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Background There is an urgent need to elucidate the epidemiology of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) and characterize its potential impact. Investing in characterising the SARS-CoV2 will help plan and improve the response to the pandemic. Furthermore, it will help identify the most efficient ways of managing the pandemic, avoiding public health policies and interventions that may be unduly restrictive of normal activity or unnecessarily costly. This paper describes the design and reports findings of a population based epidemiological study undertaken to characterise SARS-CoV2 in Qatar using limited resources in a timely manner. Methods Asymptomatic individuals ≥10 years registered with Qatar’s publicly funded primary health provider were eligible. A stratified random sampling technique was utilized to identify the study sample. Participants were invited to an appointment where they completed a questionnaire and provided samples for polymerase chain reaction and Immunoglobulin M and G immunoassay tests. Data collected were analyzed to calculate point and period prevalence by sociodemographic, lifestyle and clinical characteristics. Results Of 18,918 individuals invited for the study, 2084 participated (response rate 10.8%). The overall point prevalence and period prevalence were estimated to be 1.6% (95% CI 1.1–2.2) and 14.6% (95% CI 13.1–16.2) respectively. Period prevalence of SARS-CoV2 infection was not considerably different across age groups (9.7–19.8%). It was higher in males compared to females (16.2 and 12.7% respectively). A significant variation was observed by nationality (7.1 to 22.2%) and municipalities (6.9–35.3%). Conclusions The study provides an example of a methodologically robust approach that can be undertaken in a timely manner with limited resources. It reports much-needed epidemiological data about the spread of SARS-CoV2. Given the low prevalence rates, majority of the population in Qatar remains susceptible. Enhanced surveillance must continue to be in place, particularly due to the large number of asymptomatic cases observed. Robust contact tracing and social distancing measures are key to prevent future outbreaks.Other Information Published in: BMC Infectious Diseases License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0See article on publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12879-021-06251-z

Additional file 1. Additional tables.

Additional file 1: Table S1.. Study strata. Table S2. Sample size determination and response rate by strata. Table S3. Validity parameters for IgG serology. Table S4. Nationality categories. Table S5. Point prevalence ratios of SARS-CoV2 by age, gender, nationality and municipality. Table S6. Period prevalence ratios of SARS-CoV2 by age, gender, nationality and municipality. Table S7. Period prevalence ratios of SARS-CoV2 by sociodemographic, lifestyle and clinical characteristics.

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-jpc-10.1177_21501327211050569 for Antibody Response to SARS-CoV-2: A Cohort Study in Qatar’s Primary Care Settings by Mohamed Ahmed Syed, Hamda Abdulla A/Qotba, Ahmed Sameer Al Nuaimi, Gheyath K. Nasrallah, Asmaa Ali J. F. Althani, Abduljaleel Abdullatif Zainel, Hanan Khudadad, Tamara Marji, Shajitha Thekke Veettil, AlAnoud Saleh AlFehaidi, Ameena Ibrahim Yfakhroo, Meshal Abdulla AlMesaifri, Tholfakhar Talib Al-Baghdadi, Hanan Al Mujalli, Samya Ahmad Al Abdulla and Mariam Ali Abdulmalik in Journal of Primary Care & Community Health

There is an urgent need to elucidate the epidemiology of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) and characterize its potential impact. Investing in characterising the SARS-CoV2 will help plan and improve the response to the pandemic. Furthermore, it will help identify the most efficient ways of managing the pandemic, avoiding public health policies and interventions that may be unduly restrictive of normal activity or unnecessarily costly. This paper describes the design and reports findings of a population based epidemiological study undertaken to characterise SARS-CoV2 in Qatar using limited resources in a timely manner. Asymptomatic individuals ≥10 years registered with Qatar's publicly funded primary health provider were eligible. A stratified random sampling technique was utilized to identify the study sample. Participants were invited to an appointment where they completed a questionnaire and provided samples for polymerase chain reaction and Immunoglobulin M and G immunoassay tests. Data collected were analyzed to calculate point and period prevalence by sociodemographic, lifestyle and clinical characteristics. Of 18,918 individuals invited for the study, 2084 participated (response rate 10.8%). The overall point prevalence and period prevalence were estimated to be 1.6% (95% CI 1.1-2.2) and 14.6% (95% CI 13.1-16.2) respectively. Period prevalence of SARS-CoV2 infection was not considerably different across age groups (9.7-19.8%). It was higher in males compared to females (16.2 and 12.7% respectively). A significant variation was observed by nationality (7.1 to 22.2%) and municipalities (6.9-35.3%). The study provides an example of a methodologically robust approach that can be undertaken in a timely manner with limited resources. It reports much-needed epidemiological data about the spread of SARS-CoV2. Given the low prevalence rates, majority of the population in Qatar remains susceptible. Enhanced surveillance must continue to be in place, particularly due to the large number of asymptomatic cases observed. Robust contact tracing and social distancing measures are key to prevent future outbreaks. This study was funded by PHCC. The funders had no role in the design, analysis, interpretation, or writing. The first three authors had full access to all the data had final responsibility for the decision to submit for publication. Open Access funding provided by the Qatar National Library

