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SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19 pandemic) in Nigeria: Multi-institutional survey of knowledge, practices and perception amongst undergraduate veterinary medical students
The novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) is a global pandemic with an increasing public health concern. Due to the non-availability of a vaccine against the disease, non-pharmaceutical interventions constitute major preventive and control measures. However, inadequate knowledge about the disease...
Autores principales: | , , , , , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
Public Library of Science
2021
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7959340/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33720966 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0248189 |
Sumario: | The novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) is a global pandemic with an increasing public health concern. Due to the non-availability of a vaccine against the disease, non-pharmaceutical interventions constitute major preventive and control measures. However, inadequate knowledge about the disease and poor perception might limit compliance. This study examined COVID-19-related knowledge, practices, perceptions and associated factors amongst undergraduate veterinary medical students in Nigeria. A cross-sectional web survey was employed to collect data from 437 consenting respondents using pre-tested self-administered questionnaire (August 2020). Demographic factors associated with the knowledge and adoption of recommended preventive practices towards COVID-19 were explored using multivariate logistic regression at P ≤ 0.05. The respondents’ mean knowledge and practice scores were 22.7 (SD ± 3.0) and 24.1 (SD ± 2.9), respectively with overall 63.4% and 88.8% displaying good knowledge and satisfactory practice levels. However, relatively lower proportions showed adherence to avoid touching face or nose (19.5%), face mask-wearing (58.1%), and social distancing (57.4%). Being in the 6(th) year of study (OR = 3.18, 95%CI: 1.62–6.26, P = 0.001) and female (OR = 2.22, 95% CI = 1.11–4.41, P = 0.024) were significant positive predictors of good knowledge and satisfactory practices, respectively. While only 30% of the respondents perceived the pandemic as a scam or a disease of the elites (24.0%), the respondents were worried about their academics being affected negatively (55.6%). Veterinary Medical Students in Nigeria had good knowledge and satisfactory preventive practices towards COVID-19; albeit with essential gaps in the key non-pharmaceutical preventive measures recommended by the WHO. Therefore, there is a need to step up enlightenment and targeted campaigns about COVID-19 pandemic. |
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