Knowledge, attitude, and perception of University students toward COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Background: An increasing rate of COVID-19 cases throughout the world has increased the need to investigate the knowledge, attitude, and perception (KAP) of university students toward the COVID-19 pandemic to prevent its rapid spread as public cooperation and awareness regarding prevention is the only way to deal with this pandemic. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted in Pakistan in April 2020. Data was collected by Google statistics and percent reliability was calculated through SPSS. Results: The number of respondents n=678, out of which 443(65.2%) were female and 235(34.85%) were male. The perception of students regarding this disease is shown in a table in which 33.2% of students consider it very dangerous. 54.2% thought it moderately dangerous. 62.38% of students consider muscle pain and 73.59% of students consider throat pain as a clinical presentation of COVID-19. 80.7% of students thought that exposure to a suspected case of COVID-19 serves as a means of acquiring COVID-19 infection. The most effective measure of prevention comes out to be hand washing and covering face during coughing and sneezing. The main cause of the spread is a lack of public awareness and cooperation. Social media campaigns are an effective means of educating students about quarantine and controlling its rapid spread. Conclusion: Researchers concluded that It’s the need of the hour to increase awareness related to protective hygienic measures, rapid spread, and providing reliable approaches through social media campaigns to manage this pandemic. We believe that students should be involved in educating their surrounding society.