Could Intern Health Care Students Control Their Emotions and Make a Career Plan During the COVID-19 Pandemic?

The negative effects of the pandemic caused students to make changes in their career plans and their ability to manage their emotional states. Not only health students in our country, but also students in other countries of the world experienced fear, anxiety, and unwillingness to participate in professional practices and the provision of care for patients with COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was conducted to determine factors influencing intern healthcare students' career adaptability and their ability to manage emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The sample of this cross-sectional study consisted of 219 intern healthcare students studying at the Faculty of Health Sciences Undergraduate Program of a University in the fall semester of the 2020 to 2021 academic year. The study data were collected online using the Personal Information Form, Career Adapt-Ability Scale (CAAS), and Courtauld Emotional Control Scale (CECS). The data obtained were analyzed by using the independent samples t-test, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), correlation tests, and the regression model to distinguish variables significantly. Two models explained more than 50% of the variance of CAAS and CECS regarding COVID-19, and 5.1% of the career planning regarding the period during the COVID-19 pandemic (P < .05). As the students' control over their careers decreased during the COVID-19, their feelings of anxiety and unhappiness increased (P < .05). Of the variables, sex, department, future expectations, the position dreamed of being in after graduation, and attitudes toward patient care with COVID-19 affected their CAAS and CECS scores.

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Towards Corona Virus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) among Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction: Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19), was recognized and has caused serious illness and numerous deaths. The ultimate scope and effect of this outbreak are unclear at present as the situation is rapidly evolving. The disease causes respiratory illness (like the flu) with main clinical symptoms such as a dry cough, fever, and in more severe cases, difficulty in breathing. Objective(s): To assess knowledge, attitude, and practice of medical students towards corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Material(s) and Method(s): An online cross-sectional survey was conducted among undergraduate medical students in India from September 2020 to February 2021. Participants were recruited using a snowball sampling technique and all data were collected via an online self-reported questionnaire using Google Forms (http://forms.google.com/) as the data collection period coincided with implementation of the COVID-19 lockdown policy in India. Socio-demographics characteristics, social interaction history, information-seeking behavior, as well as knowledge, attitude, and practice toward COVID-19 were collected through a self-reported questionnaire. A p-value of <0.04 indicated statistical significance. Result(s): A total of 2000 eligible participants completed the survey, 71.5% of whom were female, and their mean age was 19.4 years old (SD = 2.1). Almost all had sufficient knowledge (87.1%) and good preventive practice (93.6%) towards COVID-19;however, there was also a rather low level of positive attitude recorded, at 65.7%. The multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that the female participants, and the receiving of information from the official websites, reported a significantly higher level of good practice. Besides, students who had a high level of sufficient knowledge and positive attitude towards COVID-19 were more likely to have good preventive practices (All p<0.001). Conclusion: Many undergraduate medical students in India had positive attitude and practice against COVID-19, yet only a few had adequate knowledge. This warrants further interventions to keep them updated with COVID-19 evidence to maximize their potentials in raising public awareness on COVID-19.Copyright © 2020 Ubiquity Press. All rights reserved.

Depression and Anxiety Mediate the Association between Sleep Quality and Self-Rated Health in Healthcare Students.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate factors associated with sleep quality in healthcare students and to determine whether depressive and anxiety symptoms may explain some of the associations between sleep quality and self-rated health. STUDY DESIGN: This is a cross-sectional study at wave one. METHODS: A total of 637 healthcare students were recruited via a stratified random sampling method in Hangzhou, China. The Sleep Quality Questionnaire (SQQ) and the four-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-4) were used to assess sleep quality and depressive and anxiety symptoms, respectively. Self-rated health was assessed via a self-developed questionnaire of both physical and psychological health. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the direct and indirect effects of sleep quality on self-rated health through depressive and anxiety symptoms. RESULTS: Students engaged in part-time employment (p = 0.022), with poor perceived employment prospects (p = 0.009), and who did not participate in recreational sports (p = 0.008) had worse sleep quality. Structural equation modeling revealed a significant total effect of sleep quality on self-rated health (b = 0.592, p < 0.001), a significant direct effect of both sleep quality and depressive and anxiety symptoms on self-rated health (b = 0.277, 95% CI: 0.032-0.522), and a significant indirect effect of sleep quality on self-rated health through depressive and anxiety symptoms (b = 0.315, 95% CI: 0.174-0.457). CONCLUSIONS: Depressive and anxiety symptoms partially explain the association between sleep quality and self-rated health. Intervening upon sleep quality, depressive, and anxiety symptoms may bolster the self-rated health of healthcare students.

