Knowledge and Practice of COVID-19 Preventive Measures Among Indonesian College Students; A Survey After Two Years of Pandemic

Abstract

This study aimed to discover knowledge and practices of COVID-19 preventive measures of college students after two years of the pandemic to prevent the spread of COVID-19. A cross-sectional study was conducted from March to June 2022. Fifteen questions of knowledge and 12 questions for practice were shared online with undergraduate students. There were five themes of preventive measures, including the general knowledge of COVID-19, keeping a safe distance, wearing a mask, hand hygiene, and respiratory ethics. The Chi-square test was operated to define the knowledge and practice relationship significance. In total, 285 students participated in this study. The average age was 22 years, the youngest student was 18 years old, and the oldest was 28 years old. Most students who participated in this study were females in Jawa Islands and from social science study fields. More than 90% of students correctly answered all the questions about the general knowledge of COVID-19. The most frequent correct answer was about the suggested occasion to do hand hygiene (99.3%). The poorest practice was avoiding hugging, kissing, and shaking hands when meeting with friends or relatives. Only 11 of 285 (3.9%) students had a poor practice of the COVID-19 preventive measures, while 96% had a good practice. Three of 190 (1.6%) students with high knowledge of COVID-19 preventive measures had poor practice, and 20% of students with low knowledge had poor practice (p-value 0.004). Knowledge of COVID-19 preventive measures significantly related to the practice.