Knowledge, preventive behaviors and risk perception of students of Kashan University of Medical Sciences towards COVID-19

ABSTRACT

Background: Students are a very important part of young society whose awareness affects the health of family and friends. At the same time as the COVID-19 pandemic, the present study was conducted to investigate the level of Knowledge, Preventive Behaviors and Risk Perception of students of Kashan University of Medical Sciences towards COVID-19. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2022. In total, 330 students from Kashan University of Medical Sciences were selected via random sampling method. Data collection tools were a questionnaire including 4 sections of demographic information, awareness (15 questions) and preventive behaviors (9 questions) and risk perception (2 questions). The Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used for data analysis. Findings: The knowledge of students of Kashan University of Medical Sciences about the ways of transmission, origin, symptoms, incubation period, treatment, how to diagnose, the importance of using a mask and hand hygiene has been between 60 to 98% and very good. The students' preventive behaviors towards all the mentioned items were between 65 and 95% and were very good. About half of the university students had a high risk of COVID-19. Conclusion: Due to the high prevalence of this virus and the lack of absolutely effective medicine in the treatment of this disease, it is necessary to raise the level of awareness of students with appropriate training, so that we can see an increase in preventive behaviors and understanding of risk among students.