Horizon of Medical Education Development

Medical Students Knowledge and Preventive Behaviors toward COVID-19 at Tabriz University of Medical Sciences

https://doi.org/10.22038/hmed.2024.74810.1289
Volume 15, Issue 3
Summer 2024
Pages 18-27
Horizon of Medical Education Development

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Zhila Khamnian
Maryam Baradaran Binazir
Rouhollah Seifi

Department of Community and Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.

Abstract
Introduction: Since 2019, a new strain of the coronavirus family has caused a pandemic and many infections all over the world. Considering that medical students, due to their extensive contact with patients in the clinical setting, have a higher risk of COVID-19, the aim of this study was measure the level of knowledge about this disease and self-evaluation of the extent of performing preventive behaviors among medical students.
Materials & Methods:  In this analytical cross-sectional study that was conducted among 209 medical interns and externs of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences in 2022. Knowledge and preventive behaviors were evaluated by an online questionnaire containing 24 questions. The validity of the questionnaire was also checked by calculating CVR and CVI. They had acceptable values, and finally, the correlation between these variables was checked by statistical tests.
Results: The level of knowledge of the participants about COVID-19 was 89.2%; the rate of performing preventive behaviors was 81.8%. No significant difference was found between the two genders in the variables. The level of knowledge had a weak but significant positive correlation with the amount of performing preventive behaviors.
Conclusion: The participants' knowledge about the disease and preventive behaviors was at a high level. Considering the emergence of new subspecies and the chance of new epidemics, there seems to be a need to freshen up students’ preventive behaviors.

Keywords

Knowledge
COVID-19
Preventive Behavior
Medical Students

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