Knowledge, attitudes and practices about Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) among Birzeit University students: A cross-sectional study

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Naseef , Ni'meh Al-Shami, Lilian S. Abu Hadba, Leen A. Humos, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-83268/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 08 Nov, 2021 Read the published version in Journal of Public Health → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Aim : COVID-19 the novel corona virus that has been characterized as a pandemic; as it spreads all over the world and has so far infected more than 20 million worldwide. In Palestine, the first seven cases were documented on March 5 th , 2020 followed by the declaration of the state of emergency. This study aimed to assess knowledge, attitudes and practices toward COVID-19 among Birzeit University students. Subject and methods : A cross sectional study was carried out, a questionnaire was developed based on the WHO, CDC, ECDC recommendations. The questionnaire was distributed online and filled by Birzeit University students. Chi-square testing was performed to check for significant association between KAP and different sociodemographic variables. Binary logistic regression performed to identify and control the confounding factors. Data were analyzed using SPSS (version 22). Results : A total of 665 students have completed the online questionnaire. The mean age was (20.55±3.069) years. Multivariate analysis revealed that males, students from health professions and scientific faculties and those with highly educated parents had manifested a good knowledge level (GKL) about Covid -19. Regarding students’ practices, less negative practices were prompted by students from health professions faculty and the students living at the middle governorate of Palestine compared to north, south and Jerusalem dwellers. With regards to the practices, the vast majority of the participants held a positive and very cautious practice towards the COVID-19 epidemic. Conclusion : Our results revealed that students had variable knowledge regarding Covid-19 and the vast majority depended on the official media briefs in Palestine as a source of information. With regards to practices, positive and cautious practices towards the COVID-19 epidemic were carried out by the vast majority of participants. Epidemiology Coronavirus disease 19 COVID-19 Knowledge Awareness Attitudes Practices Palestine Birzeit University. 1. Introduction Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses, which have been known to cause respiratory infections such as the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and the corona virus disease 19 (COVID-19)(WHO 2020; Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia Emergency Response Epidemiology Team 2020). COVID-19 was first discovered during an outbreak in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, which led to thousands of deaths. Consequently, it widely spread throughout the world with especially large outbreaks occurring in South Korea, Italy, Iran, United States of America and many other countries(World Health Organization). By July 8, 2020, the virus had reached more than 150 countries, resulting in approximately twelve million infected people, among which five million recovered and 548.998 had died (WHO 2020a). These alarming levels of spread and severity of the disease have therefore raised the bar for the entire world to manage this stressful crisis and urged the World health organization to officially characterize COVID-19 as a pandemic (WHO/Europe) Concerning the symptoms of COVID-19, some infected people may not experience any symptoms, whereas others may have mild symptoms. Around 80% of patients recover without needing any special treatment while one out of six patients develop more severe symptoms, including but not limited to difficulty breathing, these patients are most likely to be elderly or with underlying medical conditions, such as high blood pressure, heart problems or diabetes (Ecdc; Wang et al. 2020; Zhang et al. 2020b) Additionally, young people are not invincible against coronavirus; world data have shown that a large number of the patients were young, among which many needed hospitalization (Chen et al. 2020; Bialek et al. 2020; Escalera-Antezana et al. 2020). On March 5th, 2020, the Palestinian authorities announced the first seven cases in the city of Bethlehem which led to the declaration of a 30-day state of emergency. During this period, further preventative precautions such as quarantine and testing any suspected carriers were undertaken in an attempt to control this pandemic crisis without overwhelming the country’s limited financial and healthcare resources. The unavailability of a definitive treatment or vaccine for COVID-19 emphasizes the importance of the non-pharmaceutical protective and preventive measures as the only means of combating this disease. Knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards COVID-19 among the Palestinian community of immense importance and is critical for the community prevention/control of this Pandemic. The main objectives of this study were to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) regarding COVID-19 among students (undergraduate and postgraduate) at Birzeit University in Palestine. This study aims to assess the relationship between students’ different sociodemographic characteristics and its effects on their knowledge level, practices and attitudes towards COVID-19. Moreover, this study evaluates the participants’ opinions regarding the performance of the local authorities and their trusted source of information during this pandemic. Evidence-based data from such studies could have an impact on policy decision-makers in the healthcare systems and perhaps help in designing appropriate strategies to improve the awareness and attitudes towards the COVID-19 in order to facilitate managing the outbreak in Palestine. 2. Material And Methods 2.1. Study Design and sample: An observational descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among students (undergraduate and postgraduate) at Birzeit University in the occupied Palestinian territories, between March and April 2020. The targeted respondents were all registered students from different majors (health and non-health professions) at the period of conducting the study, having an ID number and internet services. Any duplication or fabricated in the inserted ID number were excluded. The data were collected through an online distributed questionnaire starting from the 31 th March until the 10 th April 2020, as it is considered the only feasible way for distributing the questionnaire during the forced lockdown. The questionnaire was designed and provided by the Google Forms (Google Inc., USA) under the supervision of an IT department personnel. The total population presented was 14500 students, which is the total number of students registered at Birzeit University. The sample size was 375 as calculated online([CSL STYLE ERROR: reference with no printed form.]) with 95% confidence level and 5% error margin. About 665 students participated in this study. The study was approved by the IRB committee at Faculty of Pharmacy, Nursing and Health Professions, Birzeit University with reference number BZU-PNH-2006. 2.2. Study tool: The questionnaire was formed through a standardized methodology which includes the review of the literature information, group discussion, experts’ evaluation, pilot study and the validation of the final components of the questionnaire (Ishii et al. 2012; Arora et al. 2017). However, due to the lack of worldwide published literature regarding the evaluation of knowledge, attitudes and practice (KAP) toward COVID 19 among various society districts, the information was obtained from a comprehensive literature review regarding the evaluation of KAP toward MERS and SARS (Mbroh; Lau et al. 2003; Bener and Al-Khal 2004; Kim et al. 2016; Yang and Cho 2017; Al-Hazmi et al. 2018; Asaad et al. 2019; Goni et al. 2019),WHO(WHO Corona-viruses), centers for disease control and prevention (CDC , (COVID-19)) and European center for disease prevention and control (ECDC) websites. The questionnaire components were reviewed and evaluated by the researchers’ team on different meetings. The questionnaire was validated by four multidisciplinary experts panel with proven experience in epidemiology and research field in order to receive their input and their critical appraisals regarding the questionnaire’s content relevance and appropriateness. Thence, based on experts' feedback, some sectors of the questionnaire were excluded and re-phrasing of certain questions was being considered. Furthermore, a pilot study was distributed among students of different faculties, in order to reveal any drawbacks presented in the questionnaire, where students were requested to fill the questionnaire and give their feedback regarding its clarity, construction, and relevance. Thence, based on students’ assessment, some adjustments were made and the final draft was formed in Arabic, then translated into English and was finally reviewed. The final questionnaire was composed of 4 sections to assess the socio-demographics, knowledge, attitudes and practices of the participants. 45 questions were structured as both open and close- ended multiple choice questions. The sociodemographic section consisted of 13 questions regarding gender, age, marital status, major, study year, current place of residence, number of family members, whether any were aged over 60, parents' educational attainment and nature of their work. The second section assessed the participants’ knowledge of COVID 19 by asking 14 questions about the etiology, host, incubation period, transmission, prevention and control approaches, symptoms, risk group, mortality rate and information sources. The answers were on the basis of yes/ no and an additional option of “I don’t know”. The third section assessed the students’ attitudes towards COVID 19 using a set of 10 questions with I agree/I don’t agree and I don’t know as answer options. This section measured the agreement with the following: invincibility against COVID-19, worry that a family member would get the disease, willingness to seek advice as needed and preventive measures applied by the local authorities. The fourth section consisted of 10 questions; 9 of which assessed the students' practice towards COVID 19 and the tenth assessed their smoking habits. The questions evaluated the preventive measures taken at the individual level including: self-hygiene, proper coughing or sneezing methods, wearing face masks, keeping a safe distance, limiting presence at public places, limiting travelling between different governorates and whether they supplied their houses with antipyretics, necessary medications, vitamins and nutritional supplements. The answers were in a frequent manner; always, often, rarely and never. 2.4. Statistical analysis: Descriptive statistics were performed to present data; a knowledge scale was developed from the thirteen questions that identify the participants’ knowledge about the virus, its symptoms and how to prevent it with internal consistency (Cronbach α=0.577). Recoding for questions with more than one answer was done, then counting for the correct answers was performed within 32 items, one score was given for each. A scale was developed and recoded into acceptable knowledge level (AKL) scoring less than 26 and good knowledge level (GKL) scoring 26 to 32. Another scale was developed for participants’ practices; recoding for negative items performed, a count for the positive statements within 10 items was done, scored and recoded into more positive practices (8 to 10 positives) or less positive ones (less than 8). Chi-square testing with 95% confidence interval was performed to identify the sociodemographic variables associated with the knowledge and practice scales. Then a third Chi-square testing with 95% confidence interval was performed to assess the association between the knowledge level of respondents and their attitudes. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed to establish the association between knowledge level and more positive practices with the variables that were identified as significant in the bivariate analysis and to identify and control the confounding factors. All data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences, (IBM SPSS Statistics 22). 3. Results 3.1. socio-demographic characteristics: A total of 665 students completed the online questionnaire. The mean age was (20.55±3.069) years and 488 (73.4%) were females. 176 (26.5%) of students were from the pharmacy, nursing and health professions faculty and the remainder were from non-medical majors. 379 (59.7%) of the students resided in the middle of the west bank with 333 (50.1%) being city residents. More than half of the students (n=357, 53.7%) were part of a big family consisting of more than 6 members and 126 (18.9%) included members over the age of 60. Additionally, 455 (68.5%) of the students had at least one parent who completed a diploma or higher education with less than 5% of them working in the health sector. (Table 1) Table 1 : Socio-demographic characteristics of study participants (N = 655). Socio-demographic characteristics No. n ( %) Gender Male 177 (26.6) Female 488 (73.4) Marital status Single 622 (93.5) Married 43 (6.5) Major Arts 109 (16.4) Business and Economics 112 (16.8) Science 53 (8.0) Law and Public Administration 33 (5.0) Pharmacy, Nursing and Health Professions 176 (26.5) Education 12 (1.8) Engineering 167 (25.1) Arts, Music and Design. 3 (0.5) Study Year First 174 (26.2) Second 169 (25.4) Third 141 (21.2) Fourth or more 146 (22.0) Postgraduate 35 (5.3) Governorate Jerusalem and the occupied Palestinian territory 140 (21.1) North of the WB 71 (10.7) Middle of the WB 397 (59.7) South of the WB 57 (8.6) Place of residency City 333 (50.1) Village 307 (46.2) Refugee camps 25 (3.8) Parents completed diploma or higher educational level None 210 (31.5) One of them 186 (28.0) Both 269 (40.5) Mother’s work Health sector 25 (3.8) Education sector 138 (20.8) Office jobs 30 (4.5) Housewife 426 (64.1) Other 46 (6.9) Father’s work Health sector 34 (5.1) Education sector 88 (13.2) Office jobs 101 (15.2) Unemployed 39 (5.9) Other 403 (60.6) Number of family members Six or less 308 (46.3) More than six 357 (53.7) Including a family member over the age of 60 Yes 126 (18.9) No 539 (81.1) Smoking habits Smoker 106 (15.9) Non- smoker 559 (84.1) Students’ rating their knowledge regarding COVID-19 Very good 173 (26.0) Good 322 (48.4) Acceptable 149 (22.4) Weak 18 (2.8) Do not care 3 (0.5) 3.2. Knowledge: Out of 665 respondents, 495(74.4%) rated their own knowledge level regarding COVID-19 as good to very good, however, data analysis revealed that only 275 (41.4%) actually have good knowledge level (GKL) whereas 390 (58.6%) have acceptable knowledge level (AKL). 