Evaluation of knowledge, attitudes and practices of health services vocational schools' students with regard to COVID-19.

Sirekbasan, Serhat; Ilhan, Aysegul Oglakci; Baydemir, Canan

INTRODUCTION The most critical intervention to control SARS-CoV-2 infection requires appropriate knowledge and attitude towards the virus. OBJECTIVE To determine the level of knowledge, attitudes and practices of students of a health services' vocational school with regard to COVID-19. METHODS Cross-sectional study carried out between May and June 2020 in a university of the Turkish region. Data were collected through an online survey portal. RESULTS Four hundred and fifty-four questionnaires were completed and returned. Students of medical laboratory techniques and first aid and emergency medicine had significantly higher knowledge scores (p < 0.001). More than 43 % of the students (n = 201) used the TV as their main source of information on COVID-19. There was a positive attitude towards preventive measures such as avoiding crowded places and maintaining hand hygiene and social distance. CONCLUSIONS Health services vocational school students have good knowledge and positive attitude towards COVID-19. The main sources of information were the TV and social media. For this reason, more attention should be given to these issues in the curriculum in order for science-based information sources to be used.