The knowledge level of Students and COVID-۱۹

Background and Objective: In December ۲۰۱۹, COVID-۱۹ was first detected in China and declared astate of emergency of international concern. Most of the programs presented to prevent the spread of thedisease are based on personal hygiene and compliance with behaviors such as social distancing.Considering the high prevalence of this disease and the role of students in the field of awareness, control,and prevention of public stress regarding this disease, in this study we evaluated the level of awareness ofIsfahan University of Medical Sciences students in order to identify any gaps in their knowledge.Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, the awareness of ۱۷۲ students of Isfahan University ofMedical Sciences was measured by designing a questionnaire consisting of the area of awareness aboutCOVID-۱۹. To describe the items in the questionnaire, simple descriptive statistical analysis was used asmean and standard deviation (SD) for numerical data and number and percentage for qualitative data.Data were analyzed using SPSS software.Results: Students had a weak level of awareness (۸.۷۵۵۸ ± ۲.۳) and lower than the level of expectationregarding COVID-۱۹. Many participants chose unexpected answers to the questions related to the deathrate of COVID-۱۹ (۶۸%) and some cases claimed that there is no suspected person to COVID-۱۹ in themedical exams.Conclusion: According to the obtained results, students should be given more attention in criticalsituations because students can be helpful in spreading and implementing knowledge and attitudes amongtheir families and communities. Students are often overlooked in many preparedness and response efforts.However, they can play a central role in reducing any type of risk, whether natural hazards or infectiousdiseases. Training students to prepare for disasters and natural and man-made hazards, biological hazardsis needed, and disaster preparedness should be considered as a core element of any university curriculum.

کلیدواژه ها:

Awareness ، COVID-۱۹ pandemic ، Isfahan medical sciences ، knowledge ، Students