Knowledge, attitudes and practices towards self-protection during post COVID-19 pandemic era among diploma in pharmacy students
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Abstract
The Ministry of Health (MOH) Malaysia continues to monitor the progression of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) despite COVID- 19 was declared as endemic since 2022. Statistically, the infection of COVID-19 is unstable or still fluctuating as there are significant increases in positive cases. Given this ongoing situation in Malaysia, it’s essential to assess diploma in pharmacy student’s knowledge, attitude and practise towards dealing with prevention and management during COVID-19 endemic era because they are generally thought to possess good knowledge about disease prevention and management. A cross-sectional study was conducted by employing a pre-validated, self-administered questionnaire (SAQ) and distributed online via Google Form to the students of Diploma in Pharmacy at Universiti Teknologi MARA, Bertam Campus. The collected data was analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 22. The median age for the students was 20 years (interquartile range, IQR = 20–21). The results revealed that most of the respondents (73%) were highly knowledgeable about COVID-19 disease characteristics and guidelines. However, the respondents' attitudes and practices in managing the disease were selectively aligned with their personal preferences. The attitudes and practices observed among diploma in pharmacy students also reflected that their actions, based on personal comfort, may prioritise COVID-19 infection over the importance of prioritising COVID-19 prevention. This may contribute to a lack of awareness regarding the potential risks associated with contracting COVID-19.
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