97.6% of respondents knew that COVID-19 is a viral infection that affects the respiratory tract system, 95.8% acknowledged that the median incubation period is between 2-14 days and 92.3% responded that it’s a curable disease. However, only 46.6% recognized that bats are considered the original host for COVID-19. Respondents’ answers towards COVID-19 transmission approaches revealed acknowledging that sneezing or coughing respiratory droplets, touching face, eyes, nose and mouth with contaminated hands, direct contact with patients, and contact with contaminated surfaces as methods of transmission with percentages of 92.3%, 89.6%, 87.2% and 78.5% respectively. Furthermore, 91.6% of respondents knew that approaching pets is not a method for COVID-19 transmission. Concerning COVID-19 symptoms, fever and dry cough were stated in more than 90% of participants’ responses, whereas only 56.5% recognized general fatigue as a symptom and 30.4% believed improperly that like flu symptoms and nasal congestion were symptoms. When asked about COVID-19 high risk groups, over 90% of respondents mentioned elderly, patients with chronic diseases and immune-compromised patients, while only 12% acknowledged that severe obesity is also considered a high risk category. As for COVID-19 prevention methods, drinking hot beverages and eating garlic, onions and pickles were wrongly believed to be the optimal preventive approaches by 44.2% and 15.3% of the answers, respectively. (Table 2) Furthermore, 12.9% of participants believed that antibiotics is an optimal method for preventing COVID-19 infection, which is not proven at the time of conducting the study. On the other hand, the majority of the participants (91.1%) believed that personal hygiene is an optimal method for preventing COVID-19 infection. The official media outlets in Palestine, Ministry of Health website and government spokesperson, were the major sources of information about COVID 19 by (79.1%) of the participants. A noticeable percentage (69.6%) of the respondents reported the scientific resources as a source of information followed by media and the social media. (65.1%, 46.8% respectively) (Fig. 1) Table 2 : Students’ knowledge toward COVID-19. Statement Yes n(%) No n(%) don’t know n(%) COVID-19 is an infectious viral disease that affects the respiratory system? 649 (97.6) 7 (1.1) 9 (1.4) Bats are considered the original host of COVID-19 infections? 310 (46.6) 144 (21.7) 211 (31.7) Does COVID-19 transmitted by touching and approaching pets 56 (8.4) 609 (91.6) Does COVID-19 transmitted by direct contact with patients 580 (87.2) 85 (12.8) Does COVID-19 transmitted by airborne 142 (21.4) 523 (78.6) Does COVID-19 transmitted through respiratory droplets from sneezing or coughing. 614 (92.3) 51 (7.7) Does COVID-19 transmitted by contact with contaminated surfaces. 522 (78.5) 143 (21.5) Does COVID-19 transmitted by touching the face, eyes, nose, and mouth with contaminated hands. 596 (89.6) 69 (10.4) The median of incubation period for COVID-19 is (2-14) days? 637 (95.8) 14 (2.1) 14 (2.1) Sore throat is a symptom of COVID-19. 454 (68.3) 211 (31.7) Fever is a symptom of COVID-19. 602 (90.5) 63 (9.5) Productive cough is a symptom of COVID-19. 77 (11.6) 588 (88.4) Dry cough is a symptom of COVID-19. 605 (91.0) 60 (9.0) General fatigue is a symptom of COVID-19. 376 (56.5) 289 (43.5) Flu and nasal congestion is a symptom of COVID-19. 202 (30.4) 463 (69.6) All people infected will develop symptoms of COVID-19 69 (10.4) 538 (80.9) 58 (8.7) A negative primary examination test result of a person suspected of having COVID-19 eliminates the need for quarantine for that person. 51 (7.7) 604 (90.8) 10 (1.5) Elderly are at high risk to develop COVID-19 complications. 631 (94.9) 34 (5.1) Children are at high risk to develop COVID-19 complications. 189 (28.4) 476 (71.6) People with chronic diseases (Hypertension, diabetes, heart disease and respiratory system) are at high risk to develop COVID-19 complications. 614 (92.3) 51 (7.7) Pregnant women are at high risk to develop COVID-19 complications. 189 (27.7) 481 (72.3) People who are immunocompromised (patients receiving chemotherapy, kidneys and organ transplant recipients) are at high risk to develop COVID-19 complications. 605 (91.0) 60 (9.0) People with severe obese are at high risk to develop COVID-19 complications. 80 (12.0) 585 (88.0) Drinking hot beverages is an optimal method for preventing COVID-19 infection. 294 (44.2) 371 (55.8) Non-pharmacological precautions for personal hygiene is an optimal method for preventing COVID-19 infection. 606 (91.1) 59 (8.9) Wearing protective masks by healthy people who are not in contact with infected individuals is an optimal method for preventing COVID-19 infection. 263 (39.5) 402 (60.5) Washing the nose and gargling with water is an optimal method for preventing COVID-19 infection. 369 (55.5) 296 (44.5) Eating garlic, onions and pickles is an optimal method for preventing COVID-19 infection. 102 (15.3) 563 (84.7) Taking antibiotics is an optimal method for preventing COVID-19 infection. 86 (12.9) 579 (87.1) A vaccine for COVID-19 has been developed and is currently available in global markets? 22 (3.3) 533 (80.2) 110 (16.5) COVID -19 is a curable disease? 614 (92.3) 14 (2.1) 37 (5.6) Globally, the total mortality rate from COVID-19 infections is less than 5%? 386 (58) 147 (22.1) 132 (19.8) What resources do you rely on to obtain information about COVID-19 and how to prevent it? Fig 1 As depicted in (Table 3), logistic regression analysis results affirmed that students’ extent of knowledge regarding COVID-19 is significantly related to their gender where females manifested lower knowledge levels compared to males (OR= 0.588, P=0.01). Regarding major specialty, a higher knowledge level of COVID-19 was manifested in scientific faculties (OR=1.841, P=0.004) and health professions faculties (OR=3.462, P<0.001) with comparison to literary faculties. Additionally, significant results were obtained with year progression; where students at their fourth year of studying or more were more likely to have GKL (OR=5.562, P<0.001), then second year students (OR= 2.717, P<0.001) and third year (OR= 2.249, p=0.003) compared to first year students. As for place of residency, results showed that refugee camps residents were the least to have GKL (OR=0.235, P= 0.016) compared to city citizens. With regards to parental factors; students with both parents having higher educational attainment were more likely to have GKL (OR= 1.931, P=0.013) compared to their counterparts. Whilst students whose mothers worked in non-health related jobs or were unemployed were less likely to have GKL, (OR=0.332, p=0.03), (OR=0.345, P=0.04) respectively compared to health sector employees. Table 3 : Effect of different significant variables on the level of respondents’ knowledge obtained by binary logistic regression (odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals). Independent variable Acceptable KL Good KL p- value Regression coefficient B OR (95%CI) Gender Male 92 (52) 85 (48) Reference Female 298 (61.1) 190 (38.9) 0.01 0.53 0.588 (0.393-0.882) Marital status Single 363 (58.4) 259 (41.6) 0.568 not significant, no regression had done Married 27 (62.8) 16 (37.2) Major Literary faculties 195 (72.5) 74 (27.5) Reference Scientific faculties 120 (54.5) 100 (45.5) 0.004 0.610 1.841 (1.215-2.791) Health professions faculties 75 (42.6) 101 (57.4) p-value <0.001 1.242 3.462 (2.230-5.375) Study year First 136 (78.2) 38 (21.8) Reference Second 92 (54.4) 77 (45.6) p-value <0.001 1.0 2.717 (1.640-4.501) Third 85 (60.3) 56 (39.7) 0.003 0.811 2.249 (1.321-3.831) Fourth or more 56 (38.4) 90 (61.6) p-value <0.001 1.716 5.562 (3.275-9.448) Postgraduate 21 (60.0) 14 (40.0) 0.166 0.602 1.826 (0.779-4.284) Governorate Jerusalem and the Pt 86 (61.4) 54 (38.6) Reference North of the WB 48 (67.6) 23 (42.4) 0.122 -0.534 0.586 (0.298-1.154) Middle of the WB 231 (58.2) 166 (41.8) 0.245 0.269 1.308 (0.832-2.058) South of the WB 25 (43.9) 32 (56.1) 0.244 0.419 1.520 (0.751-3.076) Place of residency City 193 (58) 140 (42) Reference Village 176 (57.3) 131 (42.7) 0.331 0.190 1.210 (0.824-1.776) Refugee camps 84 (21) 4 (16) 0.016 -1.448 0.235 (0.072-0.765) Parents completed diploma or higher educational level None 143 (68.1) 67 (31.9) Reference One of them 109 (58.6) 77 (41.4) 0.132 0.365 1.440 (0.896-2.315) Both 138 (51.3) 131 (48.7) 0.013 0.658 1.931 (1.147-3.252) Mother’s work Health sector 7 (28) 18 (72) Reference Other sectors 122 (57.0) 92 (43.0) 0.03 -1.104 0.332 (0.123-0.896) Housewife 261 (61.3) 165 (38.7) 0.04 -1.063 0.345 (0.125-0.950) Father’s work Health sector 17 (50.0) 17 (50.0) 0.145 not significant, no regression had done Other sectors 345 (58.3) 247 (41.7) Unemployed 28 (71.8) 11 (28.2) Number of family members Six or less 167 (54.2) 141 (45.8) Reference More than six 223 (62.5) 134 (37.5) 0.128 -0.279 0.757 (0.529-1.084) Including a family members over the age of 60 Yes 64 (50.8) 62 (49.2) Reference No 326 (60.5) 213 (39.5) 0.68 -0.409 0.664 (0.428-1.030) 3.3. Attitudes As seen in (Table 4), a higher percentage of respondents (90.7%) were worried that a family member would get COVID-19. 84.1% of them remarkably thought that COVID-19 preventative measures should be applied by everyone regardless of their status. In addition, 96.2% of the participants would seek assistance from the authorities’ responsible if the person or a family member develops symptoms of COVID-19. As for the practices applied by the government, 96.5% of respondents considered that the preventative measures taken by the Palestinian government at the beginning were sufficient and on timely manner. Table 4 : Students’ attitudes toward COVID- 19: Statement Agree n(%) Don’t agree n(%) Don’t know n(%) Are you worried that a family member might get COVID-19? 603 (90.7) 42 (6.3) 20 (3.0) Do you think that COVID-19 prevention measures should only be applied by older adults and groups most at risk? 101 (15.2) 559 (84.1) 5 (0.8) In the event that I or a family member develop symptoms of COVID-19 infection, I will seek advice and assistance from the authorities responsible for providing health services. 640 (96.2) 8 (1.2) 17 (2.6) My perception of someone will change if they contract COVID-19. 54 (8.1) 571 (85.9) 40 (6.0) Do you think that the practice of limiting the movement of individuals between countries and imposing strict quarantine on travelers will limit the transmission and spread of COVID-19 between individuals? 642 (96.5) 13 (2.0) 10 (1.5) Do you think that the attempts of the local authorities at your place of residence will succeed in curbing the spread of COVID-19? 442 (66.5) 102 (15.3) 121 (18.2) Do you think that the local authorities have sufficient tools to deal with confirmed and suspected cases of (Covid-19)? 118 (17.7) 397 (59.7) 150 (22.6) Do you think that the preventative measures that were taken by the Palestinian government were early? 267 (40.2) 355 (53.4) 43 (6.5) Do you think that the preventative measures taken by the Palestinian government in the beginning were sufficient? 348 (52.3) 235 (35.3) 82 (12.3) Do you think you are invincible from COVID-19? 180 (27.1) 290 (43.6) 195 (29.3) Table 5 shows that although more than 90% of respondents were worried that a family member might get COVID-19, students with GKL were found to be significantly less likely to be worried (8.7%, p=0.007). They believed that preventative measures should not be practiced solely by older adults and groups most at risk (91.3%, p <0.001) in comparison to students with AKL (4.6%, 79.0% respectively). Likewise, participants with GKL were less likely to find themselves invincible from COVID-19 (56.7%, p<0.001) as to those with AKL (34.4%). Students with GKL were significantly more likely to believe that the attempts of the local authorities will not succeed in curbing the spread of COVID 19 (19.3%) and they did not have sufficient tools to deal with the pandemic (66.5%) as compared to students with AKL (12.6 % and 54.9% respectively). In addition, students with GKL were significantly more likely to believe that the preventive measures taken by the Palestinian government were neither early nor sufficient (54.9% and 38.2%) in comparison to students with AKL (52.3% and 33.3% respectively). Table 5 : Distribution of different students’ attitudes measures with their KL toward COVID-19 Statement Acceptable KL n(%) Good KL n(%) P- value Are you worried that a family member might get COVID-19? Yes 355 (91.0) 248 (90.2) 0.007 No 18 (4.6) 24 (8.7) Don’t know 17 (4.4) 3 (1.1) Do you think that COVID-19 prevention measures should only be applied by older adults and groups most at risk? Yes 78 (20.0) 23 (8.4) p-value <0.001 No 308 (79.0) 251 (91.3) Don’t know 4 (1.0) 1 (0.4) In the event that I or a family member develop symptoms of COVID-19 infection, I will seek advice and assistance from the authorities responsible for providing health services. Yes 376 (96.4) 264 (96.0) 0.099 No 2 (0.5) 6 (2.2) Don’t know 12 (3.1) 5 (1.8) My perception of someone will change if they contract COVID-19. Yes 41 (10.5) 13 (4.7) 0.006 No 321 (82.3) 250 (90.9) Don’t know 28 (7.2) 12 (4.4) Do you think that the practice of limiting the movement of individuals between countries and imposing strict quarantine on travelers will limit the transmission and spread of COVID-19 between individuals? Yes 373 (95.6) 269 (97.8) 0.301 No 10 (2.6) 3 (1.1) Don’t know 7 (1.8) 3 (1.1) Do you think that the attempts of the local authorities at your place of residence will succeed in curbing the spread of COVID-19? Yes 258 (66.2) 184 (66.9) 0.008 No 49 (12.6) 53 (19.3) Don’t know 83 (21.3) 38 (13.8) Do you think that the local authorities have sufficient tools to deal with confirmed and suspected cases of (Covid-19)? Yes 75 (19.2) 43 (15.6) 0.009 No 214 (54.9) 183 (66.5) Don’t know 101 (25.9) 49 (17.8) Do you think that the preventive measures that were taken by the Palestinian government were early? Yes 152 (39.0) 115 (41.8) 0.019 No 204 (52.3) 151 (54.9) Don’t know 34 (8.7) 9 (3.3) Do you think that the preventive measures taken by the Palestinian government in the beginning were sufficient? Yes 200 (51.3) 148 (53.8) 0.015 No 130 (33.3) 105 (38.2) Don’t know 60 (15.4) 22 (8.0) Do you think you are invincible from COVID-19? Yes 124 (31.8) 56 (20.4) p-value <0.001 No 134 (34.4) 156 (56.7) Don’t know 132 (33.8) 63 (22.9) 3.4. Practices With regard to the ten positive practices (PP) abided by the individuals for self and others’ safety, table 6 shows that adherence with at least eight practices was observed in 511 (76.8%) of the respondents, these include: washing hands and using proper hygiene (97.0%), practicing cough etiquette (95.9%), avoiding public places and maintaining a safe distance between individuals with percentages of 93.5% and 79.1%. Whereas, 154 (23.2%) displayed implementation for at least three negative practices. Concerning smoking habits, respondents reported smoking; less frequently (5.3%), same frequency (6.5%), more frequently (2.4%) and cessation (1.8%). ( Fig. 2 ). Table 6 : Students’ practices toward COVID-19 Statement Often or more n(%) Rarely or less n(%) After the Palestinian government declared a state of emergency, were you committed to washing your hands with soap and water and using disinfectants on a regular basis? (Positive practice) 645 (97.0) 20 (3.0) After the Palestinian government declared a state of emergency, did you practice the proper methods of coughing and sneezing etiquette? (Positive practice) 638 (95.9) 27 (4.1) After the Palestinian government declared a state of emergency, did you wear a face mask when you left the house? (Negative practice) 204 (30.7) 461 (69.3) After the Palestinian government declared a state of emergency, were you in places where people gathered? negative practice) 38 (5.7) 627 (94.3) After the Palestinian government declared a state of emergency, did you travel between governorates? (negative practice) 23 (3.5) 642 (96.5) After the Palestinian government declared a state of