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Perspective of Medical Students on the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Survey of 9 Medical Schools in Uganda.
Ronald Olum;
Jonathan Kajjimu;
Andrew Marvin Kanyike;
Gaudencia Chekwech;
Godfrey Wekha;
Dianah Rhoda Nassozi;
Juliet Kemigisa;
Paul Mulyamboga;
Oscar Kabagambe Muhoozi;
Lauryn Nsenga;
Musilim Lyavala;
Asaph Asiimwe;
Felix Bongomin
ABSTRACT
Background:
COVID-19 pandemic is a global public health concern affecting over 3 million people and posing a great burden on health systems worldwide.
Objective:
To determine the perspective of medical students in Uganda on COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods:
We conducted an online, descriptive cross-sectional study in mid-April 2020, using WhatsApp Messenger. Medical students in 9 of the 10 medical schools in Uganda were approached through convenient sampling. Bloom’s cut-off of 80% was used to determine good knowledge (≥12/15), positive attitude (≥20/25) and good practice (≥12/15).
Results:
Data of 741 1st to 5th year medical students, 468 (63%) male with a mean age of 24 ±4 years was analyzed. Majority (n=626, 84%) were pursuing Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) degree. Overall, 671 (91%) had good knowledge, 550 (74%) had positive attitude and 426 (57%) had good practices. Knowledge was associated with: 4th year of study (adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 4.1 (95% Confidence interval): 1.6-10.3; P<.01). Attitude was associated with: female sex (aOR: 0.7; 95% CI: 0.5-1; P=.04) and TV/Radio shows (aOR: 1.1; 95%CI: 0.6-2.1; P=.01). Practices was associated with: age ≥ 24 years (aOR: 1.5; 95% CI: 1.1-2.1; P=.02) and online course (aOR: 1.8; 95% CI: 1.1-3.2; P=.03). Some 592 (80%) medical students were willing to participate in frontline care if called upon.
Conclusions:
Medical students in Uganda have sufficient knowledge on COVID-19 and are a large reservoir for healthcare response when the need arises.
Citation
Please cite as:
Olum R, Kajjimu J, Kanyike AM, Chekwech G, Wekha G, Nassozi DR, Kemigisa J, Mulyamboga P, Muhoozi OK, Nsenga L, Lyavala M, Asiimwe A, Bongomin F
Perspective of Medical Students on the COVID-19 Pandemic: Survey of Nine Medical Schools in Uganda