COVID-19 awareness, attitude, and prevention among university students in Thi-Qar Province, southern Iraq

Abstract

COVID-19 (coronavirus disease) is a quickly spreading epidemic brought on by a new human coronavirus. Due to the fact that the outbreak has touched everyone working in the education field, including university students, it is thought that the purpose of this study was to understand the public's awareness to facilitate COVID-19 outbreak management in Iraq. The purpose of the current study is to look into the awareness, attitude, and preventive measures among university students in Thi-Qar province during the outbreak. Cross-sectional research was carried out using a verified questionnaire and students studying various health specializations participated in the study. There were 606 students in the sample (418 males and 188 females). The ages range was 18-28, with the majority (74.9%) falling between the ages of 21 and 24. The total mean score for participants' awareness of COVID-19 was 4.33 (SD = 0.77) out of 5 points, demonstrating that the vast majority of students (85.8%) had positive awareness. The total mean score for attitudes toward COVID-19 was 3.35 (SD = 1.09), showing an approximately equal distribution of positive and negative attitudes among students. In terms of prevention, the average score was 3.520 (SD = 0.960), with 44.60% compromising inactive and 55.40% compromising proactive methods, respectively. The results of this survey demonstrate that the majority of the students in Thi-Qar Province from various medical specialties were knowledgeable about fundamental facts and had good attitudes toward COVID-19, demonstrating the effectiveness of this public health initiative.