emergency, did you reduce your presence in public places and adhere to the state of emergency? (Positive practice) 622 (93.5) 43 (6.5) After the Palestinian government declared a state of emergency, did you maintain a safe distance between you and the individuals around you? (Positive practice) 526 (79.1) 139 (20.9) After the Palestinian government declared a state of emergency, did you supply your home with antipyretics and necessary medications? (Positive practice) 363 (54.6) 302 (45.4) After the Palestinian government declared a state of emergency, did you supply your home with vitamins and nutritional supplements? (Positive practice) 365 (54.9) 300 (45.1) After the Palestinian government declared a state of emergency, were your smoking habits affected by the emerging Corona virus (Covid-19)? Fig. 2 Regarding the different variables affecting practices towards COVID-19, and based on data obtained by binary logistic regression as presented in (table 7), numbers showed that females had less negative practices compared to males (OR= 0.323, P<0.001). Other factors influencing the respondents’ practices were found to be their major and study year. Negative practices were less promoted by health professions faculty participants (OR= 0.631, P=0.083)) compared to students from Literary faculties, whereas postgraduates tended to have less positive practices (OR= 3.362, P=0.004) compared with students at their first year, while no significant differences in practices were found between undergraduates at their different studying years. Moreover, among the variables having an impact on practices was the governorate to which the respondents belong, where middle of the WB revealed the lowest adherence with negative practices (OR= 0.512, p=0.006) compared with students from Jerusalem and the OPT. Table 7 : Effect of different significant variables on positive practices of respondents obtained by binary logistic regression (odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals). Independent variable More PP n(%) Less PP n(%) p- value Regression coefficient B OR (95%CI) Gender Male 107 (60.5) 70 (39.5) Reference Female 404 (82.8) 84 (17.2) p-value <o.oo1 -1.130 0.323 (0.212-0.491) Major Literary faculties 201 (74.7) 68 (25.3) Reference Scientific faculties 163 (74.1) 57 (25.9) 0.834 -0.048 0.953 (0.607-1.497) Health professions faculties 147 (83.5) 29 (16.5) 0.083 -0.461 0.631 (0.375- 1.062) Study year First 136 (78.2) 38 (21.8) Reference Second 135 (79.9) 34 (20.1) 0.567 -0.162 0.850 (0.488-1.481) Third 105 (74.5) 36 (25.5) 0.754 0.089 1.094 (0.625-1.912) Fourth or more 117 (80.1) 29 (19.9) 0.378 -0.259 0.771 (0.433-1.374) Postgraduate 18 (51.4) 17 (48.6) 0.004 1.213 3.362 (1.458-7.755) Governorate Jerusalem and the oPt 99 (70.7) 41 (29.3) Reference North of the WB 47 (66.2) 24 (33.8) 0.849 -0.065 0.937 (0.480- 1.830) Middle of the WB 322 (81.1) 75 (18.9) 0.006 -0.669 0.512 (0.317- 0.828) South of the WB 43 (75.4) 14 (24.6) 0.144 -0.583 0.558 (0.255- 1.221) Place of residency City 257 (77.2) 76 (22.8) 0.298 not significant, no regression had done Village 238 (77.5) 69 (22.5) Refugee camps 16 (64.0) 9 (36.0) Parents completed diploma or higher educational level None 160 (76.2) 50 (23.8) 0.577 not significant, no regression had done One of them 139 (74.7) 47 (25.3) Both 212 (78.8) 57 (21.2) Mother’s work Health sector 19 (76.0) 6 (24.0) 0.329 not significant, no regression had done Other sectors 172 (80.4) 42 (19.6) Housewife 320 (75.1) 106 (24.9) Father’s work Health sector 27 (79.4) 7 (20.6) 0.146 not significant, no regression had done Other sectors 459 (77.5) 133 (22.5) Unemployed 25 (64.1) 14 (35.9) Number of family members Six or less 234 (76.0) 74 (24.0) 0.622 not significant, no regression had done More than six 277 (77.6) 80 (22.4) Including a family members over the age of 60 Yes 91 (72.2) 35 (27.8) 0.172 not significant, no regression had done No 420 (77.9) 119 (22.1) Knowledge level Acceptable 294 (75.4) 96 (24.6) 0.289 not significant, no regression had done Good 217 (78.9) 58 (21.1) 4. Discussion Our findings indicate that although less than half of the participants have a good knowledge level regarding COVID-19, none of the participants was totally unaware of the disease. This could be attributed to conducting the study early on the outbreak in Palestine and the diverse media coverage of COVID-19 in concurrence with the state of emergency in the country. The relatively low percentage of participants with a good knowledge level in this study is in line with findings of a study conducted among health care workers which reported that Knowledge and perceptions of COVID-19 varied across different categories of health care workers but in general the participants had a poor knowledge level(Bhagavathula et al. 2020a). Nevertheless, the percentage of participants with a good knowledge level is lower when compared to studies conducted among different segments of the society against MERS(Kharma et al. 2015; Elrggal et al. 2018) and against COVID 19(Zhong et al. 2020; Wolf et al. 2020; 2020; Zhang et al. 2020a) where the participants have claimed good knowledge regarding transmission, symptoms and treatment of COVID-19. The level of knowledge varied depending on the type of question. For example; almost all of respondents knew that COVID-19 is a viral infection that affects the respiratory tract system and majority of them knew the methods of transmission and believed that personal hygiene is the optimal method of preventing COVID-19. However, some practices such as drinking hot beverages, gargling with water and washing the nose were wrongly believed to be preventative. In addition, around eighth of the participants believed that antibiotics were an optimal method of prevention; more than half of these participants were from literary faculties. The students from health professions faculties achieved a knowledge level higher than their counterparts’. This could be attributed to these students taking various health related courses, as well as their involvement in public health campaigns which in turn enable them to have a better understanding of potentially epidemic infectious diseases such as COVID 19. These findings are consistent with previous studies which reported that students from Health Colleges had significantly better knowledge than others(Alzoubi et al. 2020; White et al. 2020), and oppose what was concluded in a study conducted in Jordan where no significant difference between the mean of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice level was found among medical and non-medical students(Alzoubi et al. 2020). In accordance with a study conducted in Uganda(Olum et al. 2020), this study reported that females manifested lower knowledge levels compared to males. Our results are inconsistent with prior studies which reported that females had a significantly higher score than males(Al-Hazmi et al. 2018; Zhong et al. 2020; 2020) and one study which reported no significant correlation of gender and specialty with both knowledge and attitude(MQ et al. 2020). It’s noteworthy that despite Facebook being the most social media application used by students in Palestine, official media including; The Ministry of Health’s website, Government spokesperson and the scientific resources were found to be the most important sources of information amongst students. This is attributed to the extremely active media coverage regarding COVID 19 in Palestine, where the official government spokesman and the Minister of Health held two press conferences each day on national TV channels concerning the latest updates about COVID 19 in Palestine, as well as relatable information regarding this disease, such as; modes of transmission and preventive instructions during the outbreak. These results are in line with the findings of former studies, which revealed that the mass media is the major source of information about COVID19 and SARS epidemics(Lau et al. 2003; Motta Zanin et al. 2020). Whereas, other previous studies reported that the majority of participants referred to social media in order to obtain information concerning COVID-19 which is relatively inconsistent with our finding(Giao et al. 2020; Bhagavathula et al. 2020b; Abdelhafiz et al. 2020; Saqlain et al. 2020; Aker and Mıdık 2020). Moreover, 69.6% of the students reported scientific resources as their source of information, which is due to their easy access to highly recommended medical articles and journals available at the university's library. Notwithstanding that official media and scientific resources were seen to be the main sources of information in 83.6% and 81.5% of students with a good knowledge level, respectively, 57.5% and 40.7% of these students considered media and social media as well a source of information. On the other hand, 75.9% and 70.7 % students with poor knowledge level relied on official media and media, respectively, as a source of information, furthermore, 61.3% and 51% of these students used scientific resources and social media. The difference in information sources contributed to the variety of knowledge levels. Moreover, besides the presented correct and accurate information, unconfirmed information intended to misinform the people can as well be rapidly disseminated via the media and social media. With regards to practices, positive and cautious practices towards the COVID-19 epidemic were carried out by the vast majority of participants, where (76.8%) of the respondents adhered with at least eight practices out of 10, while only (23.2%) displayed implementation for at least three negative practices. Our findings revealed that more than 90% of students avoided crowded places, practiced the appropriate methods of coughing and sneezing, washed their hands with soap and water, did not travel between governorates and reduced their presence in public places during the rapid rise period of the COVID-19 outbreak. Furthermore, a high percentage of the students (79.1%) maintained a safe distance between them and other people. This is attributed to the good knowledge level about the mode of transmission and the belief that personal hygiene is optimal for prevention from the disease, in addition to strict prevention and control measures implemented by the Palestinian government. We found our results encouraging since good hygiene practices, behavioral commitment and social distancing aids in decreasing the transmission rate of COVID 19. These results are comparable with a study performed in China, where the vast majority of the participants held an optimistic attitude towards the COVID-19 epidemic(Zhong et al. 2020), and with other studies, where the participants revealed generally adequate positive practices towards the COVID-19 disease ([CSL STYLE ERROR: reference with no printed form.]; MQ et al. 2020; Al Nsour et al. 2020). Throughout COVID-19 outbreak, results have shown that two-third of participants didn’t wear face masks when out in public, whereas fifth did not maintain physical distancing. Compliance with the pandemic restrictions is essential and crucial in this phase, and failure to adhere to preventive measures – even if by a minority- would only lead to uncontrolled spreading of the disease. Positive practices towards COVID-19 pandemic were found to be significantly associated with the gender and major of the precipitant. Females were found to have less negative practices when compared to males; mainly by avoiding crowded places, practicing coughing and sneezing etiquette, maintaining proper hand hygiene and avoiding traveling between governorates during the rapid rise of the disease. These findings are in line with other studies; which reported association between gender and some positive practices toward COVID 19([CSL STYLE ERROR: reference with no printed form.]; Zhong et al. 2020; Khader et al. 2020). Results have also shown that health care professions students were more compliant with COVID19 restrictions when compared to students of other faculties. Which is comparable to previous studies which investigated KAP towards COVID 19 among participants from a medical and non-medical study group([CSL STYLE ERROR: reference with no printed form.]; Hussain et al. 2020). Regarding the attitudes towards COVID-19, the majority of participants were found to be worried that a family member would get COVID-19 and believed that the prevention measures should be applied by the whole population. This is analogue with multiple previous studies in Egypt(Abdelhafiz et al. 2020) and Pakistan(Mirza et al. 2020). Although many studies reported that a significant percentage of the infected people were young(Chen et al. 2020; Bialek et al. 2020; Escalera-Antezana et al. 2020), our study has shown that less than half of the participants – who are considered young- thought that they can be infected with COVID-19, and nearly one third thought they were invincible from the disease. Based on the results of the study, a molding of knowledge about COVID 19 into a positive attitude was clearly observed. Interesting differences were noted when comparing students with GKL and AKL, where GKL students tended to be less worried that a family member might get COVID-19, and believed that preventative measures should not be practiced solely by older adults and high risk groups, as compared with AKL students. Furthermore, findings showed that participants with GKL were less likely to find themselves invincible from COVID-19 when compared to those with AKL. Concerning the performance of the local authorities, two thirds of participants considered the authorities’ attempts successful in controlling the spread of COVID-19, and around half of them thought that the preventative measures were sufficient. Furthermore, less than a quarter of the participants believed that local authorities have sufficient tools to deal with the confirmed and suspected cases of COVID-19. These findings disagree with other studies among different communities(Zhong et al. 2020; Rugarabamu et al. 2020; Azlan et al. 2020), that might be due to the lack of economic and medical resources and the shortage within the health system compared to developed countries. 5. Conclusion Our results revealed that students had variable knowledge regarding Covid-19 and majority depended on the official media briefs in Palestine as a source of information thus reflecting the need of collaborative efforts between the ministry of health and the media to implement more effective tools that increase the community knowledge level about COVID-19 and the needed preventive measures to be followed, especially that the protective measures were more adhered by health profession students, that may revealed that increase the community knowledge increase they commitment with the preventive measures. With regards to practices, positive and cautious practices towards the COVID-19 epidemic were carried out by the vast majority of participants. Positive practices towards COVID-19 pandemic were found to be significantly associated with the gender where females were found to have less negative practices when compared to males. Furthermore, majority of respondents were worried that a family member might get infected with the virus and considered the preventative measures taken by the Palestinian government at the beginning were sufficient and on timely manner. 6. Limitations The study has potential limitations to be noted. Above all, the participants of the study were students, and this sample of participants is unlikely to be a representative of the general Palestinian population. Also, the study participants volunteered to participate in the study (self- selection bias), thus limiting the generalizability of the study findings. 