Conocimientos, actitudes y prácticas sobre el COVID 19 de los estudiantes de la carrera de Medicina de la Universidad de Cuenca 2024

Abstract

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ecuador's national public health system collapsed, causing human losses and infections within the country. In the educational field, comprehensive education must be provided that covers topics such as health, safety and risk prevention on the topic under study. Objectives: To determine the knowledge, attitudes and practices of medical students at the University of Cuenca regarding Covid-19. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in a total universe of 275 students. The collection instrument was a questionnaire where sociodemographic data and variables about knowledge, attitudes and practices about COVID-19 were collected. The data were analyzed in the SPSS 22.0 program and presented in frequency and percentage tables. Results: The level of knowledge of students about COVID-19 is 59.27% (163), categorized as relatively good. In the characterization of attitudes and practices, they have relatively positive attitudes towards COVID-19 with 52.36% (144), while in practices a total percentage of 87.27% (240) is evident, which represents a high practical level, in addition to the fact that men are the ones with the lowest degree of knowledge, attitudes and practices. Conclusion: As it is a new disease, knowledge and practices about it must be constantly reinforced; however, with the results obtained in this study, emphasis should be placed on attitudes