Zika virus disease knowledge among the future health-care providers of the United Arab Emirates

Abstract

Zika virus (ZIKV) disease has become a major public health concern. Although there are no reported cases of ZIKV disease in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), there is a potential risk of transmission due to large expatriate population and high influx of international travelers. This cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the knowledge of ZIKV disease among the students of a medical and health sciences university in the UAE. Their knowledge of ZIKV disease was assessed using a specially designed, pretested, and validated questionnaire. Of the 500 respondents included in the final analysis, 314 (62.8%) respondents presented with poor knowledge of ZIKV disease. The mean knowledge score of the study population was 10.48 ± 2.48 out of a maximum of 17. Gender, college and year of study, nationality and attendance in lecture/conference/workshop on Zika were significantly associated with the level of knowledge. The males possessed significantly (P = 0.046) better knowledge as compared to the females. Students of medical college had significantly (P = 0.005) better knowledge as compared to students of other colleges. The level of knowledge improved significantly (P = 0.026) as the year of study progressed. There is a need for medical and paramedical students to update their knowledge of ZIKV disease as they are the future health-care providers who will be responsible for creating awareness about such outbreaks and their preventive measures.

Knowledge, Awareness, and Perception of Community Pharmacists to Zika Virus Infection in Klang Valley, Malaysia

“…28 Another concern to be highlighted in this study is the false understanding of respondents regarding the availability of antiviral treatment and Zika-related vaccines. This finding was similar to the results published in some previous studies conducted among health care sectors in United Arab Emirates, 27 Saudi Arabia, 20 India, 22 and Indonesia. 23 In addition, although it is important to recognize the common symptoms of Zika fever during an outbreak, most of our respondents were not able to correctly identify all of the common clinical manifestations of Zika fever.…”

“…In this study, 57.1% of respondents were aware of the possibility of Zika virus transmission from an infected pregnant mother to a child. These results were consistent with the surveys conducted among future health care providers in United Arab Emirates (64.2%) 27 and medical students in Saudi Arabia (50.5%). 20 According to health officials report, a sexually transmitted Zika case was reported in Texas.…”

“…In accordance with previous studies, these findings may be attributed to the fact that the participants with longer community practice experience or greater age group have gained more exposure and has better awareness regarding newly emerging infection. 27 Although a selection bias may have been occurred due to the self-administered and cross-sectional random convenience sampling nature of this survey research, this survey study has shown a basic knowledge and high awareness to Zika virus infection among community pharmacists in the Klang Valley. The levels of knowledge and awareness increased with proceeding years of practice experience in community pharmacy.…”

“…The number was slightly higher than a few studies conducted among public in Malaysia (85.8%) 3 and future health care providers in United Arab Emirates (75.4%). 27 The dissimilarities may be due to the difference in target participants, in which only community pharmacists were recruited in this study. However, other modes of Zika virus transmission were less well known.…”

Zika vírus: conhecimentos, percepções, e práticas de cuidados de gestantes infectadas

“…A study carried out evaluating the knowledge about the Zika virus in the United Arab Emirates verified that 62.8% of the interviewees presented precarious knowledge of the disease. The study population comprised university students of medical and health sciences (18) . Thus, it is important to strengthen the discussion around the issue, not only among infected women, but also among future health professionals and academics, who are responsible for the awareness of these outbreaks and their preventive measures.…”