Department of Health Policy and Hospital Management, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China.
Department of Social Medicine, School of Health Management, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China.
BMJ Open. 2022 Jan 11;12(1):e050867. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-050867.
A COVID-19 outbreak has been contained in China through effective prevention measures with the collaboration of the citizens. However, there is resistance to self-reported symptoms as required in the international student community. This study explored knowledge level and symptoms reporting behaviours toward COVID-19 among international students.
An online cross-sectional investigation was conducted among 119 international students across Heilongjiang province and questionnaires implemented through WeChat between 1 and 25 March 2020. The results were explained using descriptive Χ test and binary logistic regression analysis using SPSS V.20.
In total, 119 international students participated, with a response rate of 90.16%. Of the 119 respondents, 96 (80.7%) knew COVID-19 symptoms, 109 (91.6%) took cognisance of questions on the importance of the maintenance of wearing masks and 113 (95%) on questions regarding hand hygiene in the prevention of disease transmission. However, results show that there were still large gaps in knowledge about questions regarding the virus and the treatment methods (many participants incorrectly believed that the virus could be kill by drinking alcohol or smoking). In addition, more than half of the participants declared compliance with positive health behaviours, however 27.7% did not agree with vaccination (if any), and 31.1% did not agree to be quarantined after being diagnosed with COVID-19. Furthermore, 20 participants (16, 80%) expressed an inclination to deliberately withhold symptoms. Variables in the Health Belief Model showed a significant association with behavioural change.
From our study, we found that there is evident knowledge about COVID-19 among international students, although orientation and sensitisation are still required. Those who were aware of the benefits of reporting, the severity of COVID-19 and the legal consequences of deliberately concealing information showed a greater willingness to report; conversely, those who believed reporting is very inconvenient and feared being quarantined after reporting showed less willingness to report. A study focusing on international students' knowledge and behaviour amid the pandemic will provide information for countries to cut off the chain of disease transmission of all variants of COVID-19.
中国通过公民协作，采取了有效的预防措施，成功控制了 COVID-19 疫情。然而，在国际学生群体中，人们对接种疫苗和自我报告症状存在抵触情绪。本研究旨在探究国际学生对 COVID-19 的认知水平和症状报告行为。
2020 年 3 月 1 日至 25 日，我们通过微信对黑龙江省的 119 名国际学生进行了在线横断面调查。使用 SPSS V.20 进行描述性 Χ 检验和二元逻辑回归分析来解释结果。
共有 119 名国际学生参与了此次研究，应答率为 90.16%。在 119 名应答者中，96 名（80.7%）知道 COVID-19 的症状，109 名（91.6%）认识到戴口罩的重要性，113 名（95%）认识到手部卫生在疾病传播中的预防作用。然而，研究结果表明，他们在病毒和治疗方法方面的知识仍存在很大差距（许多参与者错误地认为酒精或吸烟可以杀死病毒）。此外，超过一半的参与者声称遵守了积极的健康行为，但仍有 27.7%的人不同意接种疫苗（如果有的话），31.1%的人不同意在确诊 COVID-19 后被隔离。此外，20 名参与者（16.80%）表示有意隐瞒症状。健康信念模型中的变量与行为改变显著相关。
从我们的研究中可以发现，国际学生对 COVID-19 有明显的认识，但仍需要进行定向和宣传。那些意识到报告的好处、COVID-19 的严重性以及故意隐瞒信息的法律后果的人更愿意报告；相反，那些认为报告非常不方便且担心报告后被隔离的人则不太愿意报告。一项关注国际学生在大流行期间的知识和行为的研究将为各国提供信息，以切断所有 COVID-19 变体的疾病传播链。
