Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has become a great threat to public health, which has greatly impacted the study and life of undergraduate students in China. This study aims to perform a survey of their knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) associated with COVID-19. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was designed to gather information regarding the COVID-19 related KAP among undergraduates during the home isolation in the outbreak. Subjects were recruited from 10 universities in Shaanxi Province, China. Enrollees voluntarily submitted their answers to a pre-designed questionnaire online. Results: A total of 872 subjects (female, 534; male, 338) were enrolled with ages from 17 to 25 years old. This cohort included 430 medical and 442 non-medical students, 580 freshmen and 292 higher school year students. There were 453 from public schools and 442 from private school, residing in 28 regions and provinces at the time of study. Results showed that appropriate knowledge was acquired by 82.34% subjects; the levels were significantly higher in undergraduates from public universities and medical majors than those from private schools and nonmedical majors (p<0.05). 73.81% subjects reported positive attitudes; females showed significantly higher levels of positive attitudes than males (p<0.05). Proactive practice was found in 87.94% subjects. Using a common scoring method, the overall scores for Knowledge, Attitude and Practice were 4.12 ± 0.749 (range: 0~5), 8.54 ± 1.201 (range: 0~10), and 8.91 ± 1.431 (range: 0~10), respectively. There was a positive correlation between attitude and practice (r = 0.319, p < 0.05) in the whole study group. Total KAP score was 21.57 ± 2.291 (range: 0~25), which was significantly different between gender groups and major groups. Conclusions: Most undergraduates acquired necessary knowledge, positive attitude and proactive practice in response to COVID-19 outbreak; but their KAP scores significantly varied by gender, major and school types.

BackgroundThe current COVID-19 pandemic is effectively constrained by intensified public health measures in China, among which ubiquitous education plays a vital part.ObjectiveThis survey aims to understand the status quo acquisition of the ongoing public health education campaign among university students. MethodsWe designed this cross-sectional survey to investigated the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) associated with COVID-19 among university students during their household isolation at the peak of this pandemic. 872 university undergraduates were recruited from 10 universities in Shaanxi Province, China, in a stratified cluster sampling method. A self-administered and close-ended questionnaire was answered by subjects online voluntarily and anonymously to collect their answers regarding their KAP associated with COVID-19.ResultsResults showed that appropriate knowledge was acquired by 82.34% subjects, but the level was significantly higher in students from public universities and medical programs than in their counterparts (P＜0.05). 73.81% subjects reported positive attitude, with level significantly higher in females (P＜0.01). Proactive practice was found in 87.94% subjects. Taken together, the score of KAP was 4.12±0.749, 8.54±1.201, and 8.91±1.431 respectively, suggesting a positive correlation between attitude and practice (r=0.319, P＜0.01). Total KAP score was 21.57±2.291, apparently correlated with gender (r=0.096, P=0.005) and major (r=-0.081, P=0.017).ConclusionsMost university students acquired necessary knowledge, positive attitude and proactive practice towards COVID-19, but their KAP score significantly varied by gender, major and school type.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has become a great threat to public health, which has greatly impacted the study and life of undergraduate students in China. Objective: This study aims to perform a survey of their knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) associated with COVID-19. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was designed to gather information regarding the COVID-19 related KAP among undergraduates during the home isolation in the outbreak. Subjects were recruited from 10 universities in Shaanxi Province, China. Enrollees voluntarily and anonymously submitted their answers to a pre-designed questionnaire online. Results: A total of 872 subjects (female, 534; male, 338) were enrolled with ages from 17 to 25 years old. This cohort included 430 medical and 442 non-medical students, 580 freshmen and 292 higher school year students. There were 453 from public schools and 442 from private school, residing in 28 regions and provinces at the time of study. Results showed that appropriate knowledge was acquired by 82.34% subjects; the levels were significantly higher in undergraduates from public universities and medical majors than those from private schools and non-medical majors ( P ＜0.05). 73.81% subjects reported positive attitudes; females showed significantly higher levels of positive attitudes than males ( P ＜0.05). Proactive practice was found in 87.94% subjects. Using a common scoring method, the overall scores for Knowledge, Attitude and Practice were 4.12±0.749 (range: 0~5), 8.54±1.201 (range: 0~10), and 8.91±1.431 (range: 0~10), respectively. There was a positive correlation between attitude and practice (r=0.319, P <0.05) in the study group. Total KAP score was 21.57±2.291 (range: 0~25), which was significantly different among gender groups and major groups. Conclusions: Most undergraduates acquired necessary knowledge, positive attitude and proactive practice in response to COVID-19 outbreak; but their KAP scores significantly varied by gender, major and school types.