Objectives: to assess physicians and nurses attitudes towards mental illness and to determine associated factors with different levels of stigma.Background and Aims: Negative attitudes towards mental illness by Health Care Professionals (HCP) have been reported in many countries across the world. Stigmatizing attitudes by HCP can have adverse consequences on people with mental illness from delays in seeking help to decreased quality of care provided. Assessing such attitudes is an essential step in understanding such stigma and, if needed, developing and testing appropriate and culturally adapted interventions to reduce it. Materials and Methods: The Mental Illness Clinicianu2019s Attitudes (MICA) scale was used. Demographic and work related information were also gathered. Significance was set at pu22640.05. Results: A large percentage of nurses and almost half of the MD had high level of stigma. In multivariate logistic regression, nursesu2019 ethnicity and department of work were significantly associated with having high levels of stigma. Doctorsu2019 department of work was significantly associated with high levels of stigma. Conclusions: Negative attitudes towards mental illness by HCP are prevalent in Qatar. Diversity should be addressed when interventions are being developed to reduce stigma and create a positive environment for patients to seek help and for HCP to deliver optimal services.

CONGRESS TOPIC 76. Stigma and Mental IllnessPRESENTER: Dr. Vahe Kehyayan, PhDvkehyaya@ucalgary.ca+974-6624-8396AUTHOR AND CO-AUTHORS Lead authorDr. Vahe Kehyayan, PhDUniversity of Calgary in QatarP.O.Box 23133Doha, Qatarvkehyaya@ucalgary.ca+974-6624-8396 Co-authorsDr. Ziyad Mahfoud, PhDWeil Cornell Medical College in QatarDoha, Qatar Dr. Suhaila Ghuloum, MDMental Health ServicesHamad Medical CorporationDoha, QatarMrs. Tamara Marji, MSc.University of Calgary in QatarDoha, QatarDr. Hassen Al Amin, MDWeil Cornell Medical College in QatarDoha, Qatar TITLE: INTERNALIZED STIGMA IN PERSONS WITH MENTAL ILLNESS AND THEIR FAMILIES IN QATAR: A CROSS-SECTIONAL MIXED METHODS STUDYObjectives: to assess the levels of stigma in persons with mental illness (PWMI) and their families; to explore PWMIu2019s lived experiences; to examine the association of levels of stigma with participantsu2019 background characteristics.Background and Aims: Stigma is a major barrier for PWMI to seek treatment. Untreated mental illness contributes to the burden of disease, disability and mortality. Studies have shown that interventions to address stigma can help improve the overall recovery and re-integration of PWMI into the community. The aim of this study was to inform the development of strategic interventions to address stigma.Materials and Methods: The Internalized Stigma Mental Illness (ISMI) scale was used to interview patients and an adapted version for family members. Significance was set at p2.5) compared to no formal education, and those with lower level of social support, the higher the odds of high stigma. Family members who were married reported significantly higher levels of stigma (>2.0) and those who had at least college education reported significantly lower levels stigma. Conclusions: Internalized stigma is common in these vulnerable populations. An anti-stigma education program with targeted audiences in the context of Qatar may be conducive to creating an all-inclusive society to encourage PWMI to voluntarily self-disclose their mental illness and to seek early intervention from the formal healthcare system, and to encourage families to support their family members in their journey to recovery.Key words: stigma; internalized stigma; self-stigma; Qatar; Internalized Stigma Mental Illness Scale