WORLD JOURNAL OF ADVANCE
HEALTHCARE RESEARCH

Manju V.*, Sherin Ann Jony, Gifty Siji Kunnassery and Athira M.A.

ABSTRACT

Background: COVID 19 pandemic has continued to be the cause of profound morbidity and mortality globally. Nursing students being the future health care providers, their knowledge and perception regarding COVID 19 will certainly affect the patient outcomes and therefore needs to be explored. The purpose of the study was to determine the nursing students knowledge and perception about COVID 19 and to find their association with selected socio demographic variables. Material and Methods: A web-based survey among 280 B.Sc. Nursing students of a selected college in Kochi was conducted from February 2021 to April 2021. The data were collected through non-probability, convenience sampling technique using Google forms. A structured questionnaire and a five-point Likert scale were used to assess the knowledge and perception about COVID 19. Results: Among 280 nursing students, (179, 64%) of the participants possessed ‘adequate’ knowledge about COVID 19. (227, 81%) of the nursing students demonstrated positive perception about COVID 19 and a significant association was found between the 'year of study’ of the students and their 'knowledge’ level (?2=19.53, p=0.003) and ‘perception’ about COVID 19 (?2=14.20, p =0.027). Conclusion: This study concludes that nursing students have adequate knowledge and positive perception about the COVID 19. However, maintaining the knowledge levels amidst of rapidly evolving mutations of the corona virus that can elude the current tests, treatment and vaccines is a challenge.