Knowledge and Awareness toward Viral Diseases among University Students in Jordan: Spring 2020

Background: Little is known about the viral disease knowledge among university students in Jordan. Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge towards the nature of viruses and viral diseases among university students in Jordan. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in May-September 2020, focused on students attending eleven colleges from three universities in Jordan. Students were asked to answer an online survey comprising 48-closed ended questions measuring the knowledge toward the viruses and viral diseases. Results: One thousand three hundred nine students responded to the questionnaire. Only 36.7% of the respondents informed that they had the chance to study about viruses and viral diseases during university lectures. The finding revealed that 20.63% of the respondents think that the virus is a living organism and 39.9% of the students correctly answered that the viruses cannot reproduce on the nonliving surfaces. On the other hand, more than one third of the participants approved that viruses are not sensitive to antibiotics treatment. Moreover, only 9.7% of the respondents were able to name of the scientist who discovered the virus. Regarding the viral diseases, 36.1% of the participants were aware that human papilloma virus causes cancer, while only 7.7% were aware that any of the viral hepatitis, herpes or human papilloma viruses can develop to cancer. Almost half of the students answered correctly that SARS-cov2 infects both humans and some animal species and HIV virus can be transmitted through intersexual course. Additionally, 54.7% of the students believe that vaccination is the best protection method to human from viral diseases. Lastly, 42.1% of the respondents were aware that viruses can be invested in several scientific fields. Conclusion: It is concluded that the university students in Jordan have a poor knowledge toward viruses and viral diseases with low exposure to virology education. It is urgently suggested to improve the knowledge toward viral diseases at all levels of education through increasing the virology courses and lectures in the educational institutions with more intensifying improvement in the health colleges.