Myths and misconceptions related to CoVID-19 among future health care providers in a private University of Islamabad - An interventional study

Abstract

Background: Erroneous treatments are hovering all over the internet and social media due to non-existence of the ultimate treatment to CoVID-19. There is a need to disseminate correct knowledge and encourage practices based on evidence, which can successfully prevent the spread of this deadly global pandemic.
 Objectives: The objective of the study was to explore the myths and misconceptions related to CoVID-19 pandemic in a pre and post health awareness workshop among the future health care professionals in a private medical university in Islamabad, Pakistan.
 Methodology: A quasi experimental study was carried out in March, 2020 over a period of two weeks at Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University, Islamabad. The participants included undergraduate medical, nursing and pharmaceutical sciences students, making a total sample size of 315. Simple random sampling was used. Data was collected using a self-designed questionnaire exploring the myths and misconceptions. A pre and post health awareness workshop was conducted and questionnaires filled by the participants. Data was analyzed using SPSS 23. Result: A change in the frequency of concepts related to myths and misconceptions was observed following the health awareness session, results were statistically significant using McNemar’s test in context to majority of the myths and misconceptions, p-value < 0.05.
 Conclusion: Health education has very important role in public health especially in times when the health problem is novel. In such situations, emphasis should be paid on the health education as it can modify the behavior regarding myths and misconceptions which can contribute to decrease in morbidity and mortality.