Knowledge, attitudes and good practices concerning SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccines among Italian nursing students: a cross-sectional study
Keywords:
Knowledge, Attitude, Good Practice, Nursing Student, COVID 19Abstract
Background and aim: During the Covid-19 pandemic, the world implemented strategies to contain and prevent the transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Nurses played a key role in informing and educating the population on correct health management and the fight against SARS-CoV-2 infection. This study aims to analyse Italian nursing students’ knowledge, attitudes and good practices concerning SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccines. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted. A convenience sample of nursing students from a nursing-degree programme of University of Rome Tor Vergata was considered. The Knowledge, Attitudes and Good Practices concerning SARS-CoV-2 among Nursing Students (KAGP-COV-Ns) questionnaire was used. Results: A convenience sample of 303 nursing students enrolled in a three-year degree program was considered. Of the participants, 74.6% were female, with a mean age of 23.86 years (standard deviation 5.41). The participants demonstrated good knowledge of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, its risk factors, and associated symptoms. However, they exhibited inadequate knowledge regarding the incubation time of SARS-CoV-2, the gold-standard test, and treatment options. In our study, first- and third-year students differed in terms of knowledge and good practices, with the latter performing better on the questionnaire. Overall, participants displayed positive attitudes towards SARS-CoV-2 infection but showed a lower positive attitude towards providing information to citizens and becoming nurse vaccinators. Conclusions: Our study revealed that a subset of students exhibited vaccine hesitancy. A deeper understanding of this phenomenon would be very valuable for planning future strategies to promote adherence to preventive practices related to Covid-19 or other pandemics.
References
Centre of Disease Control (CDC). How to Protect Yourself and Others. National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD), Division of Viral Diseases. 2020. available from https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/prevention.html
Kraay A, Hayashi M, Berendes DM, Sobolik JS, Leon JS, Lopman BA. Risk for Fomite-Mediated Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in Child Daycares, Schools, Nursing Homes, and Offices. Emerg Infect Dis. 2021; 27(4):1229–1231. doi.org/10.3201/eid2704.203631
Ajilore K, Atakiti I, Onyenankeya K. College students’ knowledge, attitudes and adherence to public service announcements on Ebola in Nigeria: Suggestions for improving future Ebola prevention education programmes. Health Education Journal. 2017; 76(6):648–60. doi.org/10.1177/0017896917710969
Limbu DK, Piryani RM, Sunny AK. Healthcare workers' knowledge, attitude and practices during the COVID-19 pandemic response in a tertiary care hospital of Nepal. PloS One. 2020; 15(11):e0242126. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0242126.
Barisone M, Ghirotto L, Busca E, Diaz Crescitelli ME, Casalino M, Chilin G, et al. Nursing students' clinical placement experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic: A phenomenological study. Nurse Educ Pract. 2022; 59:103297. doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2022.103297.
Azlan AA, Hamzah MR, Sern TJ, Ayub SH, Mohamad E. Public knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards COVID-19: A cross-sectional study in Malaysia. PLoS One. 2020; 15:e0233668. doi.org/10.1371/journ al.pone.0233668.
Kalet AL, Jotterand F, Muntz M, Thapa B, Campbell B. Hearing the call of duty: What we must do to allow medical students to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic 3. Wis Méd J. 2020; 119(1):6-7. PMID: 32348064
Aksu A, Buldum A, G. Emül T, Çelebioğlu A. Nursing students’ knowledge and practices about COVID‐19: A cross‐sectional survey. Nurs Forum. 2022; 57(4):615–23. doi.org/10.1111/nuf.12720
Albaqawi HM, Alquwez N, Balay-odao E, Bajet JB, Alabdulaziz H, Alsolami F, et al. Nursing Students’ Perceptions, Knowledge, and Preventive Behaviors Toward COVID-19: A Multi-University Study. Front in Public Health. 2020; 23(8):573390. doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2020.573390
Alshdefat A, Jansirani Natarajan MAJ, Baker RA, Qutishat MG. Knowledge, attitude and practice of nursing students towards COVID-19 pandemic in Oman. International Journal of Nursing Education. 2021; 13(1):23-30. doi.org/10.37506/ijone.v13i1.13307
Fakhri N, Jallal M, Belabbes S, Khudur K, Kaddar R, Oubaasri A, et al. COVID-19 and Moroccan nursing students: A multicentre cross-sectional survey on their related knowledge, attitudes and practices. Nurs Open. 2021; 8(4):1634-1641. doi.org/10.1002/nop2.790.
Hasab Allah MF, Amin NM, Kamel NF. Knowledge, attitudes and practice regarding Covid-19 amongst nursing students at Minia University. International Egyptian Journal of Nursing Sciences and Research. 2022; 2(2):512-523.
Khari S, Pazokian M, Dadashi N, Zarmehr M. COVID-19: knowledge and attitude among nursing students in Iran. Int J Health Promot Educ. 2022; 1–12. doi.org/10.1080/14635240.2022.2077228
Mohamed Mohamed E, Abdel Hakiem Ahmed H, Khalil Ibrahim W, Abd Allah Ahmed R. COVID-19: Knowledge and Precautionary Measures among Nursing Students. Egyptian Journal of Health Care. 2023; 14(1):340–352. doi.org/10.21608/ejhc.2023.282515.
