Keywords
attitude
perception
COVID-19
Niamey
How to Cite
Abstract
Introduction :
COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by a novel strain of coronavirus first found in Wuhan, China in December 2019.
Objective :
To assess medical students' knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions about COVID-19. 19.
Materials and methods :
This is a cross-sectional study lasting 6 months (September 2020 to February 2021) at the Faculty of Health Sciences (FSS) of Niamey. Data was collected from students through interviews, using a questionnaire. A simple random sampling method was used to select pa Results: A total of 318 students were interviewed whose average age was 23.42 ± 3.37 years with a female predominance of 67.61% (n = 215). The respondents knew that the pathogen of the new coronavirus is linked to SARS-CoV2 which is an RNA virus in 56.29% (n=179). Salivary droplets from infected people in 89% (n=283), the airway in 84.3% (n=215), direct contact with contaminated objects or surfaces in 80.19% (n=255) were the most cited modes of transmission of the coronavirus. As symptoms of COVID-19, fever, difficulty breathing, dry cough and sore throat were mentioned in 95.91% (n=305), 94.97% (n=302), 88.68 respectively. % (n=282) and in 80.82% of cases (n=257). COVID-19 was perceived as "a disease" by respondents in 93.08% (n=296) and 52.2% (n=166) resorted to symptomatic treatment followed by isolation in 30.19% in case of illness with fever or cough.
Conclusion :
The evaluation of knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of medical students on COVID19 makes it possible to conclude that they know the pathogen well and have an average knowledge of preventive measures, diagnostic means and treatment. Awareness and continuing medical education are necessary for students.
References
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