MANAGING THE BURDEN OF DISEASE THROUGH MEDICAL EDUCATION: A PILOT SURVEY TO ASSESS THE KNOWLEDGE REGARDING NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASE RISK FACTORS AMONG MEDICAL SCIENCE STUDENTS

Abstract

Objective: To determine the knowledge of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and its risk factors among medical science students.

Study Design: Online cross-sectional survey.

Place and Duration of Study: It was conducted in various medical colleges and allied health institutes of all provinces of Pakistan, from Mar to Aug 2021.

Methodology: It was an online cross-sectional survey conducted in selected medical colleges and allied health institutes of all provinces of Pakistan through convenience sampling. Students of post-graduate, unwilling to participate, physically ill and non-cooperative were excluded from the study. Ethical approval was obtained from Institutional Ethical Review board AFIC/NIHD. Informed written consent was taken from all participants Data was collected through a NCDs risk factors knowledge E-questionnaire. Data collected includes socio-demographic characteristics age, gender, education, and knowledge
of various NCDs risk factors.

Results: A total of 641 respondents participated in the study; the mean age of study population was 23.01 ± 4.10 years. Out of 259 (40.4%) males and 382 (59.6%) females were participated. Majority of the participants were MBBS students 288 (45%), whereas other disciplines included in the survey were BDS 19 (2.5%), Pharm-D 13 (2%), Nursing 135 (21%) and Allied Health sciences 110 (17.2%). Out of 587 (91.6%) students knew that NCDs were not contagious. Majority 547 (85.3%) of the respondents were aware of different types of NCDs like cardiovascular diseases, chronic respiratory diseases and cancers. Almost 616 (96%) of the participants knew about normal ranges for blood pressure. Majority of the students tried to impart health education regarding NCDs to the community 415 (64.7%).

Conclusion: This study highlights a lack of awareness regarding NCDs risk factors among students of allied health sciences (17%) as compared to the MBBS, BDS, Nursing and Pharm-D students. The ministry of health (MONHRS) and education needs to re-organize teaching and training programs for various disciplines in medical education.