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Naseef ","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9700-8532","institution":"Pharmacy department, faculty of Pharmacy, Nursing and Health Professions, Birzeit University, Palestine.","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hani","middleName":"A.","lastName":"Naseef","suffix":""},{"id":2737668,"identity":"32168e6f-5e21-49cf-9f61-3cff211d2cca","order_by":1,"name":"Ni'meh Al-Shami","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA8klEQVRIiWNgGAWjYPCCAwwMzMwHH3wAMtnYidfClmw4A6SFmWgtDDxmwjwgNiEt5uzdiR9+/Lkjr9vOlsZs82ubPB8zA+OHjzm4tVj2nN0s2dv2zHDbYeZjj3P7bhu2MTMwS87chluLwY3cDRK8DYcZtx1mSzfO7bnNCNTCxsyLT8v9t5t//vlz2H7bYR4zacue2/aEtdzg3SbNw3Y4EayF4cftRMJazuRus5ZtO5wMdFiyYW/D7eQ2ZsZm/H45fnbzzTd/DttuO3/44IMff27bzm9vPvjhIx4tqICxDUw2EKseBP6QongUjIJRMApGCgAAhTJY5V08qjoAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9452-8871","institution":"Pharmacy department, faculty of Pharmacy, Nursing and Health Professions, Birzeit University, Palestine.","correspondingAuthor":true,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ni'meh","middleName":"","lastName":"Al-Shami","suffix":""},{"id":2737669,"identity":"91fc207d-8a1e-4fc8-be92-c591f6716ee4","order_by":2,"name":"Lilian S. Abu Hadba","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4840-6694","institution":"Pharmacy department, faculty of Pharmacy, Nursing and Health Professions, Birzeit University, Palestine.","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Lilian","middleName":"S. Abu","lastName":"Hadba","suffix":""},{"id":2737670,"identity":"58029b3c-a4c2-41ee-a2a2-304b91efdbba","order_by":3,"name":"Leen A. Humos","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4052-6088","institution":"Pharmacy department, faculty of Pharmacy, Nursing and Health Professions, Birzeit University, Palestine.","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Leen","middleName":"A.","lastName":"Humos","suffix":""},{"id":2737671,"identity":"d4c17845-d8c6-451a-ae98-52b25d07fc96","order_by":4,"name":"Ruba N. Shaheen","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5111-8178","institution":"Pharmacy department, faculty of Pharmacy, Nursing and Health Professions, Birzeit University, Palestine.","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ruba","middleName":"N.","lastName":"Shaheen","suffix":""},{"id":2737672,"identity":"51889c89-12c4-4ac9-89d2-b138888baa0c","order_by":5,"name":"Tanya T. Mitwasi","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5576-2166","institution":"Pharmacy department, faculty of Pharmacy, Nursing and Health Professions, Birzeit University, Palestine.","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Tanya","middleName":"T.","lastName":"Mitwasi","suffix":""},{"id":2737673,"identity":"03d9c7c3-acd1-4aa0-88ea-6878553fcc25","order_by":6,"name":"Lina El -Khairy","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Nutrition and dietetics department, faculty of Pharmacy, Nursing and Health Professions, Birzeit University, Palestine.","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Lina","middleName":"El","lastName":"-Khairy","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2020-09-24 21:17:42","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":true,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"coiExplicitlySet":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-83268/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-83268/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-021-01665-0","type":"published","date":"2021-11-08T15:56:00+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":15318243,"identity":"0439383b-a068-48c2-8bf2-f0754853cbe8","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2021-11-08 15:56:03","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":395231,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-83268/v1/38dae1a5-d829-4ad8-ad85-47acea1fb444.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eKnowledge, attitudes and practices about Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) among Birzeit University students: A cross-sectional study\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[{"header":"1. Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eCoronaviruses are a large family of viruses, which have been known to cause respiratory infections such as the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and the corona virus disease 19 (COVID-19)(WHO 2020; Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia Emergency Response Epidemiology Team 2020). COVID-19 was first discovered during an outbreak in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, which led to thousands of deaths. Consequently, it widely spread throughout the world with especially large outbreaks occurring in South Korea, Italy, Iran, United States of America and many other countries(World Health Organization). By July 8, 2020, the virus had reached more than 150 countries, resulting in approximately twelve million infected people, among which five million recovered and 548.998 had died (WHO 2020a). These alarming levels of spread and severity of the disease have therefore raised the bar for the entire world to manage this stressful crisis and urged the World health organization to officially characterize COVID-19 as a pandemic (WHO/Europe)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConcerning the symptoms of COVID-19, some infected people may not experience any symptoms, whereas others may have mild symptoms. Around 80% of patients recover without needing any special treatment while one out of six patients develop more severe symptoms, including but not limited to difficulty breathing, these patients are most likely to be elderly or with underlying medical conditions, such as high blood pressure, heart problems or diabetes (Ecdc; Wang et al. 2020; Zhang et al. 2020b) Additionally, young people are not invincible against coronavirus; world data have shown that a large number of the patients were young, among which many needed hospitalization (Chen et al. 2020; Bialek et al. 2020; Escalera-Antezana et al. 2020).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn March 5th, 2020, the Palestinian authorities announced the first seven cases in the city of Bethlehem which led to the declaration of a 30-day state of emergency. During this period, further preventative precautions such as quarantine and testing any suspected carriers were undertaken in an attempt to control this pandemic crisis without overwhelming the country\u0026rsquo;s limited financial and healthcare resources. The unavailability of a definitive treatment or vaccine for COVID-19 emphasizes the importance of the non-pharmaceutical protective and preventive measures as the only means of combating this disease.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKnowledge, attitudes, and practices towards COVID-19 among the Palestinian community of immense importance and is critical for the community prevention/control of this Pandemic. The main objectives of this study were to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) regarding COVID-19 among students (undergraduate and postgraduate) at Birzeit University in Palestine.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis study aims to assess the relationship between students\u0026rsquo; different sociodemographic characteristics and its effects on their knowledge level, practices and attitudes towards COVID-19. Moreover, this study evaluates the participants\u0026rsquo; opinions regarding the performance of the local authorities and their trusted source of information during this pandemic.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEvidence-based data from such studies could have an impact on policy decision-makers in the healthcare systems and perhaps help in designing appropriate strategies to improve the awareness and attitudes towards the COVID-19 in order to facilitate managing the outbreak in Palestine.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"2. Material And Methods","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e2.1. Study Design and sample:\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAn observational descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among students (undergraduate and postgraduate) at Birzeit University in the occupied Palestinian territories, between March and April 2020. The targeted respondents were all registered students from different majors (health and non-health professions) at the period of conducting the study, having an ID number and internet services. Any duplication or fabricated in the inserted ID number were excluded.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe data were collected through an online distributed questionnaire starting from the 31\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e March until the 10\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e April 2020, as it is considered the only feasible way for distributing the questionnaire during the forced lockdown. The questionnaire was designed and provided by the Google Forms (Google Inc., USA) under the supervision of an IT department personnel. The total population presented was 14500 students, which is the total number of students registered at Birzeit University. The sample size was 375 as calculated online([CSL STYLE ERROR: reference with no printed form.]) with 95% confidence level and 5% error margin. About 665 students participated in this study. The study was approved by the IRB committee at Faculty of Pharmacy, Nursing and Health Professions, Birzeit University with reference number BZU-PNH-2006.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e2.2. Study tool:\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe questionnaire was formed through a standardized methodology which includes the review of the literature information, group discussion, experts\u0026rsquo; evaluation, pilot study and the validation of the final components of the questionnaire (Ishii et al. 2012; Arora et al. 2017). However, due to the lack of worldwide published literature regarding the evaluation of knowledge, attitudes and practice (KAP) toward COVID 19 among various society districts, the information was obtained from a comprehensive literature review regarding the evaluation of KAP toward MERS and SARS (Mbroh; Lau et al. 2003; Bener and Al-Khal 2004; Kim et al. 2016; Yang and Cho 2017; Al-Hazmi et al. 2018; Asaad et al. 2019; Goni et al. 2019),WHO(WHO Corona-viruses), centers for disease control and prevention (CDC , (COVID-19)) and European center for disease prevention and control (ECDC) websites.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe questionnaire components were reviewed and evaluated by the researchers\u0026rsquo; team on different meetings. The questionnaire was validated by four multidisciplinary experts panel with proven experience in epidemiology and research field in order to receive their input and their critical appraisals regarding the questionnaire\u0026rsquo;s content relevance and appropriateness. Thence, based on experts' feedback, some sectors of the questionnaire were excluded and re-phrasing of certain questions was being considered. Furthermore, a pilot study was distributed among students of different faculties, in order to reveal any drawbacks presented in the questionnaire, where students were requested to fill the questionnaire and give their feedback regarding its clarity, construction, and relevance. Thence, based on students\u0026rsquo; assessment, some adjustments were made and the final draft was formed in Arabic, then translated into English and was finally reviewed.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe final questionnaire was composed of 4 sections to assess the socio-demographics, knowledge, attitudes and practices of the participants. 45 questions were structured as both open and close- ended multiple choice questions. The sociodemographic section consisted of 13 questions regarding gender, age, marital status, major, study year, current place of residence, number of family members, whether any were aged over 60, parents' educational attainment and nature of their work. The second section assessed the participants\u0026rsquo; knowledge of COVID 19 by asking 14 questions about the etiology, host, incubation period, transmission, prevention and control approaches, symptoms, risk group, mortality rate and information sources. The answers were on the basis of yes/ no and an additional option of \u0026ldquo;I don\u0026rsquo;t know\u0026rdquo;. The third section assessed the students\u0026rsquo; attitudes towards COVID 19 using a set of 10 questions with I agree/I don\u0026rsquo;t agree and I don\u0026rsquo;t know as answer options. This section measured the agreement with the following: invincibility against COVID-19, worry that a family member would get the disease, willingness to seek advice as needed and preventive measures applied by the local authorities. The fourth section consisted of 10 questions; 9 of which assessed the students' practice towards COVID 19 and the tenth assessed their smoking habits. The questions evaluated the preventive measures taken at the individual level including: self-hygiene, proper coughing or sneezing methods, wearing face masks, keeping a safe distance, limiting presence at public places, limiting travelling between different governorates and whether they supplied their houses with antipyretics, necessary medications, vitamins and nutritional supplements. The answers were in a frequent manner; always, often, rarely and never.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e2.4. Statistical analysis:\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDescriptive statistics were performed to present data; a knowledge scale was developed from the thirteen questions that identify the participants\u0026rsquo; knowledge about the virus, its symptoms and how to prevent it with internal consistency (Cronbach \u0026alpha;=0.577). Recoding for questions with more than one answer was done, then counting for the correct answers was performed within 32 items, one score was given for each. A scale was developed and recoded into acceptable knowledge level (AKL) scoring less than 26 and good knowledge level (GKL) scoring 26 to 32. Another scale was developed for participants\u0026rsquo; practices; recoding for negative items performed, a count for the positive statements within 10 items was done, scored and recoded into more positive practices (8 to 10 positives) or less positive ones (less than 8).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eChi-square testing with 95% confidence interval was performed to identify the sociodemographic variables associated with the knowledge and practice scales. Then a third Chi-square testing with 95% confidence interval was performed to assess the association between the knowledge level of respondents and their attitudes.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBinary logistic regression analysis was performed to establish the association between knowledge level and more positive practices with the variables that were identified as significant in the bivariate analysis and to identify and control the confounding factors. All data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences, (IBM SPSS Statistics 22).