The awareness of neglected tropical diseases in a sample of medical and nursing students in Cairo University, Egypt: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a group of chronic diseases affecting 1.2 billion people worldwide, with more burden in the developing communities. Improving awareness about NTDs is a powerful affordable long-term intervention for infection control. In literature, there is a limited number of studies in the developing countries assessing the awareness of healthcare providers regarding these diseases. The present study aimed at assessing the awareness of a sample of Cairo University medical and nursing students regarding NTDs. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 184 medical and nursing students in Cairo University. An anonymous self-administered questionnaire in English language with an estimated completion time of 15 minutes was used for evaluation. It included question categories which cover the knowledge about NTDs and control measures as well as the willingness to participate in NTDs control activities. Content analysis was performed on the materials and specifications of the epidemiology course given to medical and nursing students. Out of the study participants, 26% knew the meaning of NTDs. The main source of their knowledge was social media followed by the epidemiology course. A percentage of 33% of the students agreed that NTDs are of public health importance in Egypt. Thirty four percent of the participants expressed their willingness to participate in control activities for NTDs. Comparing medical and nursing students, a higher percentage of the nursing students stated that NTDs are causing a public health problem in Egypt with a statistically significant difference (P value < 0.001), while a statistically significant higher percentage of medical students believed that the awareness level regarding NTDs in Egypt is low (P value = 0.002). Cairo University medical and nursing students in this study showed a gap in the level of knowledge regarding NTDs and their control activities which represents a great threat to the control of these diseases. Author summary Egypt vision 2030 aiming that all Egyptians should have healthy, safe, and secure life. In the Middle East and North Africa region, Egypt has the highest rate of NTDs. Current medical and nursing students are the future healthcare workers who will be responsible to participate in control activities for the elimination of these diseases in Egypt. The present study aimed to provide information about the awareness of medical and nursing students regarding NTDs and their control activities. We targeted medical and nursing students who have finished an epidemiology course. Our results showed that only one fourth of the students knew the meaning of NTDs and nearly half of them agreed that the awareness of NTDs is poor among Egyptians. Although only 5% of the included students are aware of NTDs control activities, about one third of them agreed to participate in these activities. Nowadays, there is an urgent need to update the curricula of medical students in Egypt, especially because of the new program the medical schools in Egypt are experiencing currently (five years of studying and two years for training). Also, the engagement of medical and nursing students in research and prevention activities to combat NTDs should be encouraged in the training years.