KNOWLEDGE LEVEL OF MEDICAL, PHARMACY AND NURSING STUDENTS ABOUT VACCINATION AND VACCINE SAFETY

Abstract

Aims: This study aims to determine the knowledge level of medical, pharmacy, and nursing students at Trakya University regar- ding vaccination and vaccine safety. Methods: A questionnaire comprised of 8 questions was completed by 383 students in Feb- ruary 2020. Out of 383 participants, there were 143 medical, 95 pharmacy, and 145 nursing students. The relation of knowledge level with gender, faculty, and the grade were evaluated using the Chi-Square test. Results: Out of 383 students 19.9% stated that they had no knowledge about national childhood vaccination schedule of Turkey, 14.6% thought vaccines cause autism, 83.7% stated that they do not regularly get vaccines recommended for adults, and 68.6% did not have the proper answer to the question of where vaccination can be applied. Conclusion: Vaccines and vaccine safety concerns health care students closely, yet these students have insufficient knowledge about vaccines. As a solution to this problem, more time can be spared for vaccination and vaccine safety subjects in the curriculum of these faculties.

Keywords

• vaccines
• vaccination
• autism spectrum disorder
• students
• questionnaire

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