Knowledge and Practice of COVID-19 Preventive Measures: Comparative Analysis of Medical and non-Medical Students University of Port Harcourt
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.60787/tnhj.v23i3.731Keywords:
undergraduates, Non-Medical students, Medical students, Practice, Attitude, Knowledge, COVID-19Abstract
Background: The influence of COVID-19 has impacted the education sector just like it has other sectors. This study examined the level of knowledge, attitude, and practice of COVID-19 preventive measures among medical and non-medical students of the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State
Method: A comparative cross sectional study design using a selfadministered structured questionnaire involving a total of 406 students; medical (200) and non-medical (200), using multi-stage sampling. Frequency, percentages, means, and standard deviation were used to describe data where necessary. Chi-square and Fisher exact was used to compare knowledge, attitude, and practice of COVID-19 preventive measures between medical and non-medical students.
Results: The mean age of medical and non-medical students was 25.04 and 22.59 respectively. A total of 70% from medical students arm received COVID-19 vaccines while 15.5% of non-medical students arm. 152(73.8%) non-medical students and 123(61.5%) medical students had good knowledge of COVID-19. Positive attitude toward COVID-19 preventive measures was showed by 119(59.5%) medical students and 62(30.1%) nonmedical students. Concerning practice of COVID-19 preventive measures, 99(48.1%) medical students and 78(39.0%) non-medical students practiced appropriately. A chi-square test for association showed that gender, academic level, religion, accommodation status, vaccination status, geopolitical zone, and faculty of students were significantly associated with knowledge, attitude, and practice of COVID-19 preventive measures. Chisquare test also showed that knowledge of COVID-19 was significantly associated with the practice of COVID-19 preventive measures.
Conclusion: Non-Medical students had better knowledge than medical student although difference was not significant. Attitude was good and practice of COVID-19 preventive measures was poor among medical students, while poor attitude and poor practice among non-medical students was observed.
Downloads
References
Wu XL, Munthali GN. Knowledge, attitudes, and preventative practices (KAPs) towards COVID-19 among international students in China. Infection and Drug Resistance. 2021 Feb 11:507-18.
WHO statement on novel coronavirus in Thailand [Internet]. www.who.int. Available from: https://www.who.int/news/item/13-01-2020- who-statement-on-novel-coronavirus-in-thailand
World Health Organization 2. Clinical management of COVID-19: interim guidance, 27 May 2020. World Health Organization, Geneva;
Dawadi, Saraswati; Giri, Ram; Simkhada, Padam (2020): Impact of COVID-19 on the Education Sector in Nepal - Challenges and Coping
Strategies. Sage Submissions. Preprint. https://doi.org/10.31124/advance.12344336.v1
Azlan AA, Hamzah MR, Sern TJ, Ayub SH, Mohamad E. Public knowledge, attitudes and practices towards COVID-19: A cross-sectional
study in Malaysia. Plos one. 2020 May 21;15(5):e0233668.
Saefi M, Fauzi A, Kristiana E, Adi WC, Muchson M, Setiawan ME, Islami NN, Ningrum DE, Ikhsan MA, Ramadhani M. Survey data of
COVID-19-related knowledge, attitude, and practices among indonesian undergraduate students. Data in brief. 2020 Aug 1; 31:105855.
Taghrir MH, Borazjani R, Shiraly R. COVID-19 and Iranian medical students; a survey on their related-knowledge, preventive behaviors and risk perception. Archives of Iranian medicine. 2020 Apr 1;23(4):249-54.
Soltan EM, El-Zoghby SM, Salama HM. Knowledge, risk perception, and preventive behaviors related to COVID-19 pandemic among
undergraduate medical students in Egypt. SN comprehensive clinical medicine. 2020 Dec;2(12):2568-75.
Olum R, Kajjimu J, Kanyike AM, Chekwech G, Wekha G, Nassozi DR, Kemigisa J, Mulyamboga P, Muhoozi OK, Nsenga L, Lyavala M.
Perspective of medical students on the COVID-19 pandemic: survey of nine medical schools in Uganda. JMIR public health and surveillance. 2020 Jun 19;6(2):e19847.
Ja Moon K, Hyeon YH, Lim KH. Factors associated with nursing students’ compliance with standard precautions: a self-reported survey. International Journal of Infection Control. 2019 Jul 3;15(3). DOI: https://doi.org/10.3396/ijic.v15i3.19007
Azene, Z.N., Merid, M.W., Muluneh, A.G., Geberu, D.M., Kassa, G.M., Yenit, M.K., Tilahun, S.Y., Gelaye, K.A., Mekonnen, H.S., Azagew, A.W. and Wubneh, C.A., 2020. Adherence towards COVID-19 mitigation measures and its associated factors among Gondar City residents: A community-based cross-sectional study in Northwest Ethiopia. PloS one, 15(12), p.e0244265.
