A Cross-Sectional Study to Assess Knowledge of COVID-19 among Undergraduate Students in North-Central Ecuador

Adherence to preventive measures is influenced by people’s knowledge, attitudes and practices towards a disease; therefore, assessing knowledge of COVID-19 is critical in the overall effort to contain the outbreak. This cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduates (n = 3621) of different...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Ortega Paredes, David, Fernández Moreira, Esteban, Larrea Álvarez, Marco
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2021
País:España
Institución:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
Repositorio:Docta Complutense
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/125080
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/125080
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:616.98:578.834
578.834:616.98
COVID-19
SARS-CoV-2 virus
knowledge
awareness
undergraduate students
Ecuador
Ciencias Biomédicas
32 Ciencias Médicas
id ES_2eb5e6b1ecc36bb2f75f995682c3452b
oai_identifier_str oai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/125080
network_acronym_str ES
network_name_str España
repository_id_str
spelling A Cross-Sectional Study to Assess Knowledge of COVID-19 among Undergraduate Students in North-Central EcuadorOrtega Paredes, DavidFernández Moreira, EstebanLarrea Álvarez, Marco616.98:578.834578.834:616.98COVID-19SARS-CoV-2 virusknowledgeawarenessundergraduate studentsEcuadorCiencias Biomédicas32 Ciencias MédicasAdherence to preventive measures is influenced by people’s knowledge, attitudes and practices towards a disease; therefore, assessing knowledge of COVID-19 is critical in the overall effort to contain the outbreak. This cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduates (n = 3621) of different programs and different levels of education associated with universities in north-central Ecuador. The form consisted of 32 questions covering demographics, symptoms, detection, treatment, transmission, prevention and knowledge of the virus. The rate of correct answers was 75.5% (21.1 ± 5 out of 28), with differences observed regarding program of study, educational level and location of institution (α = 0.05), although effect size analyses showed that these differences could not be considered large. Multiple linear regression analyses showed that lower scores were associated with initial stages of education, careers related to social sciences and location of institution. Participants possessed sufficient knowledge about detection, transmission and prevention, although they overestimated fatality rate and were less confident about the characteristics of the virus and the effectiveness of traditional medicine. Consequently, future educational programs must place emphasis on addressing deficient knowledge. Certainly, improving COVID-19 literacy will promote the appropriate application of protective measures aimed at preventing the virus’ spread.MDPIUniversidad Complutense de Madrid20212021-08-1820212021-08-18journal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501VoRhttp://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85info:eu-repo/semantics/articleapplication/pdfhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/125080reponame:Docta Complutenseinstname:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)Inglésengopen accesshttp://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2Attribution 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/1250802026-06-02T12:44:21Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv A Cross-Sectional Study to Assess Knowledge of COVID-19 among Undergraduate Students in North-Central Ecuador
title A Cross-Sectional Study to Assess Knowledge of COVID-19 among Undergraduate Students in North-Central Ecuador
spellingShingle A Cross-Sectional Study to Assess Knowledge of COVID-19 among Undergraduate Students in North-Central Ecuador
Ortega Paredes, David
616.98:578.834
578.834:616.98
COVID-19
SARS-CoV-2 virus
knowledge
awareness
undergraduate students
Ecuador
Ciencias Biomédicas
32 Ciencias Médicas
title_short A Cross-Sectional Study to Assess Knowledge of COVID-19 among Undergraduate Students in North-Central Ecuador
title_full A Cross-Sectional Study to Assess Knowledge of COVID-19 among Undergraduate Students in North-Central Ecuador
title_fullStr A Cross-Sectional Study to Assess Knowledge of COVID-19 among Undergraduate Students in North-Central Ecuador
title_full_unstemmed A Cross-Sectional Study to Assess Knowledge of COVID-19 among Undergraduate Students in North-Central Ecuador
title_sort A Cross-Sectional Study to Assess Knowledge of COVID-19 among Undergraduate Students in North-Central Ecuador
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Ortega Paredes, David
Fernández Moreira, Esteban
Larrea Álvarez, Marco
author Ortega Paredes, David
author_facet Ortega Paredes, David
Fernández Moreira, Esteban
Larrea Álvarez, Marco
author_role author
author2 Fernández Moreira, Esteban
Larrea Álvarez, Marco
author2_role author
author
dc.contributor.none.fl_str_mv Universidad Complutense de Madrid
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv 616.98:578.834
578.834:616.98
COVID-19
SARS-CoV-2 virus
knowledge
awareness
undergraduate students
Ecuador
Ciencias Biomédicas
32 Ciencias Médicas
topic 616.98:578.834
578.834:616.98
COVID-19
SARS-CoV-2 virus
knowledge
awareness
undergraduate students
Ecuador
Ciencias Biomédicas
32 Ciencias Médicas
description Adherence to preventive measures is influenced by people’s knowledge, attitudes and practices towards a disease; therefore, assessing knowledge of COVID-19 is critical in the overall effort to contain the outbreak. This cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduates (n = 3621) of different programs and different levels of education associated with universities in north-central Ecuador. The form consisted of 32 questions covering demographics, symptoms, detection, treatment, transmission, prevention and knowledge of the virus. The rate of correct answers was 75.5% (21.1 ± 5 out of 28), with differences observed regarding program of study, educational level and location of institution (α = 0.05), although effect size analyses showed that these differences could not be considered large. Multiple linear regression analyses showed that lower scores were associated with initial stages of education, careers related to social sciences and location of institution. Participants possessed sufficient knowledge about detection, transmission and prevention, although they overestimated fatality rate and were less confident about the characteristics of the virus and the effectiveness of traditional medicine. Consequently, future educational programs must place emphasis on addressing deficient knowledge. Certainly, improving COVID-19 literacy will promote the appropriate application of protective measures aimed at preventing the virus’ spread.
publishDate 2021
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2021
2021-08-18
2021
2021-08-18
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv journal article
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
VoR
http://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85
dc.type.openaire.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
format article
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/125080
url https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/125080
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
eng
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
language eng
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv open access
http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
Attribution 4.0 International
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.rights.openaire.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv open access
http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
Attribution 4.0 International
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv MDPI
publisher.none.fl_str_mv MDPI
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:Docta Complutense
instname:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
instname_str Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
reponame_str Docta Complutense
collection Docta Complutense
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
_version_ 1869405429117747200
score 15,81155

Similares en LA Referencia