Advances in Medical Education and Practice (Jul 2021)
Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice Concerning COVID-19 Among Undergraduate Students of Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences at King Khalid University, Abha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Surveyed Study
Abstract
Mohamed Adam,1 Moawia Gameraddin,2 Magbool Alelyani,1 Gaffar Sarwar Zaman,3 Alamin Musa,1 Irshad Ahmad,4 Mohammad Y Alshahrani,3 Kamal Alsultan,2 Awadia Gareeballah2 1Department of Radiological Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Khalid University, Abha, Asir, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; 2Department of Diagnostic Radiologic Technology, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Taibah University, Al-Madinah, Medina, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; 3Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Khalid University, Abha, Asir, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; 4Department of Medical Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Khalid University, Abha, Asir, Kingdom of Saudi ArabiaCorrespondence: Mohamed AdamDepartment of Radiological Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Khalid University, Abha, Asir, Kingdom of Saudi ArabiaTel: +966 71248220Email [email protected] and Objective: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has exerted great efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19. This research aims to scrutinize the outlook, awareness, and customs of Saudi undergraduate students regarding COVID-19.Methods: The current cross-sectional study comprises 178 undergraduate students in the Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences. The data were collected from online Google form questionnaires. The differences were picked out of the questionnaires, and the mean scores of the differences were duly assessed. The variables associated with knowledge, attitude, and practice toward COVID-19 were evaluated; moreover, a comparative study was conducted on these variables in different faculty departments. ANOVA, Student’s t-test, and binary logistic regression analysis were used to assess the data on knowledge, attitude, and practice.Results: Most of the undergraduate students were well acquainted with COVID-19. We obtained the mean knowledge score for COVID-19 to be 3.08 ± .82 (range: 1– 5), indicating good knowledge. The attitude means the score was 3.02 ± .61 (range: 0– 4), implying good positive attitudes. On assessing the mean score of practices, it was found 5 ± .47 (range: 0– 7), pointing towards perfect practices. There were no significant differences between males and females regarding knowledge, attitudes, and practice toward COVID-19 (p-value < 0.05).Conclusion: Students of Applied Medical Sciences are knowledgeable about COVID-19. Health education programs should be focused on protection and safety from COVID-19 for Applied Medical Sciences students, especially Medical Rehabilitation Sciences and Radiology. Hand hygiene awareness programs must be conducted for undergraduate students. Infection control should be part of the undergraduate applied for medical sciences curriculum program.Keywords: knowledge, attitude, practice, COVID-19, students
