Knowledge, attitude, and practice related to the COVID-19 pandemic among undergraduate medical students in Indonesia: a nationwide cross-sectional study

Abstract

Introduction. The potential role of medical students in raising awareness during public health emergencies has been acknowledged. To further explore their potentials as public educators and role models for the communities during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, a study is conducted to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of these students toward COVID-19. Methods. An online cross-sectional survey was conducted among undergraduate medical students in Indonesia. Socio-demographical characteristics, social interaction history, information-seeking behavior, as well as knowledge, attitude, and practice toward COVID-19 were collected through a self-reported questionnaire. A p-value of <0.05 indicated statistical significance. Results. Out of 4870 respondents, 64.9% and 51.5% had positive attitude and practice toward COVID-19 while only 29.8% had adequate knowledge. Knowledge was slightly positively correlated with attitude and practice (rho=0.074 and rho=0.054, respectively; both p<0.001), while attitude was weakly correlated with practice (rho=0.234, p<0.001). Several factors including age, sex, place of residence, institution type, academic level, family income, history of chronic illness, prior volunteering experience, and perceptual awareness on COVID-19 were significantly associated with either knowledge, attitude, and/or practice toward COVID-19. Furthermore, health institution's and the government's press releases, as well as health expert opinions were deemed as the most reliable sources of COVID-19-related information - yet trivially none of these sources were associated with knowledge, attitude, and practice in the study population. Conclusion. Many undergraduate medical students in Indonesia had positive attitude and practice against COVID-19, yet only a few had adequate knowledge. This warrants further interventions to keep them updated with COVID-19 evidence to maximize their potentials in raising public awareness on COVID-19.

Knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards COVID-19 among undergraduates during emergency remote learning

“…Our findings also demonstrated positive correlations between knowledge-attitude, knowledge-practice, and attitude-practice, which were consistent with the literature data [ 17 , 29 ]. Many studies have reported the importance of KAP in society to reduce the spreading rate of infection during pandemics and epidemics [ 24 , 34 ].…”

“…They gain knowledge and understanding of different diseases during preclinical training. Hence, this group exhibits higher awareness of preventative measures for COVID-19 [ 29 ]. Additionally, many medical students involved themselves in managing COVID-19 patients during the pandemic [ 30 ].…”

Students’ Knowledge and Attitudes toward Science: Its Correlation on Students’ Disbelief in Non-Scientific Misinformation

“…(Fauzi et al, 2020). In addition, the other researchers also found that students' knowledge about the pandemic was still less satisfactory (Adli et al, 2022;Sondakh et al, 2022). Nevertheless, such a finding did not align with other foreign research showing that students could identify whichever information based on natural science falls into fake news about the COVID-19 (Puig et al, 2021).…”

“…The low level of students' disbelief in those conspiracies was consistent with previous research reporting that level of literacy on COVID-19 phenomena demonstrated by Biology students in Indonesia was still low(Fauzi et al, 2020). In addition, the other researchers also found that students' knowledge about the pandemic was still less satisfactory(Adli et al, 2022;Sondakh et al, 2022). Nevertheless, such a finding did not align with other foreign research showing that students could identify whichever information based on natural science falls into fake news about the COVID-19(Puig et al, 2021).Regarding students' responses, CT on the pharmaceutical industry constituted the most believed conspiracy among the students.…”

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviors among Office Workers about COVID-19 Prevention

“…If the public responds or responds positively, then health protocols will also be applied regularly and adequately. And if the attitude is negative, then the response to information and the application of health protocols is also less such as not wearing a mask, not keeping a distance, and not paying attention to the COVID-19 outbreak (15)(16)(17)(18)(19). In this background, researchers are interested in doing research related to identifying knowledge, attitudes, and preventive behaviours in office workers about the prevention of COVID-19.…”