Barriers to COVID-19 contact tracing: View from frontline healthcare students in Vietnam.

In the context of the complicated continuous waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam, contact tracing, along with social distancing and lock-down, proved its crucial role in the suppression of epidemic spreading and management. With the high demand for responsiveness, healthcare students were constantly involved in the process, and challenges have emerged along the way. This study aims to identify the barriers faced by healthcare students while performing the contact tracing task at the frontline of the pandemic. A qualitative study was conducted in July 2021 in a health center in Binh Duong province, Vietnam. A total of 20 healthcare students were invited through random recruitment of participants and interviewed until the principle of saturation was reached. Three main barriers were identified including ineffective work management of local managers, lack of capability of human resources and facilities, and uncooperative attitude of local residents. Given the existing barriers, cooperative, innovative strategies, shared data systems, and timely public awareness campaigns, especially among primary health centers of the healthcare system, are imperative to reduce the workload and optimize the efficacy of healthcare students' support.

Healthcare students' moral concerns and distress during the pandemic.

BACKGROUND: During the first wave of the new coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the sudden increase in hospitalised patients put medical facilities in southern Switzerland under severe pressure. During this time, bachelor's degree programs in nursing, physiotherapy and occupational therapy were disrupted, and students in their second year were displaced. Students experienced the continuous reorganisation of their traineeship as healthcare facilities adapted to a climate of uncertainty. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate the degree of moral distress and the ethical issues most often encountered by physiotherapy, nursing and occupational therapy students enrolled in a traineeship during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in southern Switzerland. PARTICIPANTS AND RESEARCH CONTEXT: The sample consisted of 102 participants, and the response rate was 81.6%. RESEARCH DESIGN: Based on a pragmatic approach, a mixed-method with a convergent design was adopted. Data were collected between 30 April 2020 and 14 May 2020, via a survey administered to all occupational therapy, physiotherapy and nursing students in their fourth semester. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: Given that no vulnerable persons were involved, the Ethics Committee of Southern Switzerland waived authorisation. However, all measures were put into place to protect participants by guaranteeing their anonymity and confidentiality. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The data analysis showed that the main source for moral distress was 'poor teamwork' and that the moral issues encountered most often by students were related to the appropriateness of care and working conditions, with a clear reference to students' own safety and that of their loved ones; the other concerns reported included the loss of learning opportunities and the perceived lack of technical knowledge and skills. CONCLUSIONS: This survey offers a faithful overview of physiotherapy, nursing and occupational therapy students' experience during the first pandemic wave. This study also identifies some key recommendations for healthcare professions' education.

Effects of perspective switching and utilitarian thinking on moral judgments in a sacrificial dilemma among healthcare and non-healthcare students.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare professionals have often faced moral challenges, which required them to choose between endorsing self- or other-sacrifice for the greater good. Drawing on the altruistic rationalization hypothesis and trait-activation theory, this study investigates (a) whether healthcare students' endorsement of utilitarian solutions to sacrificial moral dilemmas varies when they are confronted with the minority group, majority group, or third-person perspective on the given dilemma and (b) whether individual differences in utilitarian thinking, as measured by the Oxford Utilitarianism Scale (both instrumental harm and impartial beneficence), predict endorsement of utilitarian solutions to moral dilemmas. The study population was divided into a group of healthcare students and a group of non-healthcare students. It was found that the members of both groups expressed a stronger pro-utilitarian position when making moral dilemma judgments from a majority perspective than from the two other perspectives. However, a difference was observed with healthcare students being more reluctant to endorse the utilitarian action than their non-healthcare counterparts in the self-in-majority context. The instrumental harm component was a significant predictor of utilitarian judgments in the healthcare group, but impartial beneficence significantly predicted utilitarian judgments in the non-healthcare group in the self-in-majority context. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-023-04380-z.

