Knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards COVID-19 among undergraduates during emergency remote learning

Chin Xuan Tan; Shu Chyi Wong; Seok Shin Tan; Seok Tyug Tan

doi:10.1007/s44155-022-00017-x

Knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards COVID-19 among undergraduates during emergency remote learning

Discov Soc Sci Health. 2022;2(1):13. doi: 10.1007/s44155-022-00017-x. Epub 2022 Aug 1.

Authors

Chin Xuan Tan¹, Shu Chyi Wong¹, Seok Shin Tan², Seok Tyug Tan³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Allied Health Sciences, Faculty of Science, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Jalan Universiti Bandar Barat 31900, Kampar Perak, Malaysia.
² Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University Malaysia, 47500 Bandar Sunway, Selangor Malaysia.
³ Department of Healthcare Professional, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Management and Science University, University Drive, Off Persiaran Olahraga, Seksyen 13, 40100 Shah Alam, Selangor Malaysia.

Abstract

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic paralyzes the education sector. To minimize the interruption of teaching and learning, most universities in Malaysia shifted to virtual mode during this unprecedented period of the pandemic. With an ever-increasing number of Malaysians fully vaccinated against COVID-19, the education system is expected to switch back to face-to-face mode this year. It is crucial to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of COVID-19 among emergency remote learning undergraduates before reverting to physical teaching and learning. Hence, a study was conducted with this aim in mind.

Methods: A total of 299 Malaysian undergraduates were recruited through a snowball sampling approach. The online questionnaire encompassed three main segments: informed consent, sociodemographic information, and KAP questions on COVID-19.

Results: The mean scores for knowledge, attitude, and practice were 4.05/6, 11.14/12, and 5.07/7, respectively. The results of the present study showed that year 1 respondents had significantly higher levels (p < 0.05) of KAP scores than year 4 respondents. In addition, the attitude score of science majors respondents was significantly greater (p < 0.05) than those of nonscience majors. The KAP scores showed no significant difference among groups with different sexes, ethnicities, and COVID-19 histories. Partial correlation analysis revealed that the overall knowledge score was positively correlated with attitude (r = 0.193, p = 0.001) and practice (r = 0.343, p < 0.001) scores whereas the total attitude score was positively correlated with the total practice score (r = 0.149, p = 0.010).

Conclusion: Our current results suggest that COVID-19 workshops, seminars, or training programs for year 4 students could be conducted to enhance their KAP levels.

Keywords: Attitude; COVID-19; Emergency remote learning; Knowledge; Practice.