Medical students' perceptions of coronavirus disease

In addition to affecting millions of people worldwide, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is putting a strain on healthcare systems. A descriptive cross-sectional study included medical students from 5 medical schools in Sudan (January to April 2021), to determine their perceptions towards the COVID-19 pandemic in Sudan and to ascertain the sources from which they obtain information. They were approached through random sampling. Bloom’s cut-off of 80% was used to determine good knowledge (>32 out of 40), positive attitude (>40 out of 50), and good practice (>29 out of 36). The study included 396 medical students (from 1st to 5th year), the majority were females (65.7%). Their mean age was 21.3± 4 years. Overall, 86 (21.7%) had good knowledge, 129 (32.5%) had a positive attitude, and 190 (47.9%) had good practices. Most of students used social media and mass media as sources of information about COVID-19. In conclusion, a considerable number of undergraduate medical students had positive attitudes and practices against COVID-19, yet only a few had adequate knowledge and depended on social media as a source of information. This warrants further interventions to keep them updated with COVID-19 evidence to maximize their potential in raising public awareness of COVID-19