Saudi Healthcare Students' Perceptions and Beliefs About Immunizations: a Descriptive, Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Immunization has been one of the most successful public health measures ever undertaken. However, a degree of hesitancy about vaccine use still exists. Healthcare professionals are in a unique position to provide advice and education to the public and may influence the decision to undergo immunization. Objective: The aim of this study was to explore perceptions and beliefs regarding immunizations and immunization-preventable diseases. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was undertaken at the Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University, located in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a survey of 564 Saudi undergraduate healthcare students was conducted. 77.8% of participants replied (439). Information was collected regarding perceptions of; severity of immunization-preventable diseases, contracting these diseases, immunization safety, and immunization beliefs. The statistical analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (IBM SPSS v25). Non-parametric analyses were utilized. Descriptive data were generated as appropriate, including frequencies, median, and inter-quartile range. Statistical relationships of demographic variables were explored using Kruskal Wallis H-Test and Spearman's Rank-Order Correlation. A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Meningitis was perceived as the most severe disease and COVID-19 as having the highest likelihood of infection. Concern regarding vaccine side effects was most evident for the COVID-19 vaccine. Student year level and profession resulted in statistically significant differences for all three assessed perceptions. Substantial differences were also identified regarding views on immunization belief statements. Conclusion: This study identified considerable heterogeneity in Saudi healthcare students' perceptions and beliefs regarding immunization-preventable diseases and vaccination. Further education is required to produce well-informed and confident healthcare professionals around these issues.

Impact of Coronavirus-2019 on General Health Anxiety Among Students of Iranian Medical Sciences

Background: During the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, Iranian medical sciences students were at higher risk of contracting this virus because they were in infected environments. So, they are predisposed to high levels of anxiety that could worsen their lives. The determent of factors and levels of anxiety could be helpful to reduce anxiety and control its worse effects. Hence, this study aimed to measure the anxiety index and its factors among medical sciences students during the COVID-19 pandemic in Iran. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, an online survey was sent to students from 27 medical sciences universities in Iran from 20th December 2020 to 10th March 2021. The online survey consists of the Health Anxiety Inventory (HAI) for measured general health anxiety as well as the baseline characteristics of students. Results: 723 students responded, including 483 (66.8%) females and mean HAI score was 16.76 +/- 8.35. Based on our findings, gender, past medical, and drug history were significantly related to the high level of anxiety. However, there was no coloration between HAI scores with age, the field of study, study duration, university location, and attendance in the hospital and/ or COVID-19 ward (P>0.05). Conclusions: Students with notable past medical history and/or drug history and female students more than others were predisposed to anxiety in a pandemic such as COVID-19. Hence, in a pandemic situation, psychological care should concern them. [GMJ.2022;11:e2537] DOI:10.31661/gmj.v11i.2537

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Towards Corona Virus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) among Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction: Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19), was recognized and has caused serious illness and numerous deaths. The ultimate scope and effect of this outbreak are unclear at present as the situation is rapidly evolving. The disease causes respiratory illness (like the flu) with main clinical symptoms such as a dry cough, fever, and in more severe cases, difficulty in breathing. Objective(s): To assess knowledge, attitude, and practice of medical students towards corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Material(s) and Method(s): An online cross-sectional survey was conducted among undergraduate medical students in India from September 2020 to February 2021. Participants were recruited using a snowball sampling technique and all data were collected via an online self-reported questionnaire using Google Forms (http://forms.google.com/) as the data collection period coincided with implementation of the COVID-19 lockdown policy in India. Socio-demographics characteristics, social interaction history, information-seeking behavior, as well as knowledge, attitude, and practice toward COVID-19 were collected through a self-reported questionnaire. A p-value of <0.04 indicated statistical significance. Result(s): A total of 2000 eligible participants completed the survey, 71.5% of whom were female, and their mean age was 19.4 years old (SD = 2.1). Almost all had sufficient knowledge (87.1%) and good preventive practice (93.6%) towards COVID-19;however, there was also a rather low level of positive attitude recorded, at 65.7%. The multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that the female participants, and the receiving of information from the official websites, reported a significantly higher level of good practice. Besides, students who had a high level of sufficient knowledge and positive attitude towards COVID-19 were more likely to have good preventive practices (All p<0.001). Conclusion(s): Many undergraduate medical students in India had positive attitude and practice against COVID-19, yet only a few had adequate knowledge. This warrants further interventions to keep them updated with COVID-19 evidence to maximize their potentials in raising public awareness on COVID-19. Copyright © 2022 Ubiquity Press. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of Healthcare Students' Knowledge on Antibiotic Use, Antimicrobial Resistance and Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs and Associated Factors in a Tertiary University in Ghana: Findings and Implications.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major public health problem globally, and Ghana is no exception. Good knowledge regarding antibiotic use, AMR, and the concept of antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) is critical among healthcare students to curb rising AMR rates in the future. Consequently, a need to ascertain this. A cross-sectional survey was undertaken among fifth-year pharmacy, medical students and fourth (final)-year nursing and physician assistantship students at the University of Health and Allied Sciences in Ghana to assess their knowledge on antibiotic use, AMR and AMS using a web-based self-administered structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, Fishers' exact test, and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed. A total of 160 healthcare students were interviewed, of which 56.3% (n = 90) were male and 58.8% (n = 94) were in their fourth year of study. Good knowledge of antibiotic use, AMR, and AMS was associated with the study course (p = 0.001) and the number of years of study (p < 0.001). Overall, there were differences in the level of knowledge of antibiotics among the different healthcare students and their years of study. Efforts must now be made to enhance the curricula to ensure an improved and uniform transfer of knowledge of antibiotics, AMR, and AMS among the different healthcare students to sustain the fight against AMR in Ghana given growing concerns.

