Knowledge, attitude and practice of medical students, about influenza vaccine

Influenza is an acute respiratory disease that has a high prevalence in the cold seasons of the year. Prevention is the first line to deal with the increase in its prevalence. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the knowledge, attitude, and practice of medical students of the Islamic Azad University of Mashhad about the influenza vaccine.

This study was performed on 148 medical students. . In this study, students were randomly selected and after recording demographic information, knowledge, attitude, and performance were also recorded. For sampling, a questionnaire consisting of 4 parts was used in which students had to answer 8 demographic questions, 8 awareness questions, 7 performance questions, and 17 attitude questions. Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis statistical tests were used to compare data.

The results of the present study showed that medical students' knowledge and positive attitude towards influenza are high, but on the other hand, their performance is very low. It was also found that awareness with higher cross-section and performance was directly related to vaccination history.

Due to the poor performance of students regarding influenza, holding classes by the medical staff periodically on influenza, especially in the seasons when there is an epidemic, is necessary and reduces the incidence of influenza epidemics in physicians and as a result, the effects of the flu are reduced.