Faculty of Medicine, University of Tripoli, University Road, Furnaj, 13275, Tripoli, Libya.
Faculty of Medicine, Tobruk University, Tobruk, Libya.
Pan Afr Med J. 2020 Jun 11;35(Suppl 2):75. doi: 10.11604/pamj.supp.2020.35.2.23586. eCollection 2020.
There are a limited number of studies on the issues associated with the knowledge and self-practice preventive measures for COVID-19 among medical students. We aimed to determine the extent of knowledge, self-reported preventive behavior, and risk perception of the COVID-19 outbreak among college students in Libya.
A cross-sectional study was conducted from April 20 to April 30, 2020. The participants were students of medical and non-medical subjects from Libyan educational institutes. Data on participants' characteristics, knowledge, preventive behavior, and risk perception were collected.
Approximately 3669 participants completed the questionnaire, of which 2547 (69.4) were medical students and 1122 (30.6%) were non-medical students. The mean knowledge score on COVID-19 was 8.62 (SD: 1.26, range: 0-12), corresponding to 71.8% correct answers. A significant difference was observed between medical and non-medical students in terms of knowledge (p < 0.001). Overall, the knowledge score of the students differed significantly with respect to age, current year of study, and financial source (p < 0.05). The mean score of preventive behavioral measures toward COVID-19 (out of 8) was 7.42 (SD: 0.95, range: 0-8), and the overall preventive measure score was estimated to be approximately 7.42/8*100, which corresponds to 92.7% for both medical and non-medical students.
Notably, college students were observed to have substantial knowledge, preventive behavior, and a positive attitude toward COVID-19. Government programs should aim to educate individuals from other sectors of the society to ensure the proper dissemination of knowledge on preventive safety measures, as this will help restrict and control the pandemic.
关于医学生对 COVID-19 相关知识和自我预防措施的了解程度，目前研究较少。我们旨在确定利比亚大学生对 COVID-19 爆发的认知程度、自我报告的预防行为和风险感知程度。
这是一项在 2020 年 4 月 20 日至 4 月 30 日进行的横断面研究。参与者为利比亚教育机构的医学生和非医学生。收集了参与者的特征、知识、预防行为和风险感知数据。
大约 3669 名参与者完成了问卷，其中 2547 名（69.4%）是医学生，1122 名（30.6%）是非医学生。COVID-19 的平均知识得分是 8.62（标准差：1.26，范围：0-12），对应 71.8%的正确答案。医学生和非医学生在知识方面存在显著差异（p<0.001）。总体而言，学生的知识得分与年龄、当前学习年份和资金来源显著相关（p<0.05）。针对 COVID-19 的预防行为措施平均得分（满分 8 分）为 7.42（标准差：0.95，范围：0-8），总体预防措施得分约为 7.42/8*100，对应医学生和非医学生的得分均约为 92.7%。
值得注意的是，大学生对 COVID-19 有相当程度的了解、预防行为和积极态度。政府计划应旨在教育社会其他部门的个人，以确保适当传播预防安全措施方面的知识，这将有助于限制和控制疫情。
