Evaluation of Health Technician Students' Knowledge and Behaviors Regarding COVID-19 and Protective Measures

Yıl 2023, Cilt: 7 Sayı: 1, 479 - 491, 31.01.2023

Nevcivan Güldaş Ayla Açıkgöz

https://doi.org/10.30621/jbachs.1192125

Öz

Background and Purpose: COVID-19 is an important public health problem impacting the whole world. This study aimed to evaluate health technician students' knowledge and behaviors regarding COVID-19 and protective measures.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed with Dokuz Eylül University Health Services Vocational School students (n=648). Data were collected online using a descriptive data registration form that consisted of 65 questions via Google Forms.
Results: While the students' mean knowledge score on COVID-19 and protective measures was 15.31±3.22, the mean behavior score was 10.53±3.34. A significant difference was detected between the students' education program, gender, father's educational status, smoking, and exercise habits and total behavior score averages related to COVID-19 and protective measures (p<0.05). Students who received training on the prevention of infectious diseases during their student years and who stated that they received any training on COVID-19 had higher mean knowledge and behavior scores regarding protective measures against COVID-19 (p<0.05). Students who were afraid of being infected with COVID-19, who had had COVID-19, and whose relatives died due to COVID-19 had higher mean behavior scores regarding protective measures against COVID-19 (p<0.05).
Conclusion: It was revealed that the students participating in the study had moderate knowledge about COVID-19 and protective measures and exhibited positive behavior regarding protective measures. Since increasing the knowledge levels of future health technicians will also be reflected in their protective behaviors, which are important for their professional life, it is recommended that necessary arrangements be made in the education curriculum to improve their knowledge and behavior.

