A study investigating the knowledge and responses of Italian medical students to the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Italy was initially one of the worse affected countries by the novel coronavirus . Medical students frequenting hospitals are more susceptible to be infected by the virus but also able to see the effects of the pandemic from the frontline. The aim of this study was to assess the COVID-19 related knowledge, behavioral changes, and perceptions of Italian medical students within the first 90 days after the onset of the outbreak in Italy. A national crosssectional study was conducted from 23rd April to 31st April 2020. Participants were Italian medical students whose knowledge, behavioral changes, and perceptions of the COVID-19 pandemic were assessed. The survey consisted of: demographics, COVID-19 related general knowledge, behavioral changes, and perceptions of the pandemic. A total of 520 students answered the survey. The majority of the students' ages ranged from 21 to 25 years old (345, 66.3%). Only 48.6% stated that they had received a formal education about COVID-19 from their medical institutions. However, all the students declared that they tried to inform themselves, mostly through WHO, CDC, UpToDate (56%), but also (21.6%) through national guidelines, social networks (Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube) (11.5%), and other sources (10.9%). Italian medical students demonstrated a high level of COVID-19-related general knowledge as well as self-reported preventative behavioral changes but only had a moderate risk perception regarding the pandemic. They improved their health habits but questioned the reliability of information and handling of the pandemic by health authorities.

Attitudes and knowledge of medical students concerning prevention and pharmacotherapy of COVID-19 infection in Serbia

“…This leads to the justified concern on how much students are willing to withhold from certain everyday activities that promote the spread of this virus. These results do not stand in agreement with some previous studies (14,18) and the explanation could lay in the fact that those studies were conducted earlier, when the pandemic could have been taken more seriously.…”

“…Based on the results, students of medicine are well informed about relevant sources of accurate information and they in majority rely on WHO guidelines and similar institutions, as well as, scientific publications. Those results are consistent with the results gained in one Italian study, but contrary to them, students of the Faculty of Medicine in Belgrade gave significantly less meaning to learning from social networks (14).…”

Analysis of COVID-19 Risk Perception and Its Correlates among University Students in Ghana

“…In Asia, students in China, for instance, had a highrisk perception of COVID-19 [8], while those in Iran [12], Saudi Arabia, and India [13,14] had a moderate-risk perception [9,15]. Similar findings were reported in Europe, such as in Italy [16] and France [17], in the United States [18], and in Sub-Saharan Africa, like Libya [19], Egypt [20], Ethiopia [21], and other countries [22]. For example, Egyptian students felt that coronavirus infection is a life-threatening illness and a serious threat to society [20], while those in Ethiopia had a low perceived threat of COVID-19 [21].…”

“…For example, students with lesser risk perception tend to adopt risk-taking behaviors and less preventive behaviors to protect themselves from the threat of infection [35], while those with high-risk perception tend to take preventive behavior [36]. Some other studies have examined the COVID-19 risk perception and related preventive behaviors (e.g., handwashing, social distancing, and intention to vaccinate) among students in developed countries like China [37], United States [18], Italy [16], France [17], Netherlands [11], and Poland [10] and developing countries like Egypt [20] and Libya [19]. According to these investigations, students are more likely to adopt and implement protective behaviors when they perceived that the risks of contracting COVID-19 and the perceived severity of the disease are both higher [10,11,24,38].…”

Risk Perception Measurement and Influencing Factors of COVID-19 in Medical College Students

“…Some scholars analyze the COVID-19 risk perception and related behaviors among medical college students, like the relationship between risk perception among overseas students and the homecoming behavior ( 12 ). Further, some studies analyze the COVID-19 knowledge, risk perception, and prevention behavior of medical college students (knowledge, attitudes, and practices; KAP); for instance, research by medical college students in developed countries like Italy ( 13 ), and research by medical college students in developing countries like Egypt ( 14 ) and Libya ( 15 ).…”