{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,10]],"date-time":"2026-04-10T06:59:44Z","timestamp":1775804384055,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":26,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,10]],"date-time":"2026-04-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1775779200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The 2022 multi-country outbreak of Mpox highlighted its emergence as a global public health concern. However, evidence regarding Mpox awareness and perceptions among university students in the Middle East remains limited, creating an important gap for targeted health education and outbreak preparedness. This study aimed to assess knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes toward Mpox disease, vaccination, and preventive practices among undergraduate students in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      A cross-sectional survey was conducted between October 2024 and March 2025 among 810 undergraduate students from multiple colleges in Riyadh utilizing convenience sampling and a structured questionnaire. Medical students comprised 72.6% of the sample. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and multivariable logistic regression. Statistical significance was set at\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f\u2264\u202f0.05.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Overall awareness of Mpox was high; however, important knowledge gaps were identified regarding transmission routes, vaccine availability, and treatment options. While most students had heard of Mpox, uncertainty remained regarding specific transmission pathways and clinical features. The internet and social media were the most reported sources of information, whereas higher knowledge levels were significantly associated with exposure to television\/news and public health awareness campaigns. Multivariable logistic regression identified female sex (OR\u202f=\u202f1.42), age \u226525\u202fyears (OR\u202f=\u202f1.91), enrollment in medical programs (OR\u202f=\u202f1.68), and exposure to television\/news (OR\u202f=\u202f1.95) or public health campaigns (OR\u202f=\u202f2.28) as significant predictors of moderate-to-good Mpox knowledge. Preventive attitudes were generally positive, with moderate willingness to receive vaccination and stronger support for mandatory vaccination among healthcare workers than the general population.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>University students demonstrated high general awareness of Mpox but limited depth of knowledge in key areas related to transmission, vaccination, and treatment. Targeted health education strategies are therefore needed, particularly for non-medical students, male students, and younger age groups. Public health communication should combine the wide reach of digital platforms with credible messaging through traditional media and structured awareness campaigns to improve knowledge and preparedness for emerging infectious diseases.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1717967","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,10]],"date-time":"2026-04-10T06:04:34Z","timestamp":1775801074000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Knowledge and perceptions of monkeypox among university students in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: implications for public health preparedness"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Rasha Assad","family":"Assiri","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Lashin S.","family":"Ali","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, Al-Ahliyya Amman University","place":["Amman, Jordan"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Dana Kh.","family":"Alsharayiah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, Al-Ahliyya Amman University","place":["Amman, Jordan"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Rasha Mokhtar","family":"Elnagar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, AlMaarefa University","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]},{"name":"Research Center, Deanship of Scientific Research and Post-Graduate Studies, AlMaarefa University","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]},{"name":"Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University","place":["Mansoura, Egypt"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Mamdouh","family":"Eldesoqui","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, AlMaarefa University","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Wedad","family":"Tarik","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medicine, AlMaarefa University","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Bayan F.","family":"Alsaleh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medicine, AlMaarefa University","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Lyan","family":"Alotaibi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medicine, AlMaarefa University","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Nawal S.","family":"Gouda","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Microbiology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Northern Border University","place":["Arar, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Alaa","family":"Abdelaty","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Mansoura Manchester Medical Program, Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University","place":["Mansoura, Egypt"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2155","DOI":"10.3390\/v14102155","article-title":"Monkeypox: a comprehensive review","volume":"14","author":"Harapan","year":"2022","journal-title":"Viruses"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1027","DOI":"10.1016\/j.idc.2019.03.001","article-title":"Human Monkeypox: epidemiologic and clinical characteristics, diagnosis, and prevention","volume":"33","author":"Petersen","year":"2019","journal-title":"Infect Dis Clin N Am"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e0010141","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pntd.0010141","article-title":"The changing epidemiology of human monkeypox-a potential threat? 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