Knowledge regarding 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infection among final year health science students at Arbaminch College of Health Sciences, Southern Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Introduction In January 2020, World Health Organization declared the outbreak of novel coronavirus a pandemic (global health emergency). The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge about novel coronavirus and its determinant factors among health science students at Arbaminch Health Sciences College, Southwest Ethiopia.Method A cross-sectional study design was employed to assess the level knowledge about novel coronavirus among 304 graduating class students in Arbaminch Health Science College. The study participants were selected using a simple random sampling technique. The data collection tool consisted of 33 items (10 items about demographic and education related and 23 items about knowledge on novel coronavirus). Multivariable logistic regression was performed using SPSS.Results The vast majority of students 228(75%) scored below 50% and were considered to have poor knowledge on COVID-19. Only 7.6% of participants knew that muscle pain is a symptom of 2019-nCoV infection. One hundred forty three (47%) of the participants did not know any symptoms of COVID-19. Only 24.3% of the respondents answered correctly that rubbing hands with alcohol based sanitizers can help in prevention of disease transmission. Sex, residence and social media use were significantly associated with adequate knowledge on novel coronavirus (p < 0.05).Conclusion Health science students had poor knowledge on COVID-19. The health science college and health authorities should re-examine their capability to manage the deadly virus

<p>COVID-19 Pandemic Preparedness and Response of Chronic Disease Patients in Public Health Facilities</p>

“…This study found that most participants had accessed information from new media (TV and radio). This finding is in line with the studies conducted in Addis Zemen District Hospital, 21 Arbaminch Ethiopia, 15 and Egypt. 19 The possible explanation for the similarity is that most participants need easy and accessible ways of getting information.…”

“…In this study, we found that 82.4% of participants wearing a mask to prevent COVID-19, which in line with the study reported in Arbaminch Ethiopia, 15 and higher than the studies reported in Addis Zemen District Hospital, 21 Paraguay, 27 and Malaysia. 22 The discrepancy might be occurred due to the data collection period.…”

“…We found that 65% of the study participants knowledgeable about COVID-19. This proportion is less than the studies conducted in Arbaminch Ethiopia, 15 resident of Ethiopia, 16 the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 17 Iran, 13 China, 18 Nepal, 14 and Egypt. 19 The possible explanation for the difference could be due to a difference in educational level, social, cultural, economic, and personal characteristics…”

“…16 This inconsistency is may be due to differences in data collection times and tools. Eighty-seven percent of the participants practice hand washing to prevent COVID-19, which was higher than the studies reported in Arbaminch, 15 Jimma, 20 and Addis Zemen District Hospital, Ethiopia. 21 This difference may be due to the time of data collection and difference in study participants.…”

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Towards COVID-19 in Ethiopia: A Systematic Review; 2020

“…The studies were conducted from March 2 to June 20, 2020 in different regions of the country. Of those 11 studies, four of them 11 , 16 , 17 , 20 were from multicenters, two studies 10 , 15 were from the Amhara region, three of them 19 , 21 , 23 were from SNNPR, one study 18 was from the Oromia region, and one study 22 was from the Tigray region. All the studies enrolled in this systematic review were cross-sectional studies ( Table 1 ).…”