\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"3. Results","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e3.1. socio-demographic characteristics:\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA total of 665 students completed the online questionnaire. The mean age was (20.55\u0026plusmn;3.069) years and 488 (73.4%) were females. 176 (26.5%) of students were from the pharmacy, nursing and health professions faculty and the remainder were from non-medical majors. 379 (59.7%) of the students resided in the middle of the west bank with 333 (50.1%) being city residents. More than half of the students (n=357, 53.7%) were part of a big family consisting of more than 6 members and 126 (18.9%) included members over the age of 60. Additionally, 455 (68.5%) of the students had at least one parent who completed a diploma or higher education with less than 5% of them working in the health sector. (Table 1)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003cstrong\u003eTable 1\u003c/strong\u003e: Socio-demographic characteristics of study participants (N = 655).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ctable border=\"1\"\u003e\n\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" width=\"522\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSocio-demographic characteristics\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNo. n ( %)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"2\" width=\"234\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGender\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMale\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e177 (26.6)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFemale\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e488 (73.4)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"2\" width=\"234\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMarital status\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSingle\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e622 (93.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMarried\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e43 (6.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"8\" width=\"234\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMajor\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eArts\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e109 (16.4)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBusiness and Economics\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e112 (16.8)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eScience\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e53 (8.0)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLaw and Public Administration\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e33 (5.0)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePharmacy, Nursing and Health Professions\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e176 (26.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEducation\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e12 (1.8)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEngineering\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e167 (25.1)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eArts, Music and Design.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3 (0.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"5\" width=\"234\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStudy Year\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFirst\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e174 (26.2)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSecond\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e169 (25.4)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThird\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e141 (21.2)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFourth or more\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e146 (22.0)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePostgraduate\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e35 (5.3)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"4\" width=\"234\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGovernorate\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJerusalem and the occupied Palestinian territory\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e140 (21.1)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNorth of the WB\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e71 (10.7)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMiddle of the WB\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e397 (59.7)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSouth of the WB\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e57 (8.6)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"3\" width=\"234\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlace of residency\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCity\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e333 (50.1)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVillage\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e307 (46.2)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRefugee camps\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e25 (3.8)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"3\" width=\"234\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eParents completed diploma or higher educational level\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNone\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e210 (31.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne of them\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e186 (28.0)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBoth\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e269 (40.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"5\" width=\"234\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMother\u0026rsquo;s work\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHealth sector\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e25 (3.8)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEducation sector\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e138 (20.8)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOffice jobs\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e30 (4.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHousewife\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e426 (64.1)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOther\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e46 (6.9)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"5\" width=\"234\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFather\u0026rsquo;s work\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHealth sector\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e34 (5.1)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEducation sector\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e88 (13.2)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOffice jobs\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e101 (15.2)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUnemployed\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e39 (5.9)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOther\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e403 (60.6)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"2\" width=\"234\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNumber of family members\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSix or less\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e308 (46.3)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMore than six\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e357 (53.7)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"2\" width=\"234\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIncluding a family member over the age of 60\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e126 (18.9)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e539 (81.1)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"2\" width=\"234\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSmoking habits\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSmoker\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e106 (15.9)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNon- smoker\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e559 (84.1)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"5\" width=\"234\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStudents\u0026rsquo; rating their knowledge regarding COVID-19\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVery good\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e173 (26.0)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGood\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e322 (48.4)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAcceptable\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e149 (22.4)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWeak\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e18 (2.8)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"288\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDo not care\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"102\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3 (0.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e3.2. Knowledge:\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOut of 665 respondents, 495(74.4%) rated their own knowledge level regarding COVID-19 as good to very good, however, data analysis revealed that only 275 (41.4%) actually have good knowledge level (GKL) whereas 390 (58.6%) have acceptable knowledge level (AKL).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e97.6% of respondents knew that COVID-19 is a viral infection that affects the respiratory tract system, 95.8% acknowledged that the median incubation period is between 2-14 days and 92.3% responded that it\u0026rsquo;s a curable disease. However, only 46.6% recognized that bats are considered the original host for COVID-19.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRespondents\u0026rsquo; answers towards COVID-19 transmission approaches revealed acknowledging that sneezing or coughing respiratory droplets, touching face, eyes, nose and mouth with contaminated hands,\u0026nbsp;direct contact with patients, and contact with contaminated surfaces as methods of transmission with percentages of 92.3%, 89.6%, 87.2% and 78.5% respectively. Furthermore, 91.6% of respondents knew that approaching pets is not a method for COVID-19 transmission.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConcerning COVID-19 symptoms, fever and dry cough were stated in more than 90% of participants\u0026rsquo; responses, whereas only 56.5% recognized general fatigue as a symptom and 30.4% believed improperly that like flu symptoms and nasal congestion were symptoms.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen asked about COVID-19 high risk groups, over 90% of respondents mentioned elderly, patients with chronic diseases and immune-compromised patients, while only 12% acknowledged that severe obesity is also considered a high risk category.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs for COVID-19 prevention methods, drinking hot beverages and eating garlic, onions and pickles were wrongly believed to be the optimal preventive approaches by 44.2% and 15.3% of the answers, respectively. (Table 2) Furthermore, 12.9% of participants believed that antibiotics is an optimal method for preventing COVID-19 infection, which is not proven at the time of conducting the study. On the other hand, the majority of the participants (91.1%) believed that personal hygiene is an optimal method for preventing COVID-19 infection.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe official media outlets in Palestine, Ministry of Health website and government spokesperson, were the major sources of information about COVID 19 by (79.1%) of the participants. A noticeable percentage (69.6%) of the respondents reported the scientific resources as a source of information followed by media and the social media. (65.1%, 46.8% respectively) (Fig. 1)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTable 2\u003c/strong\u003e: Students\u0026rsquo; knowledge toward COVID-19.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ctable border=\"1\"\u003e\n\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"372\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eStatement\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eYes n(%)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNo n(%)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003edon\u0026rsquo;t know n(%)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"372\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCOVID-19 is an infectious viral disease that affects the respiratory system?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e649 (97.6)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e7 (1.1)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e9 (1.4)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"372\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBats are considered the original host of COVID-19 infections?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e310 (46.6)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e144 (21.7)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e211 (31.7)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"372\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDoes COVID-19 transmitted by touching and approaching pets\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e56 (8.4)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e609 (91.6)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"372\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDoes COVID-19 transmitted by direct contact with patients\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e580 (87.2)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e85 (12.8)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"372\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDoes COVID-19 transmitted by airborne\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e142 (21.4)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e523 (78.6)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"372\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDoes COVID-19 transmitted through respiratory droplets from sneezing or coughing.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e614 (92.3)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e51 (7.7)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"372\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDoes COVID-19 transmitted by contact with contaminated surfaces.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e522 (78.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e143 (21.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"372\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDoes COVID-19 transmitted by touching the face, eyes, nose, and mouth with contaminated hands.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e596 (89.6)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e69 (10.4)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"372\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe median of incubation period for COVID-19 is (2-14) days?