Ebola Disease: Knowledge, attitude, and practices among medical students at a tertiary institution in Uganda

Abstract

Abstract Background Ebolavirus Disease (EVD) has been a public health threat since its discovery in 1976 with occasional outbreaks on the African continent. This study sought to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) among medical students at a tertiary university in Uganda. Methods We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study using WhatsApp Messenger among students in their clinical years. A pre-validated questionnaire was adapted and modified to assess KAP towards EVD. All analyses were performed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 29.0. Bloom’s cutoff of 80% was used to assess sufficient knowledge (≥80%), good attitude (≥6.4) and good practices (≥4.8). Results A total of 339 participated, majority were males (n=210, 61.9%) with mean age of 24.2 years (Standard Deviation: 4.0). 77.9% (n=264) were pursuing Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery. Overall, 13.6% (n=46) had sufficient knowledge, 10.9% (n=37) had good attitude and 32.7% (n=111) had good practices. 54.9% (n=186) always avoided patients with signs and symptoms suggestive of EVD while 11.8% (n=40) would accept an approved ebolavirus vaccine. Conclusion These results revealed suboptimal EVD-related KAP among medical students. We recommend training of students on clinical presentation, transmission, treatment and prevention of EVD to effectively control future outbreaks.