Knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards COVID-19 among nursing students of the University of Palermo: results from an online survey
pdf

Keywords

Knowledge, Attitude, Practice, COVID-19, University students.

Abstract

Introduction: The aim of the study was to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practices towards Sars-CoV-2 among nursing students of University of Palermo during the rapid rise period of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Materials and Methods: This is cross-sectional study. A survey was provided to all nursing students and consisted of two parts: demographics and Knowledge, Attitude and Practices (KAP) survey. A multivariate linear regression model was used and adjusted Odds Ratios (aOR) are presented.

Results: 575 students were interviewed and their mean age was 22.3. The overall score indicates good knowledge (p=0.046) and good practices among the four courses of study (p=0.038). Multivariate linear regression showed that Attitude score (ẞ=-0.29; p=0.024) and Knowledge score (ẞ=0.10; p=0.026) adjusted for age, gender, year of study, perceived economic status, perceived health status were significantly associated with Practice score.

Conclusion: Our results suggest that proper health education is useful for encouraging optimistic attitudes and maintaining safe practices among future category of nurses.

 

https://doi.org/10.15167/2421-4248/jpmh2021.62.2.1703
pdf

References

1. Killerby ME, Biggs HM, Haynes A, Dahl RM, Mustaquim D, Gerber SI, Watson JT. Human coronavirus circulation in the United States 2014-2017. J Clin Virol. 2018 Apr; 101:52-56. doi: 10.1016/j.jcv.2018.01.019. Epub 2018 Jan 31. PubMed PMID:29427907; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7106380.
2. Zhu N, Zhang D, Wang W, Li X, Yang B, Song J, Zhao X, Huang B, Shi W, Lu R, Niu P, Zhan F, Ma X, Wang D, Xu W, Wu G, Gao GF, Tan W; China Novel Coronavirus Investigating and Research Team. A Novel Coronavirus from Patients with Pneumonia in China, 2019. N Engl J Med. 2020 Feb 20;382(8):727-733. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2001017. Epub 2020 Jan 24. PubMed PMID: 31978945; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7092803.
3. «WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 - 11 March 2020,» [Online]. Available from: https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19---11-march-2020.
4. Li LQ, Huang T, Wang YQ, Wang ZP, Liang Y, Huang TB, Zhang HY, Sun W, Wang Y.
COVID-19 patients' clinical characteristics, discharge rate, and fatality rate of meta-analysis. J Med Virol. 2020 Mar 12. doi: 10.1002/jmv.25757. [Epub ahead of print] Review. PubMed PMID: 32162702.
5. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) - Situation Report - 91,» [Online]. Available from: https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20200420-sitrep-91-covid-19.pdf?sfvrsn=fcf0670b_4.
6. Wu Z, McGoogan JM. Characteristics of and Important Lessons From the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Outbreak in China: Summary of a Report of 72 314 Cases From the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. JAMA. 2020 Feb 24. doi: 10.1001/jama.2020.2648. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID:32091533.
7. Petrosillo N, Viceconte G, Ergonul O, Ippolito G, Petersen E. COVID-19, SARS and MERS: are they closely related? Clin Microbiol Infect. 2020 Mar 28. pii:S1198-743X(20)30171-3. doi: 10.1016/j.cmi.2020.03.026. [Epub ahead of print] Review. PubMed PMID: 32234451; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7176926.
8. Guan WJ, Ni ZY, Hu Y, et al. Clinical Characteristics of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in China [published online ahead of print, 2020 Feb 28]. N Engl J Med. 2020;0:NEJMoa2002032. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2002032
9. Ran L, Chen X, Wang Y, Wu W, Zhang L, Tan X. Risk Factors of Healthcare Workers with Corona Virus Disease 2019: A Retrospective Cohort Study in a Designated Hospital of Wuhan in China. Clin Infect Dis. 2020 Mar 17. pii: ciaa287. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciaa287. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 32179890; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7184482.
10. Verbeek JH, Rajamaki B, Ijaz S, Sauni R, Toomey E, Blackwood B, Tikka C, Ruotsalainen JH, Kilinc Balci FS. Personal protective equipment for preventing highly infectious diseases due to exposure to contaminated body fluids in healthcare staff. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020 Apr 15;4:CD011621. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD011621.pub4. PubMed PMID: 32293717; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7158881.
11. Ajilore, K., Atakiti, I., & Onyenankeya, K. (2017). College students’ knowledge, attitudes and adherence to public service announcements on Ebola in Nigeria: Suggestions for improving future Ebola prevention education programmes. Health Education Journal, 76(6), 648–660. https://doi.org/10.1177/0017896917710969
12. Tachfouti N, Slama K, Berraho M, Nejjari C. The impact of knowledge and attitudes on adherence to tuberculosis treatment: a case-control study in a Moroccan region. Pan Afr Med J. 2012;12:52. Epub 2012 Jun 28. PubMed PMID:22937192; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3428172.
13. Italian Ministry of Health. Novel coronavirus (2020). Available from: http://www.salute.gov.it/nuovocoronavirus?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwav3wYzq6AIVFeaaCh1iEw8mEAAYASAAEgL8efD_BwE
14. Nour MO, Babilghith AO, Natto HA, Al-amin FO, Alawneh SM. Knowledge, atti-tude and practices of healthcare providers towards MERS-CoV infection atMakkah hospitals. KSA 2015;3(October):103–12.
15. Khan MU, Shah S, Ahmad A, Fatokun O. Knowledge and attitude of healthcareworkers about middle east respiratory syndrome in multispecialty hospitals ofqassim, Saudi Arabia. BMC Public Health 2014;14:1281.
16. StataCorp 2015. Stata Statistical Software. Release 14. College Station, TX: StataCorp LP.
17 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Situation Report – 101. Available from: https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20200430-sitrep-101-covid-19.pdf?sfvrsn=2ba4e093_2
18. Taghrir MH, Borazjani R, Shiraly R. COVID-19 and Iranian Medical Students; A Survey on Their Related-Knowledge, Preventive Behaviors and Risk Perception. Arch Iran Med. 2020 Apr 1;23(4):249-254. doi: 10.34172/aim.2020.06. PubMed PMID: 32271598
19. Covid-19, disinfectants and detergents: methods of use and percentages of effectiveness for home use. Available from: http://www.salute.gov.it/portale/news/p3_2_1_1_1.jsp?lingua=italiano& menu=notizie&p=dalministero&id=4427
20. Hillier MD. Using effective hand hygiene practice to prevent and control infection. Nurs Stand. 2020 Apr 29;35(5):45-50. doi: 10.7748/ns.2020.e11552. Epub 2020 Apr 27. PubMed PMID: 32337862.
21. Houghton C, Meskell P, Delaney H, Smalle M, Glenton C, Booth A, Chan XHS, Devane D, Biesty LM. Barriers and facilitators to healthcare workers' adherence with infection prevention and control (IPC) guidelines for respiratory infectious diseases: a rapid qualitative evidence synthesis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020 Apr 21;4:CD013582. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD013582. PubMed PMID: 32315451.
22. Poonia SK, Rajasekaran K. Information Overload: A Method to Share Updates among Frontline Staff during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2020 Apr 21:194599820922988. doi: 10.1177/0194599820922988. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 32315261
23. Zhong BL, Luo W, Li HM, et al. Knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards COVID-19 among Chinese residents during the rapid rise period of the COVID-19 outbreak: a quick online cross-sectional survey. Int J Biol Sci. 2020;16(10):1745–1752. Published 2020 Mar 15. doi:10.7150/ijbs.45221