Background The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic requires integrated intervention by both the governments and individuals. University students have a great role in distributing reliable information about disease prevention behaviors. The aim of this study was to identify the Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of COVID-19 Prevention and Self-Protection behaviors in students. Methods This cross-sectional online survey was conducted on Iranian university students. All students filled a questionnaire consisting of demographic characteristics, e-Health Literacy Scale (EHEALS) questionnaire and a researcher-made knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) questionnaire. Data was analyzed using the SPSS software. Results A total of 925 students (69.9% female) participated in this study. The median age of the students was 23 years old. Majority of students (641, 69.3%) were non-medical students. The median and interquartile range (IQR) for knowledge, attitude, practice and P-EHEALS scores in Medical students were 52.00 (27.00), 4.00 (1.00), 28.00 (8.00), and 26.00 (9.00), respectively which were significantly higher than non-medical students, 28.00 (15.00), 3.00 (2.00), 20.00 (8.00), and 26.00 (9.00), respectively ( p < 0.001). Practice score was a significant related to knowledge ( p < 0.001), attitude ( p < 0.001), having a COVID-19 infected family member ( p < 0.001), older age ( p < 0.001), medical field of education ( p = 0.001), higher EHEALS score ( p = 0.018), and female gender ( p = 0.013). Knowledge, attitude and having a COVID-19 infected person in family were the strongest predictors of preventive practices. Conclusions KAP and E-Health literacy of university students, especially non-medical students, should be considered in order to improve COVID-19 preventive behaviors in the society.
【저자키워드】 COVID19, knowledge, Attitude, Practice, Coronavirus 19, E-health literacy, Preventive behavior, 【초록키워드】 COVID-19, pandemic, cross-sectional, Intervention, prevention, female, Older age, KAP, predictor, scale, Coronavirus 2019, information, disease, questionnaire, demographic characteristics, university student, Government, interquartile range, median age, female gender, SPSS software, literacy, IMPROVE, Result, analyzed, identify, conducted, median, significantly higher, individuals, IQR, participated, 【제목키워드】 COVID-19, cross-sectional, Evaluating,