HEALTH BELIEFS AND BEHAVIORS OF SAUDI WOMEN

Abstract

This paper describes perceptions of familiarity with symptoms and beliefs about illnesses based on interviews with 50 Saudi women. The sample was young, with 82% under the age of 40, and not well educated by Western standards, with one-third being illiterate and 80% having no more than a primary school education. More than half lived in households of six or more. Although there was greater awareness of germs as causative factors in illness than previous studies in Saudi Arabia had demonstrated, beliefs in multiple causes, including religious beliefs about disease causation, persisted. There was an apparent lack of understanding of specific causes of various illnesses or of the rationale for preventive measures. This lack of understanding may be related to the low education levels and/or deeply ingrained cultural beliefs.