ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic was accompanied by the spread of uncontrolled health information and fake news, which also quickly became an infodemic. Emergency communication is a challenge for public health institutions to engage the public during disease outbreaks. Health professionals need a high level of digital health literacy (DHL) to cope with difficulties; therefore, efforts should be made to address this issue starting from undergraduate medical students. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the DHL skills of Italian medical students and the effectiveness of an informatics course offered by the University of Florence (Italy). This course focuses on assessing the quality of medical information using the "dottoremaeveroche" (DMEVC) web resource offered by the Italian National Federation of Orders of Surgeons and Dentists, and on health information management. METHODS: A pre-post study was conducted at the University of Florence between November and December 2020. First-year medical students participated in a web-based survey before and after attending the informatics course. The DHL level was self-assessed using the eHealth Literacy Scale for Italy (IT-eHEALS) tool and questions about the features and quality of the resources. All responses were rated on a 5-point Likert scale. Change in the perception of skills was assessed using the Wilcoxon test. RESULTS: A total of 341 students participated in the survey at the beginning of the informatics course (women: n=211, 61.9%; mean age 19.8, SD 2.0) and 217 of them (64.2%) completed the survey at the end of the course. At the first assessment, the DHL level was moderate, with a mean total score of the IT-eHEALS of 2.9 (SD 0.9). Students felt confident about finding health-related information on the internet (mean score of 3.4, SD 1.1), whereas they doubted the usefulness of the information they received (mean score of 2.0, SD 1.0). All scores improved significantly in the second assessment. The overall mean score of the IT-eHEALS significantly increased (P<.001) to 4.2 (SD 0.6). The item with the highest score related to recognizing the quality of health information (mean score of 4.5, SD 0.7), whereas confidence in the practical application of the information received remained the lowest (mean of 3.7, SD 1.1) despite improvement. Almost all students (94.5%) valued the DMEVC as an educational tool. CONCLUSIONS: The DMEVC tool was effective in improving medical students' DHL skills. Effective tools and resources such as the DMEVC website should be used in public health communication to facilitate access to validated evidence and understanding of health recommendations.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Healthcare students that refuse to get vaccinated may expose themselves and their patients to several vaccine-preventable diseases, especially during outbreaks or at peak epidemic activity, becoming a threat to themselves and their patients. This study aimed to assess their attitudes towards and perception of vaccines and vaccination. METHODS: An anonymous questionnaire was shared with medical students, pharmacy students and medical residents in Hygiene and Preventive Medicine at the University of Florence (Italy), in February 2021. The questionnaire contained 39 questions with open, multi-choice, yes-no, Likert scale answers. A Vaccine Hesitancy Index (VHI) was then calculated. A descriptive statistical analysis was performed. RESULTS: A total of 473 students participated in this study. All students were in favour of vaccination (99.2%) but a relatively low number of participants judged their level of knowledge about vaccinations as "good" (21.8%) or "excellent" (0.6%). About half of students declared that they are not adequately trained during their academic courses. The VHI showed low levels of vaccine hesitancy (mean ± SD 0.38 ± 0.16); moreover, the students were willing to get vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 when recommended (88.2%) and thought that these vaccines are generally safe. Few students considered the development of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines (13.1%) and the procedures for evaluating clinical trials for marketing authorisation of these vaccines (12.9%) too fast to guarantee their efficacy and safety. CONCLUSIONS: Since vaccination and vaccine hesitancy and acceptance topics are being paid increasing attention by the population, new strategies to increase future healthcare professionals' willingness to promote vaccination and get vaccinated, as well as knowledge on vaccines and vaccination, will be of the utmost importance to fight vaccine preventable diseases.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Training future healthcare professionals on vaccination through specific courses is important to properly promote active immunization among the general population and to fight fake news and false beliefs on vaccinations. The aim of the study was to assess the impact of an elective course about vaccinations on the knowledge of medical students, pharmacy students, and medical resident in Hygiene and Preventive Medicine in Italy. METHODS: The participants were asked to complete an anonymous questionnaire before and after an elective teaching activity (ETA) on vaccination. The two questionnaires contained the same 30 questions and focused on different aspects of vaccines and vaccination. The students who had attended the seminar were allowed to fulfil the post-lecture questionnaire. Both descriptive and inferential analysis were performed on the results; in particular, Student's t-test for independent samples was used to compare the total score obtained before and after attending the ETA. RESULTS: A total of 449 students participated in the ETA. Overall, the participation in the ETA allowed them to significantly improve their final score (+27.28%, p < 0.001). Good results were obtained even when comparing the three groups (medical students, pharmacy students and medical residents) separately. Females improved more than males, especially among pharmacy students. DISCUSSION: The present study highlights the importance and the impact that extracurricular activities can have in improving knowledge about vaccinations. With vaccination and vaccine hesitancy and acceptance topics with increasing attention paid by the population, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, it is fundamental to develop new strategies to increase future healthcare professionals' knowledge about vaccinations.