Are Saudi medical students aware of middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus during an outbreak?

Abstract

Recently, an outbreak of MERS-CoV occurred in King Abdulaziz Medical City (KAMC), Riyadh. This outbreak contributed to the students at the King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS) becoming more involved in promoting health awareness in their communities. This was a cross-sectional study that evaluated students in the clinical phase of medical school. The data were collected by an online questionnaire. The measurements were obtained using a researcher-administered and a self-reported questionnaire that had been previously validated. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. One hundred and thirty-six students participated and showed good awareness regarding the clinical aspects of MERS, such as etiology, diagnosis, management, and prevention. However, 76% of the students were not aware of the mortality rate. Conversely, this study uncovered a low level of awareness in the basic sciences. Interestingly, fifth year medical students were more familiar with the incubation period than final year students (p-value <0.05). Regarding gender differences, more female students were knowledgeable about the incubation period and the possible asymptomatic presentation of the disease than male students (p-value <0.05). However, male students were more aware of the diagnostic tests for MERS than their female counterparts. Medical students were knowledgeable about the clinical aspects of MERS but were lacking background awareness in the basic sciences.

Knowledge and Perception of Health Practitioners towards MERS-CoV in Hail Region, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

“…This implies that higher education gave the health practitioners credence in themselves in that they can carry out preventive measures and deliver quality care to patients. This finding is in agreement with the study of Al-Mohrej and Agha [28] which demonstrated that more educated individual scored significantly higher than others when it comes to MERS-CoV awareness. It has been reported that a good explanation for a low level of efficacy/self-efficacy and desire to carry out the preventive measures regarding MERS-CoV infection is that the participants were health practitioners with no previous experience or exposure to such cases.…”

Knowledge and attitude toward Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus among heath colleges' students in Najran, Saudi Arabia

“…Prior studies in the central, east and west areas of Saudi Arabia investigated the awareness regarding MERS. [9][10][11][12] For the first time in Najran area and even in the south west of Saudi Arabia, the present study attempted to assess knowledge about this disease.…”

“…A structured questionnaire was developed by the researcher with the help of existing literature. 11,13 Out of 1162 health colleges' students registered in five health colleges, 418 participated in this study with percent of 35.9%. The number of registered students varies between the colleges, therefore different number of students participated from each college in this study.…”

“…The studies showed that awareness among healthcare workers vary between institutions, gender and among different professions. [9][10][11][12] The knowledge of healthcare workers in Mecca, Medina and Jeddah about MERS was poor and there is need for further education and training programs particularly in the use of personal protective equipment, isolation and infection control measures. 9 In Jeddah, a study addressing the awareness of all procedures concerning prevention of and protection from MERS among dental students suggested that more information needs to be provided by the authorities for the medical staff.…”

“…10 Health colleges' students in King Saud Bin Abdul-Aziz University in Riyadh were knowledgeable about the clinical aspects of MERS but were lacking background awareness in the basic sciences. 11 In Qassim region, a study showed that healthcare workers have good knowledge and positive attitude towards MERS. 12 In China, a study conducted to measure the awareness of medical students about MERS has shown that Chinese medical students had good knowledge of MERS and the MERS knowledge score varied among students of different majors.…”