Investigation on knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of foodborne parasitic diseases among medical students / 中国血吸虫病防治杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To understand the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of foodborne parasitic diseases among medical college students, so as to provide the evidence for the development of strategies on health education. Methods A total of 929 premed students from a medical college were selected in Hebei Province using the stratified sampling method from October to December, 2017, and investigated by questionnaires to understand their KAP on foodborne parasitic diseases. Results The understanding and concern degree on foodborne parasitic diseases among the college students from different majors were statistically different (all P < 0.05), the awareness rate and the degree of concern of the non-medical students were lower than those of the medical students, and the awareness rate and the degree of concern of the students who had received medical parasitology education were higher than those who had not received. For the formation rate of not prefer seeking novelty, there was a statistically significant difference among the college students in different majors (P < 0.05), and the rate of health behavior formation in non-medical students was relatively low. There were statistically significant differences among the students from different majors in the attitude on "would suggest others not to eat the foods that might be infected with the foodborne parasites", "would not eat the foods that might be infected with the foodborne parasites", and "would give up special preferences or bad habits" (all P < 0.05), and the formation rate of correct attitude of medical students was relatively high. Conclusion The awareness rate and the formation rates of correct attitude and behavior of the college students who have received medical parasitology education are relatively higher, so it is necessary to set up a course on foodborne parasitic diseases in colleges and universities.