Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Students of Pharmacy in a Tertiary Institution in Rivers State, Nigeria, Towards the Covid-19 Pandemic

Chidera VO and Ebong OO

Published on: 2021-10-30

Abstract

Study Background: This study assesses the knowledge, attitude, and practices of undergraduate students in the Faculty of Pharmacy, Madonna University, Elele, Rivers State, Nigeria, towards the COVID-19 pandemic. Pharmacists work in the healthcare system, and they play a significant role in drug information and dissemination, in patient care and in the proper dispensing of drugs. This study alerts the students to the basics of their profession and serves to increase their interest and enthusiasm in their profession and in public health.  It also informs the students on disease response, especially on COVID-19 response, in the country.

Methods: The stratified sampling method was employed in the survey with each class to form a stratum. Structured questionnaires were distributed among students in the 200 to 500 study levels of pharmacy at the Madonna University.  Then, simple random sampling was employed within each stratum with each student in the various levels having the same probability of being chosen at any stage during the sampling process. The objective was to improve the precision of the sampling by reducing sample error. Questionnaires were self-administered to investigate students’ demographic data and to obtain information on their ages, sex, marital status, religion, and study levels. Students were asked about their knowledge of COVID-19, their attitude, and their practices on the disease. The data was entered into a Microsoft-Excel worksheet and analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version V27.

Results: More than half of the respondents had adequate knowledge about COVID-19 symptoms, prevention, the repositioning of drugs and the age group most affected by the disease. Of the respondents, 96.9% confirmed that COVID-19 started in Wuhan, China, that coronavirus is the cause of the disease (93.8%) and that the elderly was the most severely affected by the disease (78.7%). On the students’ place of residence during the pandemic lockdown, the results showed that students were widely distributed in every State of the country, with more respondents from Lagos (18%), Rivers (13%), Abuja (11%) and Anambra (11%) States. Respondents (45.7%) agreed to the importance of following the Centre for Disease and Control (NCDC) recommendations, such as hand washing and social distancing, self-quarantine for 14 days and prompt reporting to the National Centre for Disease and Control as measures for reducing the transmission of COVID-19.  Some new drugs suggested for the management of COVID-19 had been known before the outbreak of the pandemic. As pharmacy students, respondents were requested to provide information on the newly repositioned drugs and their previous use in medicine. Of the respondents, 74% could explain drug repositioning and some of the related drugs. Most of the respondents, 95% stated Chloroquine, an antimalarial agent, 80% stated Ritonavir, an antiviral agent, 60% stated Lopinavir an antiviral agent and 60% Tocilizumab, an immunomodulatory agent. The respondents stated some of the measures that government should take to combat COVID-19 disease as, providing basic facilities for both public and private medical frontline workers, increasing awareness programs on the disease and increasing COVID-19 testing centres.

Conclusion: The outbreak of COVID-19 has continued to task the whole healthcare workforce. Pharmacists played a big role in reducing the burden of the disease during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in the country by ensuring that the administration of the right drug therapy was given to patients, by creating awareness on the disease, informing on the prevention guidelines, and clarifying misconceptions on the disease. As COVID-19 rages on, with its different variants, it is desirable to stimulate the pharmacy students, early in their profession, on the future roles that they will play in the healthcare system and in the effort towards the elimination of the disease.