Factors associated with knowledge and perceptions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic among future health science professionals: A logistic model analysis

Abstract

Aim: This study aimed to determine the factors associated with knowledge and perceptions regarding the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic among undergraduate students in different health science fields. Materials and Methods: An analytical, cross-sectional, prospective study was conducted. Data were collected between January and March 2021, from health science undergraduate students attending Federico Villarreal National University in Peru. To calculate the sample size, a formula to estimate a proportion was applied using Stata 15 software (n = 527). The examined factors were faculty, year of study, gender, region, residence, living with parents, and having family members infected with COVID-19, which were analyzed using a logit model to identify the impact of the intervening variables with a significance of P 0.05. Results: None of the variables studied were found to affect knowledge and perceptions regarding COVID-19 preventive measures among Peruvian health science students, with the following odds ratios (OR) obtained: faculty (OR = 0.96; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.83-1.12), year of study (OR = 0.98; CI: 0.77-1.25), gender (OR = 1.12; CI: 0.54-2.28), region (OR = 1.32; CI: 0.35-4.78), residence (OR = 0.97; CI: 0.48-1.95), living with parents (OR = 1.5; CI: 0.52-4.39), and having infected family members (OR = 1.5; CI: 0.64-3.49). Conclusion: The results of this study show that students at a Peruvian public university have adequate knowledge and perceptions regarding preventive strategies to avoid contracting and spreading COVID-19. In addition, none of the examined factors were significant in this relationship.