30Apr 2017

MIDDLE EAST RESPIRATORY SYNDROME CORONAVIRUS: ARE MAKKAH MEDICAL STUDENTS SUFFICIENTLY AWARE OF IT?

  • Umm Al-Qura Medical College, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
  • Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
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Background and objectives: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus continues to pose great challenges to Saudi Arabia and many other countries. The medical students in Makkah, in addition to their role in spreading the awareness among the indigenous population of their community, possess a crucial role owing to their unique setting and their major participation in the annual Hajj event. This study was designed to assess the awareness among medical students of Umm Al-Qura Medical College in Makkah towards MERS-CoV. Methodology: In the summer vacation, a cross-sectional study was conducted on medical students who finished the second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth academic year using a previously constructed questionnaire that was used in a study on dental students in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Results: Among the 317 respondents, 92.4% knew at least one definition of MERS-CoV. The mean awareness scores for the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth years were 31%, 51%, 61%, 63%, and 69% respectively. Conclusions and Recommendations: A general moderate knowledge was found among the respondents; however, continuous rigorous campaigns and courses by the Saudi Ministry of Health and other authorities are needed for all medical students, in particular for the second and third year students who demonstrated a relatively poor knowledge. The newly implemented academic curriculum in UQU Medical College needs to contain more comprehensive infection control lectures and activities; the distinguished setting of the Medical College underscores this need. Furthermore, future similar studies on all other health colleges in Umm Al-Qura University are advocated.

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[Osama Abdulqadir Khairoalsindi, Anas Muwaffaq Tayeb, Raghad Mohammad Mandora and Muhammad Irfanullah Siddiqui. (2017); MIDDLE EAST RESPIRATORY SYNDROME CORONAVIRUS: ARE MAKKAH MEDICAL STUDENTS SUFFICIENTLY AWARE OF IT? Int. J. of Adv. Res. 5 (Apr). 1743-1751] (ISSN 2320-5407). www.journalijar.com

Osama Abdulqadir Khairoalsindi

DOI:

Article DOI: 10.21474/IJAR01/4005      
DOI URL: https://dx.doi.org/10.21474/IJAR01/4005

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