57 ± 11.05. There was a significant difference in the scores of fear of COVID-19 scale in terms of age ( F = 2.442, p = 0.050), representing that those aged 45 and above had higher mean fear scores than the younger participants. The analysis revealed that an increased level of fear of COVID-19 was associated with older age ( B = 1.87; p = 0.020), being unemployed ( B = 0.76; p = 0.023), with no formal education ( B = 0.89; p = 0.001), and low level of health literacy ( B = 0.02; p = 0.021). Conclusion The study shows an above-average level of fear of COVID-19 of the general public in Saudi Arabia and its association with a low level of functional health literacy. Timely and comprehensive health interventions should be promoted to enhance the level of health literacy and further reduce the level of fear of COVID-19 in the community.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, pandemic, Saudi Arabia, health literacy, fear, 【초록키워드】 coronavirus, cross-sectional, Intervention, Health, Older age, Community, age, General population, association, Analysis, demographic characteristics, Participants, significant difference, participant, females, objective, ENhance, Result, was used, conducted, determine, representing, reduce, promoted, functional health, 【제목키워드】 assessment, Public, literacy,