Nwoga HO, Ajuba MO, Ezeoke UE. Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Medical Students towards COVID-19 Pandemic in a Nigerian Tertiary Institution. Journal of Health and Medical Sciences. 2020 Nov 30;3(4). DOI: 10.31014/aior.1994.03.04.144
Wang H, Chow SC. Sample size calculation for comparing proportions. Wiley Encyclopedia of clinical trials. 2007 Dec 14; 10:9781118445112.
Tadesse. Tadesse DB, Gebrewahd GT, Demoz GT. Knowledge, attitude, practice and psychological response toward COVID-19 among
nurses during the COVID-19 outbreak in northern Ethiopia, 2020. New microbes and new infections. 2020 Nov 1; 38:100787.
Asefa Qanche Q, Asefa A, Nigussie T, Hailemariam S, Duguma T. Knowledge of COVID-19 and preventive behaviors among
waiters working in food and drinking establishments in Southwest Ethiopia. Plos one. 2021 Jan 25;16(1):e0245753.
Prabhu N, Alonazi MA, Algarni HA, Issrani R, Alanazi SH, Alruwaili MK, Alanazi GR, Iqbal A, Khattak O. Knowledge, Attitude and Practice
towards the COVID-19 Pandemic: A CrossSectional Survey Study among the General Public in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Vaccines. 2022 Nov 17;10(11):1945. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines10111945
Gao Z, Ying S, Liu J, Zhang H, Li J, Ma C. A cross-sectional study: Comparing the attitude and knowledge of medical and non-medical students toward 2019 novel coronavirus. Journal of infection and public health. 2020 Oct 1;13(10):1419-23.
Sikandar MZ, Bajwa BH, Zahid H, Ali S, Iqbal S, Shah SI. Knowledge, attitude, and practice trends towards COVID-19 pandemic: Comparison between individuals with medical and non-medical backgrounds. In Proceedings 2021; 35(2): 7-13
Rahman MM, Jhinuk JM, Nabila NH, Yeasmin MT, Shobuj IA, Sayma TH, Faruk F, Shah SH. Knowledge, attitude, and practices towards
COVID-19 during the rapid rise period: a crosssectional survey among public university students of Bangladesh. SciMedicine Journal. 2021 Jun 1;3(2):116-28.
Alzoubi, H., Alnawaiseh, N., Al-Mnayyis, A., AbuLubad, M., Aqel, A., & Al-Shagahin, H. (2020). Covid-19 - Knowledge, attitude and practice among medical and non-medical university students in Jordan. Journal of Pure and Applied Microbiology, 14(1), 17–24.
https://doi.org/10.22207/JPAM.14.1.04
Santiago JM, Santos AR. Knowledge, attitude and practices of the university students about COVID- 19 during the Luzon lockdown in the Philippines. International Journal of Public Health. 2021 Sep;10(3). DOI: 10.11591/ijphs.v10i3.20844
Soltan EM, El-Zoghby SM, Salama HM. Knowledge, risk perception, and preventive behaviors related to COVID-19 pandemic among
undergraduate medical students in Egypt. SN comprehensive clinical medicine. 2020 Dec;2(12):2568-75.
Terzic-Supic Z, Todorovic J, Bajcetic M, Jankovic J, Santric-Milicevic M, Stamenkovic Z, Djikanovic B, Mandic-Rajcevic S, Piperac P, Jovic-Vranes A, Matejic B. Knowledge, attitudes and practices and fear of COVID-19 among medical students in Serbia. The Journal of Infection in Developing Countries. 2021 Jun 30;15(06):773-9.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Journal and Publisher
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
The Journal is owned, published and copyrighted by the Nigerian Medical Association, River state Branch. The copyright of papers published are vested in the journal and the publisher. In line with our open access policy and the Creative Commons Attribution License policy authors are allowed to share their work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
This is an open access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author.
The use of general descriptive names, trade names, trademarks, and so forth in this publication, even if not specifically identified, does not imply that these names are not protected by the relevant laws and regulations. While the advice and information in this journal are believed to be true and accurate on the date of its going to press, neither the authors, the editors, nor the publisher can accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may be made. The publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein.
TNHJ also supports open access archiving of articles published in the journal after three months of publication. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g, in institutional repositories or on their website) within the stated period, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access). All requests for permission for open access archiving outside this period should be sent to the editor via email to editor@tnhjph.com.