ABSTRACT
Background:With 3.95 lakhs of active COVID-19 cases in India and Tamilnadu being the second largest hub of COVID-19, the health and social impact on the public, especially the health care warriors would be considerable.Objective:To evaluate and compare the levels of knowledge, preventive behavior and risk perception of South Indian Health Care Professional(HCP) Students regarding COVID-19.Material And Methods:An institution based cross sectional questionnaire survey was conducted in a tertiary care centre and teaching hospital in May-June 2020 amongst 873 students pursuing various HCP course s. The questionnaire comprised four sections -demographic details, COVID–19 related knowledge, preventive behavior and risk perception.Result:Females volunteered to complete the survey (n= 623; 71.4%) more than males (n= 250; 28.6%). Most participants had received awareness about COVID-19 (n=860; 98.5%) from many resources of information. While females (97.50 ± 8.94) had significantly higher scores on items for preventive behavior than males (94.7±15.55; p=0.006), the scores were similar for knowledge and risk perception. There was a statistically significant difference inrisk perception among various courses with students pursuing Pharmacy having higher risk perception. Items regarding use of masks in general and hospital set ups and availability of antivirals for COVID-19 received many incorrect responses.Conclusion: HCPstudents presented with high levels of COVID-19 related knowledge and preventive behavior, but moderate risk perception. Continuing educational programs and preventive behavioral training are the need of the hour to strengthen the knowledge and alleviate anxiety of HCP students towards the pandemic.