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e637 (95.8)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e14 (2.1)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e14 (2.1)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"372\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSore throat is a symptom of COVID-19.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e454 (68.3)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e211 (31.7)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"372\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFever is a symptom of COVID-19.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e602 (90.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e63 (9.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"372\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eProductive cough is a symptom of COVID-19.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e77 (11.6)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e588 (88.4)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"372\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDry cough is a symptom of COVID-19.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e605 (91.0)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e60 (9.0)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"372\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGeneral fatigue is a symptom of COVID-19.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e376 (56.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e289 (43.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"372\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFlu and nasal congestion is a symptom of COVID-19.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e202 (30.4)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e463 (69.6)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"372\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll people infected will develop symptoms of COVID-19\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e69 (10.4)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e538 (80.9)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e58 (8.7)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"372\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA negative primary examination test result of a person suspected of having COVID-19 eliminates the need for quarantine for that person.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e51 (7.7)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e604 (90.8)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e10 (1.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"372\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eElderly are at high risk to develop COVID-19 complications.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e631 (94.9)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e34 (5.1)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"372\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eChildren are at high risk to develop COVID-19 complications.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e189 (28.4)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e476 (71.6)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"372\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePeople with chronic diseases (Hypertension, diabetes, heart disease and respiratory system) are at high risk to develop COVID-19 complications.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e614 (92.3)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e51 (7.7)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"372\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePregnant women are at high risk to develop COVID-19 complications.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e189 (27.7)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e481 (72.3)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"372\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePeople who are immunocompromised (patients receiving chemotherapy, kidneys and organ transplant recipients) are at high risk to develop COVID-19 complications.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e605 (91.0)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e60 (9.0)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"372\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePeople with severe obese are at high risk to develop COVID-19 complications.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e80 (12.0)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e585 (88.0)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"372\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDrinking hot beverages is an optimal method for preventing COVID-19 infection.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e294 (44.2)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e371 (55.8)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"372\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNon-pharmacological precautions for personal hygiene is an optimal method for preventing COVID-19 infection.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e606 (91.1)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e59 (8.9)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"372\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWearing protective masks by healthy people who are not in contact with infected individuals is an optimal method for preventing COVID-19 infection.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e263 (39.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e402 (60.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"372\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWashing the nose and gargling with water is an optimal method for preventing COVID-19 infection.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e369 (55.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e296 (44.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"372\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEating garlic, onions and pickles is an optimal method for preventing COVID-19 infection.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e102 (15.3)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e563 (84.7)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"372\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTaking antibiotics is an optimal method for preventing COVID-19 infection.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e86 (12.9)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e579 (87.1)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"372\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA vaccine for COVID-19 has been developed and is currently available in global markets?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e22 (3.3)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e533 (80.2)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e110 (16.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"372\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCOVID -19 is a curable disease?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e614 (92.3)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e14 (2.1)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e37 (5.6)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"372\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGlobally, the total mortality rate from COVID-19 infections is less than 5%?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e386 (58)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e147 (22.1)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e132 (19.8)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"372\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;What resources do you rely on to obtain information about COVID-19 and how to prevent it?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" width=\"252\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFig 1\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs depicted in (Table 3), logistic regression analysis results affirmed that students\u0026rsquo; extent of knowledge regarding COVID-19 is significantly related to their gender where females manifested lower knowledge levels compared to males (OR= 0.588, P=0.01). Regarding major specialty, a higher knowledge level of COVID-19 was manifested in scientific faculties (OR=1.841, P=0.004) and health professions faculties (OR=3.462, P\u0026lt;0.001) with comparison to literary faculties. Additionally, significant results were obtained with year progression; where students at their fourth year of studying or more were more likely to have GKL (OR=5.562, P\u0026lt;0.001), then second year students (OR= 2.717, P\u0026lt;0.001) and third year (OR= 2.249, p=0.003) compared to first year students. As for place of residency, results showed that refugee camps residents were the least to have GKL (OR=0.235, P= 0.016) compared to city citizens. With regards to parental factors; students with both parents having higher educational attainment were more likely to have GKL (OR= 1.931, P=0.013) compared to their counterparts. Whilst students whose mothers worked in non-health related jobs or were unemployed were less likely to have GKL, (OR=0.332, p=0.03), (OR=0.345, P=0.04) respectively compared to health sector employees.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTable 3\u003c/strong\u003e: Effect of different significant variables on the level of respondents\u0026rsquo; knowledge obtained by binary logistic regression (odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ctable border=\"1\" width=\"684\"\u003e\n\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" width=\"222\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIndependent variable\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAcceptable KL\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGood KL\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ep- value\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"96\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegression coefficient B\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"144\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOR\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(95%CI)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"2\" width=\"114\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGender\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"108\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMale\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e92 (52)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e85 (48)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" width=\"312\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eReference\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"108\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFemale\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e298 (61.1)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e190 (38.9)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.01\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"96\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.53\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"144\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.588 (0.393-0.882)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"2\" width=\"114\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMarital status\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"108\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSingle\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e363 (58.4)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e259 (41.6)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" rowspan=\"2\" width=\"312\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.568 not significant, no regression had done\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"108\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMarried\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e27 (62.8)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e16 (37.2)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"3\" width=\"114\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMajor\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"108\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLiterary faculties\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e195 (72.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e74 (27.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" width=\"312\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eReference\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"108\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eScientific faculties\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e120 (54.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e100 (45.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.004\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"96\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.610\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"144\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.841 (1.215-2.791)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"108\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHealth professions faculties\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e75 (42.6)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e101 (57.4)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ep-value \u0026lt;0.001\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"96\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.242\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"144\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3.462 (2.230-5.375)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"5\" width=\"114\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStudy year\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"108\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFirst\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e136 (78.2)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e38 (21.8)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" width=\"312\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eReference\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"108\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSecond\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e92 (54.4)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e77 (45.6)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ep-value \u0026lt;0.001\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"96\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.0\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"144\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.717 (1.640-4.501)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"108\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThird\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e85 (60.3)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e56 (39.7)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.003\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"96\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.811\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"144\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.249 (1.321-3.831)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"108\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFourth