Dataset Information

Healthcare University Courses Fail to Improve Opinions, Knowledge, and Attitudes toward Vaccines among Healthcare Students: A Southern Italy Cross-Sectional Study.

ABSTRACT: (1) Background: Healthcare providers have a crucial role in contrasting vaccine hesitancy (VH). We aimed to investigate opinions, knowledge, and attitudes toward vaccines in healthcare students (HS) at the University of Catania (Italy). (2) Methods: A survey was conducted from 1 October 2019 to 31 January 2020. Data on the opinions, knowledge, and attitudes of HS toward vaccinations were collected using an anonymous self-administered questionnaire. The opinion answers were added to calculate the VH index (<18 = low, 19-22 = medium, >23 = high). Data were summarized by the VH index, degree, year of study, and sex differences, using descriptive statistics. (3) Results: A total of 1275 students (53.7% females) participated in the study, with a median (IQR) age of 21 (19-22) years. The median level of VH was 20 (17-23), with slightly higher values in males. We found an inverse trend between VH and opinions, knowledge, and attitudes toward vaccines. The same trend was confirmed in all study courses. Furthermore, the comparison between sexes revealed a higher level of knowledge in women. (4) Conclusions: The results highlight a lack of knowledge about vaccines, as well as contrasting opinions and attitudes among future health professionals. Therefore, future interventions on these topics in the preparation of future healthcare providers are needed.

SUBMITTER: Palella M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9819233 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Healthcare University Courses Fail to Improve Opinions, Knowledge, and Attitudes toward Vaccines among Healthcare Students: A Southern Italy Cross-Sectional Study.

Palella Marco M Copat Chiara C Grasso Alfina A Cristaldi Antonio A Oliveri Conti Gea G Ferrante Margherita M Fiore Maria M

International journal of environmental research and public health 20221228 1

(1) Background: Healthcare providers have a crucial role in contrasting vaccine hesitancy (VH). We aimed to investigate opinions, knowledge, and attitudes toward vaccines in healthcare students (HS) at the University of Catania (Italy). (2) Methods: A survey was conducted from 1 October 2019 to 31 January 2020. Data on the opinions, knowledge, and attitudes of HS toward vaccinations were collected using an anonymous self-administered questionnaire. The opinion answers were added to calculate the ...[more]

PMID: 36612854

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Project description:Modeling Instruction (MI) for University Physics is a curricular and pedagogical approach to active learning in introductory physics. A basic tenet of science is that it is a model-driven endeavor that involves building models, then validating, deploying, and ultimately revising them in an iterative fashion. MI was developed to provide students a facsimile in the university classroom of this foundational scientific practice. As a curriculum, MI employs conceptual scientific models as the basis for the course content, and thus learning in a MI classroom involves students appropriating scientific models for their own use. Over the last 10 years, substantial evidence has accumulated supporting MI's efficacy, including gains in conceptual understanding, odds of success, attitudes toward learning, self-efficacy, and social networks centered around physics learning. However, we still do not fully understand the mechanisms of how students learn physics and develop mental models of physical phenomena. Herein, we explore the hypothesis that the MI curriculum and pedagogy promotes student engagement via conceptual model building. This emphasis on conceptual model building, in turn, leads to improved knowledge organization and problem solving abilities that manifest as quantifiable functional brain changes that can be assessed with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We conducted a neuroeducation study wherein students completed a physics reasoning task while undergoing fMRI scanning before (pre) and after (post) completing a MI introductory physics course. Preliminary results indicated that performance of the physics reasoning task was linked with increased brain activity notably in lateral prefrontal and parietal cortices that previously have been associated with attention, working memory, and problem solving, and are collectively referred to as the central executive network. Critically, assessment of changes in brain activity during the physics reasoning task from pre- vs. post-instruction identified increased activity after the course notably in the posterior cingulate cortex (a brain region previously linked with episodic memory and self-referential thought) and in the frontal poles (regions linked with learning). These preliminary outcomes highlight brain regions linked with physics reasoning and, critically, suggest that brain activity during physics reasoning is modifiable by thoughtfully designed curriculum and pedagogy.

Project description:Background Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the leading causes of death from infectious diseases worldwide with numerous undiagnosed and untreated cases, emphasizing the need for TB awareness to minimize transmission and initiate early treatment. Data regarding the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) toward TB among Jordanians is lacking but requires attention given the massive migration spells to Jordan from neighboring countries in the past decade. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from May to June 2022. An online questionnaire was developed following World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations for TB KAP surveys and was distributed to Jordanian university students. The questionnaire documented sociodemographic data and measured participants' KAP toward TB. Descriptive and analytic statistics were used to report KAP levels and highlight relevant sociodemographic factors associated with better KAP. Results 602 participants completed the survey; most were females (60.8%), in their first 3 years of school (84.4%), and from a healthcare field of study (57.0%). The knowledge section median score was 27 out of 51. Knowledge gaps in TB treatment, and to a lesser extent, TB transmission routes were identified. The attitudes section median score was 6 out of 9, attitudes were generally positive toward TB patients with no indication of a social stigma. The practice section median score was 6 out of 8, most participants would take the correct measures if they suspected being infected, yet around 41.0% were not confident that masks are important in preventing airborne diseases. Students in healthcare specialties had significantly better KAP scores and identifying as a smoker was associated with a lower practice score. Conclusion Although university students displayed satisfactory KAP scores, the focus should be aimed at informing students from non-healthcare fields on TB transmission routes, treatment options, and the role of masks in preventing disease transmission.

Dataset Information

Healthcare University Courses Fail to Improve Opinions, Knowledge, and Attitudes toward Vaccines among Healthcare Students: A Southern Italy Cross-Sectional Study.

Publications

Healthcare University Courses Fail to Improve Opinions, Knowledge, and Attitudes toward Vaccines among Healthcare Students: A Southern Italy Cross-Sectional Study.

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