Knowledge, Attitude and Practice towards COVID-19 Vaccination among Medical Students in a Tertiary Care Hospital of Southern India

Abstract

Introduction: Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) vaccination plays an important role in controlling the current pandemic. This may have an impact on other healthcare workers in understanding the importance of COVID-19 vaccination. Aim: To assess the Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) towards COVID-19 vaccination among medical students in a Tertiary care hospital, Southern India. Materials and Methods: This was an observational crosssectional questionnaire based study done in Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute, Puducherry, India. The study period was from April 2021 to September 2021. The study evaluated KAP on COVID-19 vaccination amongst medical students. After the content validity of the questionnaire, a google form was created and circulated among the I, II, III, IV-year students and interns, which was assessed by a scoring system for KAP. The results of the qualitative variables were tabulated as frequency and percentages. The statistical analysis was done using JASP software and the correlation between KAP was calculated using Spearman’s Correlation. Results: A total of 400 participants were included in the study. Their mean±SD age was 20.3±1.3 years. The second- and third-year students actively participated in the study. Adequate knowledge was observed in 33% of the medical students, moderately adequate knowledge in 61% and minimum knowledge in 6%. Spearman’s correlation between KAP showed a significant p-value. Conclusion: The majority of the medical students opined that their main source of information was social media. This indicates that social media campaigns had helped them gain adequate knowledge about vaccination. This knowledge might help them encourage their relatives and friends to get vaccinated against COVID-19, which will in turn help in breaking the chain of this pandemic.

Knowledge, attitude, and practices among clinically exposed medical students and interns towards COVID-19 vaccine in a tertiary care hospital, Kanyakumari district: a cross-sectional survey

“…6 In this study females (61.66%) were involved a higher percentage which was similar to the study done by Bhartiya et al 9 In the current study maximum involvement among students, second years MBBS 89 (29.6%) which is not similar to the study done by Vanathy et al showed third-year students 247 (61.8%). 10 The second-year students show high-grade knowledge 32 (36%) and they also had 42.7% of positive attitude and only 31.5% good practice. This student needs more awareness regarding COVID-19 vaccine.…”

Acceptance and hesitancy towards COVID-19 vaccines in rural and tribal areas of Maharashtra (India)

“…Globally, hesitancy towards COVID-19 vaccines was associated with education levels, awareness, misinformation, governmental efforts, and fear about infertility [27]. The occurrence of side effects after vaccination is the other concern that results in poor vaccine uptake [28,29]. Some of the common post-vaccination effects were pain at the injection site, lethargy, and fever [30,31].…”