Bridging the Gaps: The Transformative Effect of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) on Preventive Measures Among Medical and Health Sciences College Students in Madinah, Saudi Arabia

TL;DR

This study examines how the COVID-19 pandemic affected medical and health science students in Saudi Arabia, showing that personal experience and clinical exposure improved their commitment to preventive measures.

Contribution

The study highlights the role of personal infection and clinical exposure in shaping students' attitudes toward preventive measures during the pandemic.

Findings

Students who had contracted COVID-19 showed more positive attitudes toward preventive measures.

Clinical students demonstrated better understanding and adherence to preventive measures than pre-clinical students.

Negative attitudes toward mask-wearing and social distancing were more common among male students.

Abstract

Background

The global impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has disrupted the activities of medical and health profession education institutions. This study aimed to determine the impact of COVID-19 on medical and health profession education students' knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward preventive measures and their commitment to precautionary measures before, during, and after the pandemic.

Materials and methods

A cross-sectional study was carried out from January to March 2023 using an online, structured, validated questionnaire survey to gather information from medical and health sciences students from three universities, encompassing five colleges in Madinah, Saudi Arabia. The minimum required sample size was estimated using the Epi Info software as 380. The data was analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 20.0 (Released 2011; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, United States). Statistical tests including Student's t-test, chi-squared test, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) test were applied.

Results

The findings revealed that personal experiences with COVID-19 infection had a significant impact on students' attitudes and commitment to preventive measures (p<0.05). Among the participants, 172 students (45%) reported having contracted COVID-19. Students with clinical exposure showed a higher level of understanding and adherence to preventive measures (248 students, 68%), compared to pre-clinical students (198 students, 52%) (p<0.05). Positive attitudes were observed toward practices such as sneezing etiquette (289 students, 76%) and flu vaccination (314 students, 83%) (p<0.05). However, negative attitudes were observed toward mask-wearing (155 students, 41%) and social distancing (144 students, 38%), particularly among male students (p<0.05).

Conclusion

The study provided valuable insights into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical and health sciences students' knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward preventive measures and the importance of introducing COVID-19 prevention measures in the pre-clinical phase as well as mental health support to promote positive attitudes and enhance adherence to preventive measures.