Potential of Volunteering in Formal and Informal Medical Education-A Theory-Driven Cross-Sectional Study with Example of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Students' volunteering is an effective way to manage health crises, including pandemics. Due to the limited capacity of the healthcare system at the time of the COVID-19 outbreak, the engagement of students in volunteering services seemed invaluable. Based on different teaching-learning theories, in this survey study, we aimed to evaluate the potential of the volunteering service project launched by the Poznan University of Medical Sciences during the COVID-19 pandemic as a learning opportunity for undergraduate healthcare students. The results indicate the potential of involving students in volunteering activities for educational purposes, as well as other values, including attitudes and professional identity development, which could be difficult to realize using traditional teaching methods. However, stimulating students' reflectiveness seems necessary to reach its full educational effectiveness. Medical teachers should provide students with more opportunities for volunteering and service learning and consider making these a constant element of the curriculum beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

Knowledge and practices toward COVID-19 among healthcare students: A cross-sectional study at the University of Zambia.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic led to the disruption of physical classes for university students globally, as large gatherings fuelled the transmission of the virus. In the efforts to mitigate its transmission and return to normality, prevention measures, including vaccination, have been encouraged. Therefore, it is critical to understand the knowledge and practices of students regarding COVID-19. This study assessed the knowledge and practices toward COVID-19 among healthcare students at the University of Zambia. Materials and methods: This questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was carried out from August 2021 to October 2021 among 478 healthcare students (pharmacy, physiotherapy, nursing, biomedical, medicine, and radiography). We used a previously validated questionnaire to measure knowledge and practice. The predictors of knowledge and practices were assessed using logistic regression with robust estimation of standard errors. Statistical analysis was conducted using Stata/BE version 17.0. Results: Of the 478 respondents, 243 (50.8%) were females. A larger proportion, 175 (36.6%) were in Pharmacy training, and 156 (32.6%) were in their fifth year of study. The overall mean knowledge score of the participants was 87.9 (SD = 16.1), being higher at 89.6 (SD = 14.3) among medical students and the lowest at 86.7 (SD = 17.1) among Pharmacy students, although this was statistically non-significant (p = 0.488). The overall mean practice score was 60.0 (SD = 24.7), being significantly higher at 63.5 (23.4) among nursing, physiotherapy and environmental students compared to other students (p = 0.048). In multivariable analysis, the participant training program was non-significantly associated with knowledge and practice toward COVID-19. However, increased age (AOR = 1.09, 95% CI: 1.01-1.117) and residing in urban areas (AOR = 1.79, 95% CI: 1.07-3.01) than in rural areas were associated with higher odds of good practice toward COVID-19. Conclusion: The healthcare students generally showed good knowledge levels and poor practices toward COVID-19. Further, there was no evidence of a difference in knowledge of COVID-19 among healthcare students. These findings suggest the need for implementation strategies to be centered on improving the practices of students toward COVID-19.

Healthcare graduate students' perceived control and preventive behavior for COVID-19 in Japan and the United States: A cross-sectional study.

