Adequate knowledge of COVID-19 impacts good practices amongst health profession students in the Philippines

Abstract

Background: The spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the Philippines started with its first suspected case on January 22, 2020. The government reacted by imposing several measures including community quarantine, class suspensions, drug therapy and vaccine development, and travel restrictions. This online survey was done amongst Filipino health professions undergraduate students to uncover the relationship between their knowledge, attitude, and practice during this pandemic. Methods: Cross-sectional data were obtained from an online survey done on students of medicine, dentistry, optometry, rehabilitative sciences, and pharmacy. Results: At a response rate of 100% (n=1257), the results show that healthcare profession students in the Philippines have good knowledge (87.6%) and practices (63.6%) regarding COVID-19, yet attitude (63.6%) was just passable. This study also shows that a strong correlation exists between knowledge and practice concerning the current pandemic, r(2) = 0.08, P = 0.004. Conclusion: Adequate knowledge of COVID-19 impacts good practices of avoiding crowded places and misuse of steam inhalation amongst health profession students in the Philippines. Knowledge and practice pertaining to the current pandemic have been found to be good, but attitude remains low.

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“…Thus, it can be discerned that the awareness of students has influenced their attitude towards social issues. Dalanon, et al (2021) affirms that students display a certain level of optimism that the Philippines will win the war against the pandemic and their families will survive this ordeal.…”