COVID-19 Pandemic has greatly impacted individuals and health care workers throughout the world. At the end of June 2020, cases are slowly decreasing in countries where there was early outbreak of the pandemic, while in Nepal the number of cases has started to rise rapidly. This study was conducted to ascertain the current status of students’ knowledge about the COVID-19 pandemic. Most students had good knowledge about the corona virus disease, its signs, and symptoms. Students from MBBS and BDS stream were aware of facts like the causative factors for the COVID-19 disease (95.6%) and the type of virus causing this infection (92.7%). This was in accordance with a recent study from Pakistan [25], where majority of students, (97.4%) were aware about the causes and the viral nature of the disease and also with another study from India, which showed 92.7% of the participants’ had good knowledge.26 Our study has shown that only 71% of students were aware about the mode of transmission of this virus, which is lesser compared to the results from a similar study among students, where 97.4% of them knew about the transmission modes and the signs and symptoms of the disease.
This study has revealed that 78.4% of participants knew about the signs and symptoms of COVID-19, which is lesser compared to another study from India, in which 86.7% of participants were aware of these symptoms. [26] This study showed that 99.3% of participants were aware about the important protective measures like avoiding crowds and maintaining hand hygiene. This is also in accordance to a study from India, where 96.9% of participants knew about preventive measures. Similar observations were seen for the recommended 14 days of isolation period for the affected patients. [26]
In this study, medical and dental students had acceptable (70% of maximum) knowledge about coronavirus. The reason might be the free availability of information about the disease in electronic media, various social media and other websites. Studies have shown that availability of this information in media can be a source of information for the students. [26] Respondents, (91.5%) were also aware of the cautionary actions, self-isolation period as per WHO guidelines and the effective use of mask for preventing corona infection (94.3%). These results were like the other published studies. [27, 28]
The knowledge levels regarding these questions were high in our study as compared to another study from the Philippines, where the knowledge for social distancing and wearing a mask was found to be 62.64% and the same for hand sanitization was 66.42% [29].
The results showed that for the questions regarding self-isolation in COVID-19 infection and recommended test for early case detection, a smaller number of participants responded correctly. The correct responses were only from 35% of participants. Similarly, for the statements for WHO recommendation for isolation of a patient with confirmed case of COVID-19 infection, and the survival of corona virus on the plastic and stainless-steel surfaces, only 35% of participants responded correctly.
Results were better for the statements regarding thermal scanners; 58.1% of participants responded that these were used to detect raised temperature from any infection. Social distancing issues were responded correctly by only 41.2% of students. The knowledge levels for the interns and passed out students were higher as compared to the students who are studying in other years according to a study from Iran. [30] The scores for the medical and dental students were significantly different according to years of study (p = 0.033). Median score was significantly higher among those in the higher years of study. This may be due to content and curricula during the years of study created better understanding about diseases. [31] There is no difference in total score among BDS and MBBS students (P value = 0.732). This may be due to effective various sources of information including government health authorities and social media which plays pivotal role in knowledge gain and hence dissemination of information. [32]
Regarding the treatment of corona virus by antibiotics, our study has shown that 77.3% of participants have responded correctly, which is somewhat lesser than a similar study from Italy, where 80.7% of participants responded correctly. [33] Similarly, the responses for a question regarding the specific drugs available for treating corona virus, in our study correct responses were obtained from 92.2% of respondents, which was better than the Italian study, where the correct responses were only 69.7%.
The median knowledge score in our study was 70% (21 out of 30). The study conducted in Debre Birhan University, Ethiopia showed that the knowledge score was 73.8% [34], while it was 88.2% in a multicenter study from Ethiopia. [35] The knowledge score depends on a number of parameters including the respondents and the questions used to assess knowledge and understanding.
It was noted that 70.3% and 87.6% of respondents answered correctly about treatment with convalascent plasma and with the antiviral drugs remdesvir; 93.6% knew that Arsenicum alum 30C was not used to treat corona infections as it was a homeopathic drug without proven eficacy for treating corona infections.
The areas where the participants were having lesser knowledge were on personal protective equipment (PPE) and facilities for proper management of COVID-19 at health facilities. In question on PPEs recommended for physician/staff running the fever/screening clinics in Nepal, only 27.4% were able to correctly answer. In today’s circumstances when there is high demand of PPEs, health science students must have correct knowledge on types of PPEs recommended at various work stations at health facilities. [32] Also only 31% of respondents were aware that COVID-19 treatment guidelines have been developed for healthcare professionals working at hospitals in Nepal. [36] These are the areas where educational interventions can be targeted for better level of knowledge and also to fill in the gaps of knowledge related to COVID-19.
Strength and limitations: Good response rate was the strength of the study. The study also had limitations. Student knowledge was tested only by using a questionnaire and the information was not triangulated with that obtained from other sources. Despite the integrity pledge we are not completely sure that students did not consult other information sources or their friends and family members while answering the questionnaire.