Background: Both individual and policy level perceived control are known to be positively related to preventive behavior, and both may differ among healthcare graduate students with different cultural backgrounds. This study compared the preventive health behavior and perceived control among domestic and international healthcare graduate students in Japan and the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic, and analyzed factors associated with preventive health behavior and perceived control. Methods: The study used a self-administered online survey, conducted at two universities in Japan and one university in the United States. The survey included sociodemographic data and scales of preventive health behaviors, perceived control (policy level), and perceived health competence (individual level). Association among variables were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results: A total of 610 students (485 domestic and 125 international) in Japan and 231 students (220 domestic and 11 international) in the United States completed the survey. Participants' average age was 31.3 years, and 67.0% were female. Model fit of structural equation modeling was good (χ2 = 9.419, P = 0.151, comparative fit index = 0.995, RMSEA = 0.026). Japanese students had better preventive health behavior than American (ß = -0.407, P < 0.001) and international students in both countries (ß = -0.112, P < 0.001). However, Japanese students had significantly lower perceived control than American students (ß = 0.346, P < 0.001) and international students in both countries (ß = 0.188, P < 0.001). Overall higher perceived control (ß = 0.175, P < 0.001) and being female (ß = 0.141, P < 0.001) were significantly associated with better preventive behavior. Although higher perceived control was related to higher perceived health competence (ß = 0.295, P < 0.001), perceived health competence was not associated with preventive behavior (ß = 0.025, P = 0.470). Religion was not associated with perceived control or preventive behavior. Conclusion: Nationality was identified as the main factor associated with both perceived control and preventive behavior. Policy level perceived control was more strongly associated with preventive health behavior than individual level perceived health competence. Further investigations in the contribution of specific cultural dimensions associated with perceived control and preventive behaviors are recommended.

Toxic Habits and Well-Being Measures in Spanish Healthcare University Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Unhealthy lifestyles are strongly entrenched in healthcare universities and have sometimes been linked to stress or lack of sleep. This study investigated the prevalence of toxic habits (smoking, patterns of harmful alcohol use, and illicit drug use), stress levels, perceived health status, and sleep duration and assessed the connections between toxic habits and said well-being measures, as well as healthcare students' perception of the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on these health-related behaviors. METHODS: In a cross-sectional study, healthcare students from Alfonso X University (Spain) completed a health survey composed of Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT-C), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), self-perceived health status, and the number of hours of sleep. RESULTS: A total of 997 healthcare students completed the survey, of which 982 were analyzed. Being a smoker (32.2%) was associated with worse health status and insufficient sleep. Risk drinkers (33.2%) were associated with being female, and the consumption of cannabinoids (6.7%), with being male. These three toxic habits were related to each other. High levels of stress (28.2%) were correlated with worse ratings in the perception of health status (29.2%) and with insufficient sleep (45.8%), and all of them were associated with the female sex. Respectively, 49.3% and 44.2% of students recognized a worsening in their perception of stress and their sleep habits during the pandemic. CONCLUSION: Healthcare universities must carry out health promotion programs for stress management, sleep habits, and unhealthy lifestyles.

COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance Rate and Its Factors among Healthcare Students: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis.

Healthcare students are clinicians-in-training likely to come into contact with COVID-19 as much as other frontline healthcare professionals. It is therefore necessary to prioritize vaccinations for this group. We conducted a global systematic assessment of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance rates and related factors among healthcare students using the PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases and keyword searches in March of 2022. We found 1779 articles with relevant information and 31 articles that matched our inclusion criteria. We performed a random-effects meta-analysis and quality assessment using the eight-item Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal test for cross-sectional studies. A total of 30,272 individuals from 16 countries were studied. Most of the studies were carried out in the U.S. (n = 6), China (n = 5), Poland (n = 5), India (n = 2), Italy (n = 2), and Israel (n = 2). The prevalence of the COVID-19 vaccine acceptance rate was 68.8% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 60.8-76.3, I2 = 100%), and the prevalence of the vaccine hesitancy rate was 25.8% (95% CI: 18.5-33.8, I2 = 99%). In country-specific analyses, Romania showed the highest acceptance rate (88.0%, 95% CI: 44.5-100%), while Iraq showed the lowest acceptance rate (66.2%, 95% CI: 35.5-90.8%). In time-trend analyses, we found that acceptance rates among healthcare students decreased over time. Students concerned about potentially serious side effects of the vaccine were less willing to accept the vaccine. National and international interventions should be adopted to reduce COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy rates among these important frontline workers.

Psychological well-being and coping strategies of healthcare students during the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: This study aimed to investigate the psychological well-being, and stress coping strategies, as well as their relationships, among healthcare students during prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: An online questionnaire was used to assess psychological well-being (the Ryff Scale) and coping strategies (the brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced Inventory [COPE] Scale). COPE scores were categorized to identify the primary coping strategies: "approach" indicates more active coping strategies; "avoidant" indicates more dysfunctional and maladaptive mechanisms. Results: A total of 202 valid questionnaire were collected. Those with lower academic confidence and lower self-rated peer and family relationship scores during the COVID-19 pandemic had lower Ryff scores, indicating poorer psychological well-being. Nursing students reported the lowest psychological well-being and the highest levels of adopting avoidant coping strategies (26.4%). Conclusion: The study's findings may help educators identify the healthcare students most vulnerable to stress and develop interventions to empower students to adopt problem-focused stress coping strategies.

