%0 Journal Article
%T National Survey: Understanding, Perspectives, and Practices Regarding COVID-19 among Pharmacy Students in Iraq
%A Haydar Al-Tukmagi
%A Omer Qutaiba Baderaldeen Allela
%A Hayder Adnan Fawzi
%A Dur Haider Fakhri
%J Annals of Pharmacy Education, Safety, and Public Health Advocacy
%@ 3108-4850
%D 2021
%V 1
%N 1
%R 10.51847/JWcEPCskLN
%P 16-24
%X The emergence of the COVID-19 virus has swiftly escalated into a significant public health issue, severely affecting healthcare systems and imposing economic challenges. This study assessed the awareness, attitudes, and knowledge of pharmacy students in Iraq regarding the COVID-19 infection. As a population-based cross-sectional study, this study involved pharmacy students nationwide, utilizing an online questionnaire distributed electronically. The sample consisted of 907 students, with 609 females (67.1%) and 298 males (32.9%), representing a gender ratio of 2:1. The largest group was comprised of fifth-year students, totaling 275 (30.3%). Overall, 81.1% of participants were aware of COVID-19 before the outbreak, with similar levels of awareness across different academic years (P-value = 0.160). The primary source of information was social media, cited by 52% of students, followed by the World Health Organization (WHO) website at 25.8%. Notably, students in lower years were less likely to rely on WHO as a source. A significant portion of students (61%) believed that COVID-19 was already spreading in Iraq 1-2 months before the survey, while 29.2% only started to acknowledge it within the past two weeks. Regarding preventive measures, 89.1% of students felt that following guidelines could help prevent infection, and 86.0% believed that infection control in healthcare settings could reduce transmission. The findings suggest that pharmacy students possess a solid understanding of the medical aspects of COVID-19 and demonstrate good knowledge of the virus itself. However, they expressed dissatisfaction with the institutions’ efforts to reduce the spread of infection.
%U https://smerpub.com/article/national-survey-understanding-perspectives-and-practices-regarding-covid-19-among-pharmacy-studen-ngeek8ntheuynwr