key: cord-0945052-jvu963t9 authors: Baniyas, Noura; Sheek-Hussein, Mohamud; Al Kaabi, Nouf; Al Shamsi, Maitha; Al Neyadi, Maitha; Al Khoori, Rauda; Ajab, Suad; Abid, Muhammad; Grivna, Michael; Abu Zidan, Fikri M. title: COVID-19 Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of United Arab Emirates Medical and Health Sciences Students: A Cross Sectional Study date: 2021-01-19 journal: bioRxiv DOI: 10.1101/2021.01.19.427250 sha: 591a4897819d5cdbc342cffad4f5be6a0407ca57 doc_id: 945052 cord_uid: jvu963t9 COVID-19 pandemic is the largest unprecedented viral pandemic of the 21st century. We aimed to study the COVID-19 knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) among medical and health sciences students in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). We performed a cross-sectional study between 2nd June and 19th August 2020. The survey was developed using online Survey Monkey. The link was distributed via UAE University to all students and via WhatsApp© groups. The self-administered questionnaire was conducted in English and comprised of two parts: socio-demographic characteristics and KAP towards COVID-19. A total of 712 responses to the questionnaire were collected. 90% (n=695) were under-graduate, while 10% (n=81) were post-graduate students. Majority (87%, n=647) stated that they obtained COVID-19 information from multiple reliable sources. They were highly knowledgeable about COVID-19 pandemic but 76% (n=539) did not recognize its routes of transmission. 63% (n=431) were worried of getting COVID-19, while 92% (n=633)) were worried that a family member could get infected with the virus. 97% (n=655) took precautions when accepting home deliveries, 94% (n=637) had been washing their hands more frequently, and 95% (n=643) had been wearing face masks. In conclusion, participants showed high levels of knowledge and awareness about COVID-19. They were worried about getting infected themselves or their family members, and had good practices against COVID-19. 48 Wuhan, China. The virus has swiftly spread worldwide [1] [2] [3] . This pandemic has major impact on 49 global health and economy. Currently there are around 90 million infected persons worldwide, and 50 two million deaths [4] [5] . We have to adopt clear effective public health measures so as to mitigate 51 this crisis [6], till we find a proper vaccination [7] . This can not be achieved without evaluating 52 knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) towards preventing this disease. This is even more 53 important for role models in the community (like leaders, doctors and medical students) [8] . A 54 study conducted among health care workers in China, during the early stages of the outbreak has 55 shown that around 90% had sufficient knowledge of COVID-19 who followed proper preventative 56 practices. 85% were afraid of getting infected [9] . We thought that it was essential to evaluate the 57 KAP of COVID-19 among medical and health sciences students in the United Arab Emirates 58 (UAE) so to mitigate the effects of this pandemic on them. We aimed to evaluate the knowledge 59 of COVID-19, awareness of preventive behaviors, practice, and risk perception among medical 60 students and allied health sciences in the UAE. 161 Overall, most medical students and allied health sciences students followed proper practices. 162 Percentages may not total 100 because of rounding *Percentages were calculated out of 677, which is the total number of respondents who completed that practice item †Percentages were calculated out of 676 ‡ ‡ Percentages were calculated out of 666 Our study has shown that the majority of medical and allied health students at UAE were 166 well knowledgeable about COVID 19, worried about getting infected or having a member of their 167 family infected, and had proper practices and precautionary measures for This may be attributed to the use of multiple reliable 171 medical platforms, healthcare professionals, government media briefings, and university 172 newsletters. These resources may have enforced proper knowledge. Furthermore, it may be related 173 to the training they received as volunteers in the healthcare system [15]. The majority of the 174 respondents were aware of COVID 19 symptoms, the incubation period COVID-19 route of transmission compared with other studies in which undergraduate students were 177 quite knowledgeable about the route of transmission COVID-19 is transmitted by 178 respiratory droplets; however, airborne transmission may be possible in case of a medical procedure 179 that generates aerosols It is important to note that this study was conducted during the period of the rapid increase 185 of COVID-19 cases in the UAE. 67% of the participants believed that infection with the virus is 15 , poor hand hygiene, poor social distancing and not following the government 188 guidelines. Interestingly, most of the participants were confident that the UAE will be able to stop 189 the spread of the virus. They also believed that the current measures taken by the UAE government 190 are effective in stopping the spread of the infection. This positive attitude can be explained by the 191 drastic measures taken by the UAE government to contain the spread of the virus Majority of participants had proper practices and precautionary measures against COVID-197 19. 60% did not visit shopping malls, family gatherings, coffee shops, industrial areas and hospitals 198 and the majority reported good preventative practices including hand washing, wearing face masks, 199 and abiding by curfew timings. These findings could be attributed to the strict lockdown when the 200 survey was launched, access to trusted medical resources, and training in medical fields. These 201 results are similar to those reported on undergraduate students in China This may be a selection bias with its effect on the results. Finally, this 210 study was conducted in the early stages of the pandemic when the UAE was under lockdown and 211 continued for a while after the restrictions were lifted. Since then, more information about the 212 pandemic has been published and likewise public health measures in the UAE have changed Medical and health sciences students in the UAE showed high levels of knowledge and 218 awareness about COVID-19. Although they were confident in the public health measures taken to 219 mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic, they were worried about getting infected themselves or their 220 family members Healthcare workers 227 ICU: Intensive care unit 228 ILO: International Labour Organization 229 IFAD: The International Fund for Agricultural Development 230 WHO: World health organization 231 FAO: Food and Agriculture Organization 232 KAP: knowledge, attitudes, and practices 233 UAE: United Arab Emirates 234 UAEU: United Arab Emirates University approval: Ethical approval was obtained from the UAEU Social Consent for publication: Not applicable Availabilities of data and material: Data will be available as excel file after acceptance of the 242 paper Funding: None Ajab formulated the research question, developed the protocol, collected 246 and coded the data, and wrote the first draft. Michal Grivna and Muhammad Abid contributed to the 247 questionnaire design and revised the first manuscript Competing interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests We are thankful to Dr Silva Paulo for their advice during developing this project, and for Ms Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel 260 coronavirus in Wuhan, China 2. World Health Organization. Coronaviruses (COVID-19) 2020. who Novel coronavirus pandemic: A global health threat Gerry 268 McCartney people's-livelihoods-271 their-health-and-our-food-systems : accessed on Invited Editorial. 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