Adherence, Perception of, and Attitude toward Influenza and Flu Vaccination: A Cross-Sectional Study among a Population of Future Healthcare Workers.

Healthcare students (HCSs) represent a target category for seasonal flu vaccination. This study aimed to examine adherence to flu vaccination campaigns from 2016 to 2019 among HCSs and to investigate knowledge and perception of and attitude toward influenza and flu vaccination. This cross-sectional study was conducted among the HCSs of a northern Italian university. Data on adherence, knowledge, perception, and attitude were investigated through an anonymous online self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire was filled out by 352 out of 392 third-year HCSs (response rate = 90%). The main reason for refusal was the perception of influenza as non-threatening (24.4%), while self-protection was the main reason for adherence (87.5%). A univariate logistic regression analysis revealed some statistically significant associations with the adherence to the 2018-2019 campaign: being a nursing/midwifery student (OR: 4.14; 95% CI: 1.77-9.71) and agreeing with (OR: 19.28; 95% CI: 2.47-146.85) or being undecided (OR: 10.81; 95% CI: 1.33-88.27) about the obligation of vaccination in health facilities. The associations were also evaluated with a multiple logistic regression model. Despite the low vaccine uptake, good knowledge of the risks for HCSs and patients related to flu has emerged. Improving promotion strategies will be necessary to increase the adhesion of future healthcare workers.

Comparing knowledge, attitude, practice and stigma associated with SARS-COV-2 Infection among Healthcare students of Bangalore city: A cross sectional study

Background: In 2020, a new global pandemic has emerged, caused by a new strain of Corona virus called SARS-CoV-2. A poor understanding of the disease among healthcare students may implicate in delayed treatment and rapid spread of infection and development of complications. Objectives: 1) To estimate the knowledge, attitude, practice and stigma associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection among healthcare students. 2) To estimate the association between socio-demographic determinants with knowledge, attitude, practice and stigma of SARS-CoV-2 infection among healthcare students. Methods: A web-based cross-sectional study was undertaken among 493 healthcare i.e., medical, nursing and allied sciences students, during 1st May to 20th May 2020, using a pre-designed and semi-structured questionnaire. Data was analyzed using Chi square test, t-test, one-way Anova and Bonferroni test was used for assessing the association among the study variables. Results: The study revealed that, there were about 225(45.64%) medical, 165(33.46%) nursing and 103(20.89%) allied sciences students. Majority were females 349(70.79%), majority were Hindus 333(67.54%). Mean knowledge score of medical, nursing and allied sciences students were 15.66 (2.518), 14.16 (2.92) and 14.46 (3.11) respectively. Practice score was good among nursing than allied sciences students at ‘p’ (0.003). Conclusion: Even though the overall knowledge was less in our study participants, majority of them had followed good practices for preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection. © 2021, Indian Association of Preventive and Social Medicine. All rights reserved.

Bringing literature to life: A digital animation to teach analogue concepts in radiographic imaging during a pandemic - Lessons learnt

AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT : Background: Teaching important, but `outdated' technology (analogue) in a digital age is challenging as resources are rapidly phasing out. Combining that challenge with COVID-19 regulations and movement restrictions, educators needed to create meaningful and conducive learning experiences in the virtual classroom. To address this, lecturers in the Radiography department, created an animated video on automatic film processing (AFP) concepts, one with narration and one without. Students were then asked to engage with the animations to provide a description of the events they depicted in the form of an essay. Objectives: To explore and describe students experiences of the online automatic film processing (AFP) animations as a learning tool.Methods: A qualitative, descriptive exploratory design was adopted. A focus group interview was conducted with second year radiography students enrolled for the radiographic sciences module. Content analysis was used to analyse the data.Results: Findings emerged from three themes, namely: AFP animation without narration can serve as an effective learning and assessment tool, animation with narration is a passive learning tool and recommendations to improve AFP concepts.Conclusion: The animation without narration enabled the students to gain from inquiry based, experiential learning. However, the animation with narration and captions appeared to have a high cognitive load, hindering its effectiveness. The lessons learnt from this study is that although animations are deemed as an effective adjunct to teaching, active engagement is necessary for deep learning occur. Therefore, care must be taken when designing multimedia resources to ensure that effective learning takes place