Perspective of Medical Students on the COVID-19 Pandemic: Survey of Nine Medical Schools in Uganda

Ronald Olum; Jonathan Kajjimu; Andrew Marvin Kanyike; Gaudencia Chekwech; Godfrey Wekha; Dianah Rhoda Nassozi; Juliet Kemigisa; Paul Mulyamboga; Oscar Kabagambe Muhoozi; Lauryn Nsenga; Musilim Lyavala; Asaph Asiimwe; Felix Bongomin

doi:10.2196/19847

Perspective of Medical Students on the COVID-19 Pandemic: Survey of Nine Medical Schools in Uganda

JMIR Public Health Surveill. 2020 Jun 19;6(2):e19847. doi: 10.2196/19847.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ School of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
² Faculty of Medicine, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda.
³ Faculty of Health Sciences, Busitema University, Mbale, Uganda.
⁴ School of Health Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
⁵ Faculty of Medicine, Gulu University, Gulu, Uganda.
⁶ Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, King Caesar University, Kampala, Uganda.
⁷ Faculty of Clinical Medicine and Dentistry, Kampala International University, Ishaka-Bushenyi, Uganda.
⁸ School of Medicine, Kabale University, Kabale, Uganda.
⁹ Faculty of Medicine, Islamic University in Uganda, Mbale, Uganda.
¹⁰ School of Health Sciences, Soroti University, Soroti, Uganda.
¹¹ Department of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
¹² Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Gulu University, Gulu, Uganda.

PMID: 32530815
PMCID: PMC7307324
DOI: 10.2196/19847

Abstract

Background: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is a global public health concern affecting over 5 million people and posing a great burden on health care systems worldwide.

Objective: The aim of this study is to determine the knowledge, attitude, and practices of medical students in Uganda on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: We conducted an online, descriptive cross-sectional study in mid-April 2020, using WhatsApp Messenger. Medical students in 9 of the 10 medical schools in Uganda were approached through convenience sampling. Bloom's cut-off of 80% was used to determine good knowledge (≥12 out of 15), positive attitude (≥20 out of 25), and good practice (≥12 out of 15).

Results: The data of 741 first- to fifth-year medical students, consisting of 468 (63%) males with a mean age of 24 (SD 4) years, were analyzed. The majority (n=626, 84%) were pursuing Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degrees. Overall, 671 (91%) had good knowledge, 550 (74%) had a positive attitude, and 426 (57%) had good practices. Knowledge was associated with the 4th year of study (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 4.1, 95% CI 1.6-10.3; P<.001). Attitude was associated with the female sex (aOR 0.7, 95% CI 0.5-1; P=.04) and TV or radio shows (aOR 1.1, 95% CI 0.6-2.1; P=.01). Practices were associated with the ≥24 years age category (aOR 1.5, 95% CI 1.1-2.1; P=.02) and online courses (aOR 1.8, 95% CI 1.1-3.2; P=.03). In total, 592 (80%) medical students were willing to participate in frontline care if called upon.

Conclusions: Medical students in Uganda have sufficient knowledge of COVID-19 and will be a large reservoir for health care response when the need arises.

Keywords: COVID-19; Uganda; attitude; knowledge; medical education; medical students; perspective; practices.

©Ronald Olum, Jonathan Kajjimu, Andrew Marvin Kanyike, Gaudencia Chekwech, Godfrey Wekha, Dianah Rhoda Nassozi, Juliet Kemigisa, Paul Mulyamboga, Oscar Kabagambe Muhoozi, Lauryn Nsenga, Musilim Lyavala, Asaph Asiimwe, Felix Bongomin. Originally published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance (http://publichealth.jmir.org), 19.06.2020.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
COVID-19
Coronavirus Infections / epidemiology*
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice*
Humans
Male
Pandemics*
Pneumonia, Viral / epidemiology*
Schools, Medical
Students, Medical / psychology*
Students, Medical / statistics & numerical data
Surveys and Questionnaires
Uganda / epidemiology
Young Adult