or more\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e56 (38.4)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e90 (61.6)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ep-value \u0026lt;0.001\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"96\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.716\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"144\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e5.562 (3.275-9.448)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"108\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePostgraduate\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e21 (60.0)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e14 (40.0)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.166\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"96\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.602\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"144\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.826 (0.779-4.284)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"4\" width=\"114\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGovernorate\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"108\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJerusalem and the Pt\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e86 (61.4)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e54 (38.6)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" width=\"312\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eReference\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"108\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNorth of the WB\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e48 (67.6)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e23 (42.4)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.122\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"96\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e-0.534\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"144\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.586 (0.298-1.154)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"108\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMiddle of the WB\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e231 (58.2)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e166 (41.8)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.245\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"96\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.269\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"144\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.308 (0.832-2.058)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"108\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSouth of the WB\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e25 (43.9)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e32 (56.1)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.244\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"96\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.419\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"144\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.520 (0.751-3.076)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"3\" width=\"114\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlace of residency\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"108\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCity\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e193 (58)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e140 (42)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" width=\"312\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eReference\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"108\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVillage\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e176 (57.3)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e131 (42.7)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.331\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"96\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.190\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"144\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.210 (0.824-1.776)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"108\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRefugee camps\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e84 (21)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e4 (16)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.016\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"96\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e-1.448\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"144\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.235 (0.072-0.765)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"3\" width=\"114\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eParents completed diploma or higher educational level\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"108\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNone\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e143 (68.1)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e67 (31.9)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" width=\"312\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eReference\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"108\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne of them\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e109 (58.6)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e77 (41.4)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.132\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"96\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.365\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"144\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.440 (0.896-2.315)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"108\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBoth\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e138 (51.3)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e131 (48.7)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.013\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"96\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.658\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"144\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.931 (1.147-3.252)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"3\" width=\"114\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMother\u0026rsquo;s work\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"108\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHealth sector\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e7 (28)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e18 (72)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" width=\"312\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eReference\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"108\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOther sectors\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e122 (57.0)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e92 (43.0)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.03\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"96\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e-1.104\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"144\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.332 (0.123-0.896)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"108\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHousewife\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e261 (61.3)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e165 (38.7)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.04\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"96\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e-1.063\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"144\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.345 (0.125-0.950)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"3\" width=\"114\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFather\u0026rsquo;s work\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"108\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHealth sector\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e17 (50.0)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e17 (50.0)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" rowspan=\"3\" width=\"312\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.145 not significant, no regression had done\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"108\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOther sectors\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e345 (58.3)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e247 (41.7)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"108\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUnemployed\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e28 (71.8)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e11 (28.2)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"2\" width=\"114\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNumber of family members\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"108\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSix or less\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e167 (54.2)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e141 (45.8)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" width=\"312\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eReference\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"108\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMore than six\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e223 (62.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e134 (37.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.128\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"96\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e-0.279\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"144\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.757 (0.529-1.084)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"2\" width=\"114\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIncluding a family members over the age of 60\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"108\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e64 (50.8)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e62 (49.2)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" width=\"312\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eReference\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"108\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e326 (60.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e213 (39.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.68\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"96\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e-0.409\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"144\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.664 (0.428-1.030)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e3.3. Attitudes\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs seen in (Table 4), a higher percentage of respondents (90.7%) were worried that a family member would get COVID-19. 84.1% of them remarkably thought that COVID-19 preventative measures should be applied by everyone regardless of their status. In addition, 96.2% of the participants would seek assistance from the authorities\u0026rsquo; responsible if the person or a family member develops symptoms of COVID-19. As for the practices applied by the government, 96.5% of respondents considered that the preventative measures taken by the Palestinian government at the beginning were sufficient and on timely manner.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTable 4\u003c/strong\u003e: Students\u0026rsquo; attitudes toward COVID- 19:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ctable border=\"1\" width=\"642\"\u003e\n\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"384\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eStatement\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAgree n(%)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDon\u0026rsquo;t agree n(%)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"90\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDon\u0026rsquo;t know n(%)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"384\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAre you worried that a family member might get COVID-19?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e603 (90.7)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e42 (6.3)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"90\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e20 (3.0)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"384\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDo you think that COVID-19 prevention measures should only be applied by older adults and groups most at risk?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e101 (15.2)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e559 (84.1)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"90\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e5 (0.8)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"384\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the event that I or a family member develop symptoms of COVID-19 infection, I will seek advice and assistance from the authorities responsible for providing health services.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e640 (96.2)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e8 (1.2)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"90\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e17 (2.6)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"384\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy perception of someone will change if they contract COVID-19.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e54 (8.1)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e571 (85.9)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"90\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e40 (6.0)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"384\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDo you think that the practice of limiting the movement of individuals between countries and imposing strict quarantine on travelers will limit the transmission and spread of COVID-19 between individuals?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e642 (96.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e13 (2.0)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"90\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e10 (1.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"384\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDo you think that the attempts of the local authorities at your place of residence will succeed in curbing the spread of COVID-19?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e442 (66.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e102 (15.3)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"90\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e121 (18.2)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"384\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDo you think that the local authorities have sufficient tools to deal with confirmed and suspected cases of (Covid-19)?