Awareness of Swine Flu Among the Medical Students of Shaikh Zayed Medical College Rahim Yar Khan

Abstract Bacckground: Swine flu is a viral disease affecting upper as well as lower respiratory tracts. Due to limited resources in a developing country like Pakistan, medical students (the future medical practitioners) should be familiar with the basic knowledge, attitude and practice regarding this infectious disease so that they can help the community during its outbreaks. Objective: To determine the basic knowledge and awareness of swine flu among the medical students of Shaikh Zayed Medical College, Rahim Yar Khan. Methodology: This cross sectional observational study was carried out among the medical students of Shaikh Zayed Medical College, Rahim Yar Khan during April – May 2019 through a pre-designed pro-forma. A total of three hundred pro-forma were distributed in all classes of MBBS from first year to final year, among which 211 were returned, completely filled by the respondents. The responses of 45 students were disregarded as they hadn’t heard about swine flu. Remaining 166 questionnaires were included in the study and further analyzed for results. Data was then analyzed with SPSS version 22.0. Results: Majority of respondents (n=151, 91%) correctly replied “virus as its causative agent”. Majority of respondents (n=138, 83.1%) responded “respiratory droplet as mode of transmission”. One hundred and sixty six questionnaires were further analyzed for results. Regarding treatment and prevention of swine flu, 123 (74.1%) replied it as treatable disease and a significant number of students (n=154, 92.8%) deemed it as preventable. About half (45.8%) of participants did not know about vaccine availability in Pakistan and only 42 (25.3%) students correctly answered that vaccination was the best measure to prevent swine flu. Conclusion: Satisfactory results were seen about knowledge and awareness regarding epidemiology, etiology and mode of transmission. However, deficiencies were seen in awareness about vaccination and prevention of swine flu. So there is a need for health education awareness programs in medical and dental schools on regular basis