Anahtar Kelimeler

COVID-19, Knowledge, Behavior, Health Technician Student

Kaynakça

• 1. Abubakar SD, Anka AU, Tahir MI, et al. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): An overview of the immunopathology, serological diagnosis and management. Scand J Immunol. 2021 Apr;93(4):e12998. doi: 10.1111/sji.12998. Epub 2020 Dec 3. PMID: 33190302; PMCID: PMC7744910.
• 2. World Health Organization [Home/Diseases/Coronavirus disease (COVID-19)]. Timeline: WHO's COVID-19 response [updated 24 jan 2021; cited 29 apr 2021]. Available from: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus2019/interactive-timeline/#!
• 3. Mohamadian M, Chiti H, Shoghli A, Biglari S, Parsamanesh N, Esmaeilzadeh A. COVID-19: Virology, biology and novel laboratory diagnosis. J Gene Med. 2021 Feb;23(2):e3303. doi: 10.1002/jgm.3303. Epub 2021 Jan 6. PMID: 33305456; PMCID: PMC7883242
• 4. Demirbilek Y, Pehlivantürk G, Özgüler ZÖ, Alp Meşe E. COVID-19 outbreak control, example of ministry of health of Turkey. Turk J Med Sci. 2020 Apr 21;50(SI-1):489-494. doi: 10.3906/sag-2004-187. PMID: 32304192; PMCID: PMC7195985
• 5. Li Q, Guan X, Wu P, et al. Early Transmission Dynamics in Wuhan, China, of Novel Coronavirus-Infected Pneumonia. N Engl J Med. 2020 Mar 26;382(13):1199-1207. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2001316. Epub 2020 Jan 29. PMID: 31995857; PMCID: PMC7121484.
• 6. Dargahi A, Jeddi F, Vosoughi M, et al. Investigation of SARS CoV-2 virus in environmental surface. Environ Res. 2021 Apr;195:110765. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2021.110765. Epub 2021 Jan 23. PMID: 33497684; PMCID: PMC7826054.
• 7. Lauer SA, Grantz KH, Bi Q, et al. Jones FK, Zheng Q, Meredith HR, Azman AS, Reich NG, Lessler J. The Incubation Period of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) From Publicly Reported Confirmed Cases: Estimation and Application. Ann Intern Med. 2020 May 5;172(9):577-582. doi: 10.7326/M20-0504. Epub 2020 Mar 10. PMID: 32150748; PMCID: PMC7081172.
• 8. Chen N, Zhou M, Dong X, et al. Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of 99 cases of 2019 novel coronavirus pneumonia in Wuhan, China: a descriptive study. Lancet. 2020 Feb 15;395(10223):507-513. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30211-7. Epub 2020 Jan 30. PMID: 32007143; PMCID: PMC7135076.
• 9. Huang C, Wang Y, Li X, et al. Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China. Lancet. 2020 Feb 15;395(10223):497-506. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30183-5. Epub 2020 Jan 24. Erratum in: Lancet. 2020 Jan 30;: PMID: 31986264; PMCID: PMC7159299.
• 10. Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Advice for the public. [Online] World Health Organization. Retrieved September 2, 2022. Available from: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public
• 11. Feng S, Shen C, Xia N, Song W, Fan M, Cowling BJ. Rational use of face masks in the COVID-19 pandemic. Lancet Respir Med. 2020 May;8(5):434-436. doi: 10.1016/S2213-2600(20)30134-X. Epub 2020 Mar 20. PMID: 32203710; PMCID: PMC7118603.
• 12. Barranco R, Ventura F. Covid-19 and infection in health-care workers: An emerging problem. Medico-Legal Journal. 2020;88(2):65-66. doi:10.1177/0025817220923694
• 13. Hunter E, Price DA, Murphy E, et al. First experience of COVID-19 screening of health-care workers in England. Lancet. 2020 May 2;395(10234):e77-e78. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30970-3. Epub 2020 Apr 22. PMID: 32333843; PMCID: PMC7176380.
• 14. Khalil A, Hill R, Ladhani S, Pattisson K, O'Brien P. COVID-19 screening of health-care workers in a London maternity hospital. Lancet Infect Dis. 2021 Jan;21(1):23-24. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(20)30403-5. Epub 2020 May 18. PMID: 32437699; PMCID: PMC7234777.
• 15. Wang X, Ferro EG, Zhou G, Hashimoto D, Bhatt DL. Association between universal masking in a health care system and SARS-CoV-2 positivity among health care workers. JAMA. 2020 Aug 18;324(7):703-704. doi: 10.1001/jama.2020.12897. PMID: 32663246; PMCID: PMC7362190.
• 16. Folgueira MD, Munoz-Ruiperez C, Alonso-Lopez MA, Delgado R. SARS-CoV-2 infection in Health Care Workers in a large public hospital in Madrid, Spain, during March 2020. medRxiv. 2020. doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.04.07.20055723
• 17. MedScape.com In Memoriam: Healthcare Workers Who Have Died of COVID-19. [updated 11 march 2021; cited 02 September 2022]. Available from: https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/927976
• 18. Pirincci E, Arca M, Sen MA, et al. COVID-19 anxiety and hygiene status in vocational schools of health services students in Turkey: A multicenter study. Work. 2021;69(4):1143-1152. doi: 10.3233/WOR-205254. PMID: 34420996.
• 19. Gohel KH, Patel PB, Shah PM, Patel JR, Pandit N, Raut A.Knowledge and perceptions about COVID-19 among the medical and allied health science students in India: An online cross-sectional survey. Clin Epidemiol Glob Health. 2021 Jan-Mar;9:104-109. doi: 10.1016/j.cegh.2020.07.008. Epub 2020 Aug 12. PMID: 32838066; PMCID: PMC7420087.
• 20. Zandian H, Sarailoo M, Dargahi S, Gholizadeh H, Dargahi A, Vosoughi M. Evaluation of knowledge and health behavior of University of Medical Sciences students about the prevention of COVID-19. Work. 2021; 68(3):543-549. doi: 10.3233/WOR-203395. PMID: 33612505.
• 21. Çalışkan F, Mıdık Ö, Baykan Z, et al. The knowledge level and perceptions toward COVID-19 among Turkish final year medical students. Postgrad Med. 2020 Nov;132(8):764-772. doi: 10.1080/00325481.2020.1795486. Epub 2020 Aug 6. PMID: 32657235.
• 22. Taghrir MH, Borazjani R, Shiraly R. COVID-19 and Iranian Medical Students; A Survey on Their Related-Knowledge, Preventive Behaviors and Risk Perception. Arch Iran Med. 2020 Apr 1;23(4):249-254. doi: 10.34172/aim.2020.06. PMID: 32271598.
• 23. Gao Z, Ying S, Liu J, Zhang H, Li J, Ma C. A cross-sectional study: Comparing the attitude and knowledge of medical and non-medical students toward 2019 novel coronavirus. J Infect Public Health. 2020 Oct;13(10):1419-1423. doi: 10.1016/j.jiph.2020.06.031. Epub 2020 Jul 1. PMID: 32653479; PMCID: PMC7328549.
• 24. Peng Y, Pei C, Zheng Y, et al. A cross-sectional survey of knowledge, attitude and practice associated with COVID-19 among undergraduate students in China. BMC Public Health. 2020 Aug 26;20(1):1292. doi: 10.1186/s12889-020-09392-z. PMID: 32847554; PMCID: PMC7447607.
• 25. Alzoubi H, Alnawaiseh N, Al-Mnayyis A, Abu-Lubad M, Aqel A, Al-Shagahin H. Covid-19 - Knowledge, attitude and practice among medical and non-medical university students in Jordan. J. Pure Appl. Microbiol 2020; 14(1): 17-24 https://doi.org/10.22207/JPAM.14.1.04
• 26. Erasmus V, Daha TJ, Brug H, et al. Systematic review of studies on compliance with hand hygiene guidelines in hospital care. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2010 Mar;31(3):283-94. doi: 10.1086/650451. PMID: 20088678.
• 27. Bezerra TB, Valim MD, Bortolini J, Ribeiro RP, Marcon SR, Moura MEB. Adherence to hand hygiene in critical sectors: Can we go on like this? J Clin Nurs. 2020 Jul;29(13-14):2691-2698. doi: 10.1111/jocn.15293. Epub 2020 May 11. PMID: 32301162.
• 28. Dinç A, Mandıracıoğlu A. Evaluation of the Knowledge, Attitude and Behavior of Ege University Medical Faculty Hospital Employees About COVID-19 & Protective Measures. Aegean Journal Medical Science 2021; 2: 42-51. https://doi.org/10.33713/egetbd.929984
• 29. Gölbaşı SD, Sungur S, Aygar H, et al. Evaluation of Knowledge Levels and Behaviors of Medical Faculty Students Regarding COVID-19 Disease. Osmangazi Journal of Medicine. 2021; 43(5): 519-528. https://doi.org/10.20515/otd.907362
• 30. Khasawneh AI, Humeidan AA, Alsulaiman JW, et al. Medical Students and COVID-19: Knowledge, Attitudes, and Precautionary Measures. A Descriptive Study From Jordan. Front Public Health. 2020 May 29;8:253. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2020.00253. PMID: 32574313; PMCID: PMC7274076.