Knowledge, Perception and Attitude of the Undergraduate Healthcare Students Relative to COVID-19 Infection at a Teaching Institute of Karachi

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. Efforts are being made all over the world to raise awareness in order to prevent the disease from spreading. The purpose of this study was to assess undergraduate healthcare students' attitudes, perceptions, and knowledge of COVID-19 disease. We conducted a cross- sectional survey in which a questionnaire with 12 questions was transformed online on Google forms and distributed online to healthcare students. Data was collected between May and June of 2021. The convenience sampling technique was used, resulting in a sample size of 926 people. A total of 926 individual questionnaires were evaluated. The findings revealed that the majority of participants learned about COVID-19 through social media and electronic media, which was the most common source of information. The majority of participants stated that older and middle-aged people are more likely to be affected. The protective measure against symptomatic and asymptomatic COVID 19 is N95 and surgical masks, as well as sanitization. Half of the participants believe that COVID 19 is a bioweapon, and that it affects all religious groups equally. In general, undergraduate healthcare students had a fair understanding of the disease and a favorable attitude toward preventive measures. The government and the public are taking effective measures to combat disease spread; however, there is still a need for additional awareness campaigns and knowledge of safe interventions to combat disease spread.