Effect of a health education program about COVID-19 on knowledge, attitude, and practices of paramedical students, Egypt: an interventional study

Abstract

Background. Since December 2019, an outbreak of novel coronavirus disease 2019, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been first reported in China. Objectives. To assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) of Benha Health Technical Institute (BHTI) students and to assess the impact of health educational program about COVID-19 on their KAP. Methods. This is an interventional study that recruited 398 students from BHTI. The study was conducted in three phases. First, assessment of students’ KAP was done using a structured questionnaire concerning COVID-19. Second, an educational program about COVID-19 was conducted. Lastly, reassessment of KAP was carried out using the same questionnaire after one month period. Results. The median knowledge, attitude, and practice scores among the studied students in the pre-interventional stage were 12, 15, and 26 respectively which had significantly increased to 15, 16, and 28 respectively after the intervention. The knowledge score of the participants was significantly affected by students’ age and grade of education, also the attitude score was affected by age, gender, and grade of education, while the practice score was only affected by participants’ age. Conclusion. The educational program significantly increased the KAP of BHTI students.