Assessing disparities in medical students’ knowledge and attitude about monkeypox

A cross-sectional study of 27 countries across three continents

Dados Bibliográficos

ID22089152
AutoresSamar Abd ElHafeez (0000-0002-3250-2780, Alexandria University), Assem Gebreal (0000-0002-2155-8500, Alexandria University), Mohammad Khalil (0000-0002-6860-4404, King Fahd Medical City), Mohammad Adnan Khalil, Naglaa Youssef (0000-0002-0368-1759, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University), Malik Sallam (0000-0002-0165-9670, University of Jordan), Abdelhamid Elshabrawy (Cairo University), Suzan Abdel‐rahman (0000-0002-5779-0926, Cairo University), Amira Saad Mahboob (0000-0002-0785-3335, Alexandria University), Saja Yazbek (0000-0002-1612-8709, Lebanese University), Eman H Elbanna (0000-0002-0419-5103, Alexandria University), Riddhi Adhyaru (David Tvildiani Medical University), Zarin Nudar Rodoshi (Mymensingh Medical College Hospital), Yap Siew Kih (Taylor's University), Huda Jawad (University of Bahrain), Evangelos Kolotouros (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens), Arkadiusz Jaworski (0000-0002-1913-9518, Wroclaw Medical University), Ghadah AlQarni (King Faisal University), Mohammad Gablan (Yarmouk University), Alexandra Condurat, Alexandra L Condurat (0000-0002-7297-3982, Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy), Ahmed El-Sayed Said Nour Elden (Zarqa University), Oumayma Bennani, Kamna Rawat (Doon University), Areeba Ismail, A S Ismail (0000-0002-6687-3053, Jinnah Sindh Medical University), Yasser Al-Hajj (Beirut Arab University), Nafisa M K Elehamer (0000-0002-5416-7370, University of Khartoum), Jasleen Nagi (Imperial College London), Habtamu Admassu (Addis Ababa University), Saja Hassan Al Asaad (Syrian Private University), Ruthwik Duvuru (0000-0003-2490-8139, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences), Olaoluwaposi Ogunlana (University of Ibadan), Bandar Alosaimi (0000-0003-4719-2655, King Fahd Medical City, autor correspondente), Ramy Mohamed Ghazy (0000-0001-7611-706X, Alexandria University)
Ano2023
Volume11
Páginas1192542-1192542
Data de publicação2023-07-26
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoFrontiers in Public Health (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 2296-2565 • E-ISSN: 2296-2565
EditoraFrontiers Media SA (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3389/fpubh.2023.1192542
PMID37575128
OpenAlexW4385282769
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas11
Referências citadas46

Background and aims: The recent monkeypox (Mpox) outbreak confirmed by the World Health Organization (WHO) underscores the importance of evaluating the knowledge and attitude of medical students toward emerging diseases, given their potential roles as healthcare professionals and sources of public information during outbreaks. This study aimed to assess medical students' knowledge and attitude about Mpox and to identify factors affecting their level of knowledge and attitude in low-income and high-income countries. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 11,919 medical students from 27 countries. A newly-developed validated questionnaire was used to collect data on knowledge (14 items), attitude (12 items), and baseline criteria. The relationship between a range of factors with knowledge and attitude was studied using univariate and multivariate analyses. Results: 46% of the study participants were males; 10.7% were in their sixth year; 54.6% knew about smallpox; 84% received the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine; and 12.5% had training on Mpox. 55.3% had good knowledge of Mpox and 51.7% had a positive attitude towards it. Medical students in their third, fifth, or sixth year high- income countries who obtained information on Mpox from friends, research articles, social media and scientific websites were positive predictors for good knowledge. Conversely, being male or coming from high-income countries showed a negative relation with good knowledge about Mpox. Additionally, a positive attitude was directly influenced by residing in urban areas, being in the fifth year of medical education, having knowledge about smallpox and a history of receiving the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine. Receiving information about Mpox from social media or scientific websites and possessing good knowledge about Mpox were also predictors of a positive attitude. On the other hand, being male, employed, or receiving a training program about Mpox were inversely predicting positive attitude about Mpox. Conclusion: There were differences in knowledge and attitude towards Mpox between medical students in low and high-income countries, emphasizing the need for incorporating epidemiology of re-emerging diseases like Mpox into the medical curriculum to improve disease prevention and control

Biology · Cross-sectional study · Environmental health · Geography · Global health · Monkeypox · Public health · Medicine · Nursing · Poxvirus research and outbreaks · SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research · Vaccine Coverage and Hesitancy