Provenzano S, Santangelo OE, Armetta F, Pesco G, Allegro A, Lampasona M, et al. COVID-19 infection: comparing the knowledge, attitude and practices in a sample of nursing students. Acta Biomed. 2020; 30: 91(12-S):e2020001. doi.org/10.23750/abm.v91i12-S.10252.
Ramdzan AR, Kaslan DSB, Setia MNBA, Sundang DHB, Hunsoi H, Vun RCZ. Et al. Associations between sociodemographic and level of knowledge, attitudes and practices towards COVID-19 among nursing students of university Malaysia Sabah, Malaysia. Bali Medical Journal. 2022; 11(2):638-645. doi.org/10.15562/bmj.v11i2.3189
Shrestha S, Tuladhar JB, Thapa N. Knowledge, Practices and Anxiety related to Corona Virus Disease-19 (COVID -19) among Nursing Students in Nepal. J Lumbini Med Col. 2021; 9(1):7. doi.org/10.22502/jlmc.v9i1.405.
Tachfouti N, Slama K, Berraho M, Elfakir S, Benjelloun MC, Rhazi KE, et al. Determinants of Tuberculosis treatment default in Morocco: results from a national cohort study. Pan Afr Med J. 2013; 14. doi.org/10.11604/pamj.2013.14.121.2335
von Elm E, Altman DG, Egger M, Pocock S., Gøtzsche PC, Vandenbroucke JP. STROBE Initiative. The Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) statement: guidelines for reporting observational studies. Lancet. 2007; 370(9596): 453-1457. doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(07)61602-X.
Khan MU, Shah S, Ahmad A, Fatokun O. Knowledge and attitude of health care workers about middle east respiratory syndrome in multispecialty hospitals of Qassim, Saudi Arabia. BMC Public Health. 2014; 14:1281. doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-14-1281.
Nour MO, Babilghith AO, Natto HA, Al-Amin FO, Alawneh SM. Knowledge, attitude and practices of healthcare providers towards MERS-CoV infection at Makkah hospitals, KSA. International Research Journal in Medicine and Medical Science. 2015;3(4):103-112.
Tabong PT-N, Segtub M. Misconceptions, Misinformation and Politics of COVID-19 on Social Media: A Multi-Level Analysis in Ghana. Front Commun. 2021; 6. doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2021.613794
World Health Organization (WHO). Munich Security Conference. 2022. Available from: https://www.who.int/director-general/speeches/detail/munich-security-conference.
Dixon, S. Social media use during COVID-19 worldwide - Statistics & Facts. 2022. available from: https://www.statista.com/topics/7863/social-media-use-during-coronavirus-covid-19-worldwide/#topicHeader__wrapper
Inoue M, Shimoura K, Nagai-Tanima M, Aoyama T. The Relationship Between Information Sources, Health Literacy, and COVID-19 Knowledge in the COVID-19 Infodemic: Cross-sectional Online Study in Japan. J Med Internet Res. 2022; 24(7):e38332. doi.org/10.2196/38332.
Odone A, Bucci D, Croci R, Riccò M, Affanni P, Signorelli C. Vaccine hesitancy in COVID-19 times. An update from Italy before flu season starts. Acta Biomed. 2020; 91(3):e2020031. doi.org/10.23750/abm.v91i3.10549
La Vecchia C, Alicandro G, Negri E, Scarpino V, Coggiola M, Spatari G. Attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination and containment measures in Italy and the role of occupational physicians. Med Lav. 2022; 113(2). doi.org/10.23749/mdl.v113i2.12967
Trabucco Aurilio M, Mennini FS, Gazzillo S, Massini L, Bolcato M, Feola A., et al. Intention to be vaccinated for COVID-19 among Italian nurses during the pandemic. Vaccine. 2021; 9(5):500. doi.org/10.3390/vaccines9050500
Bianchi FP, Stefanizzi P, Brescia N, Lattanzio S, Martinelli A, Tafuri S. COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy in Italian healthcare workers: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Expert Rev Vaccines. 2022; 21(9):1289-1300. doi.org/10.1080/14760584.2022.2093723
Yilmaz D, Yilmaz DU, Yönt GH Determining Covid-19 vaccine literacy levels of nursing students. Curr Health Sci J. 2022; 48(2):169. doi.org/10.12865/CHSJ.48.02.05
Tan ST, Park HJ, Rodríguez-Barraquer I, Rutherford GW, Bibbins-Domingo K, Schechter R., et al. COVID-19 vaccination and estimated public health impact in California. JAMA Net Open. 2022; 5(4):e228526-e228526. doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.8526
Polit DF, Tatano Beck C. Nursing Research. Generating and Assessing Evidence for Nursing Practice. Wolters Kluwer Health, Philadelphia; 2017.
Gutiérrez-Ángel N, Sánchez-García J-N, Mercader-Rubio I, García-Martín J, Brito-Costa S. Digital literacy in the university setting: A literature review of empirical studies between 2010 and 2021. Front Psychol. 2022; 13:896800. doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.896800
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Massimo Maurici, Ilaria Simonelli , Matteo Roncari, Stefano Ungaro, Rocco Mazzotta, Lavinia Gentile , Valentina Zeffiro, Alessandra Pancaldi, Rosaria Alvaro, Giampiera Bulfone
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Transfer of Copyright and Permission to Reproduce Parts of Published Papers.
Authors retain the copyright for their published work. No formal permission will be required to reproduce parts (tables or illustrations) of published papers, provided the source is quoted appropriately and reproduction has no commercial intent. Reproductions with commercial intent will require written permission and payment of royalties.
How to Cite
