Knowledge, Attitude and Practice About Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic and Its Psychological Impact on Students and Their Studies: A Cross-Sectional Study Among Pharmacy Students in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background Individuals’ knowledge, attitude and practice towards preventive and precautionary measures of COVID-19 are essential to control the spread of the disease. Consequently, the aims of the study were to evaluate knowledge, attitude and practice of pharmacy students towards the pandemic and to assess its psychological impact on them to provide future guidance. Methods A cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study was conducted via a web-based survey in May 2020. All pharmacy students enrolled at Unaizah College of Pharmacy, Qassim University, were invited to take part in the study. Results A total of 232 out of 460 students took part in the study, giving a response rate of 50.43%. The mean total knowledge score was 9.87 ± 2.04 (maximum attainable score, 12). The majority of the participants (n=163; 70.3%) believed COVID-19 is a health threat to their community in the early months of the pandemic. Moreover, the majority (93%) also believed that the lockdown at the beginning of the pandemic was necessary to contain the pandemic. Encouragingly, 86.6% reported that they did not go to any crowded places during the pandemic with more female students avoiding crowded places compared to male students (91.6% versus 78.7%, respectively, P = 0.005). The majority (91%) also reported that they were following the strategies recommended by the authorities to prevent the spread of the virus. Encouragingly, 54.3% reported that the pandemic either had no effect or just a limited effect on their studies. However, 38.5% reported that they always felt or frequently felt nervous or anxious during the pandemic. Conclusion The study showed that pharmacy students had good knowledge as well as positive attitudes and good practices towards COVID-19 and the preventive measures. However, during the early months, the pandemic did have a negative psychological impact on a number of students. Consequently, proactive psychological and social support services to the students should be considered during the current and future pandemics. In addition, it is important to consider and proactively address key issues that could cause stress and anxiety among students when shifting to distance learning and assessments.

Coping during COVID-19 Pandemic in Saudi Community: Religious Attitudes, Practices and Associated Factors

“…Similarly, Indonesian females were also reported avoiding prayers, physical gatherings and take preventive measures at worship places during the COVID-19 pandemic than males [24]. In general, our results are also consistent with recent studies conducted in Saudi Arabia which reported that younger and women have higher optimistic attitudes towards the COVID-19 pandemic than men [13,14,[25][26][27]. These results can be attributed to the increased usage of the social media channels by younger, females, job seekers as well as housewives, which can improve the Islamic knowledge and attitudes regarding the disease, compared to their counterparts.…”

Comparison of Different Waves during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Retrospective Descriptive Study in Thailand

“…us, social distancing would not be effective; screening and surveillance were expanded to try to detect potential outbreaks before they could ignite [17]. Protective measures include hand washing or using an alcoholbased rub frequently and not touching the face [25]. e COVID-19 pandemic has raised a dilemma between economic stimulation and public health control [26].…”

Inequalities in Knowledge About COVID-19 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

“…In spite of the above findings and recommendations, this study is not without limitations. The construction of our dependent variable is based on a well-known study (10) but is also different from the variables used in other studies (39,40). Therefore, the difference in the type of measure used may have an impact on assessing the inequality for the variable.…”