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e118 (17.7)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e397 (59.7)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"90\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e150 (22.6)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"384\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDo you think that the preventative measures that were taken by the Palestinian government were early?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e267 (40.2)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e355 (53.4)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"90\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e43 (6.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"384\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDo you think that the preventative measures taken by the Palestinian government in the beginning were sufficient?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e348 (52.3)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e235 (35.3)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"90\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e82 (12.3)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"384\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDo you think you are invincible from COVID-19?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e180 (27.1)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e290 (43.6)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"90\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e195 (29.3)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTable 5 shows that although more than 90% of respondents were worried that a family member might get COVID-19, students with GKL were found to be significantly less likely to be worried (8.7%, p=0.007). They believed that preventative measures should not be practiced solely by older adults and groups most at risk (91.3%, p \u0026lt;0.001) in comparison to students with AKL (4.6%, 79.0% respectively). Likewise, participants with GKL were less likely to find themselves invincible from COVID-19 (56.7%, p\u0026lt;0.001) as to those with AKL (34.4%). Students with GKL were significantly more likely to believe that the attempts of the local authorities will not succeed in curbing the spread of COVID 19 (19.3%) and they did not have sufficient tools to deal with the pandemic (66.5%) as compared to students with AKL (12.6 % and 54.9% respectively). In addition, students with GKL were significantly more likely to believe that the preventive measures taken by the Palestinian government were neither early nor sufficient (54.9% and 38.2%) in comparison to students with AKL (52.3% and 33.3% respectively).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTable 5\u003c/strong\u003e: Distribution of different students\u0026rsquo; attitudes measures with their KL toward COVID-19\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ctable border=\"1\" width=\"636\"\u003e\n\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" width=\"427\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eStatement\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"77\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAcceptable KL n(%)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGood KL n(%)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"60\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eP- value\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"3\" width=\"342\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAre you worried that a family member might get COVID-19?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"85\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"77\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e355 (91.0)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e248 (90.2)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"3\" width=\"60\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.007\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"85\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"77\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e18 (4.6)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e24 (8.7)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"85\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDon\u0026rsquo;t know\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"77\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e17 (4.4)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3 (1.1)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"3\" width=\"342\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDo you think that COVID-19 prevention measures should only be applied by older adults and groups most at risk?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"85\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"77\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e78 (20.0)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e23 (8.4)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"3\" width=\"60\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ep-value \u0026lt;0.001\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"85\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"77\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e308 (79.0)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e251 (91.3)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"85\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDon\u0026rsquo;t know\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"77\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e4 (1.0)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1 (0.4)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"3\" width=\"342\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the event that I or a family member develop symptoms of COVID-19 infection, I will seek advice and assistance from the authorities responsible for providing health services.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"85\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"77\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e376 (96.4)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e264 (96.0)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"3\" width=\"60\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.099\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"85\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"77\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2 (0.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e6 (2.2)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"85\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDon\u0026rsquo;t know\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"77\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e12 (3.1)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e5 (1.8)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"3\" width=\"342\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy perception of someone will change if they contract COVID-19.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"85\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"77\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e41 (10.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e13 (4.7)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"3\" width=\"60\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.006\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"85\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"77\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e321 (82.3)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e250 (90.9)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"85\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDon\u0026rsquo;t know\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"77\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e28 (7.2)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e12 (4.4)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"3\" width=\"342\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDo you think that the practice of limiting the movement of individuals between countries and imposing strict quarantine on travelers will limit the transmission and spread of COVID-19 between individuals?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"85\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"77\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e373 (95.6)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e269 (97.8)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"3\" width=\"60\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.301\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"85\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"77\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e10 (2.6)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3 (1.1)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"85\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDon\u0026rsquo;t know\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"77\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e7 (1.8)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3 (1.1)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"3\" width=\"342\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDo you think that the attempts of the local authorities at your place of residence will succeed in curbing the spread of COVID-19?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"85\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"77\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e258 (66.2)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e184 (66.9)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"3\" width=\"60\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.008\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"85\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"77\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e49 (12.6)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e53 (19.3)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"85\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDon\u0026rsquo;t know\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"77\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e83 (21.3)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e38 (13.8)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"3\" width=\"342\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDo you think that the local authorities have sufficient tools to deal with confirmed and suspected cases of (Covid-19)?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"85\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"77\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e75 (19.2)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e43 (15.6)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"3\" width=\"60\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.009\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"85\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"77\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e214 (54.9)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e183 (66.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"85\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDon\u0026rsquo;t know\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"77\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e101 (25.9)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e49 (17.8)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"3\" width=\"342\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDo you think that the preventive measures that were taken by the Palestinian government were early?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"85\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"77\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e152 (39.0)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e115 (41.8)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"3\" width=\"60\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.019\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"85\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"77\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e204 (52.3)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e151 (54.9)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"85\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDon\u0026rsquo;t know\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"77\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e34 (8.7)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e9 (3.3)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"3\" width=\"342\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDo you think that the preventive measures taken by the Palestinian government in the beginning were sufficient?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"85\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"77\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e200 (51.3)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e148 (53.8)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"3\" width=\"60\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.015\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"85\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"77\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e130 (33.3)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e105 (38.2)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"85\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDon\u0026rsquo;t know\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"77\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e60 (15.4)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e22 (8.0)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"3\" width=\"342\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDo you think you are invincible from COVID-19?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"85\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"77\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e124 (31.8)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e56 (20.4)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"3\" width=\"60\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ep-value \u0026lt;0.001\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"85\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"77\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e134 (34.4)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e156 (56.7)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"85\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDon\u0026rsquo;t know\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"77\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e132 (33.8)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"72\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e63 (22.9)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e3.4. Practices\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith regard to the ten positive practices (PP) abided by the individuals for self and others\u0026rsquo; safety, table 6 shows that adherence with at least eight practices was observed in 511 (76.8%) of the respondents, these include: washing hands and using proper hygiene (97.0%), practicing cough etiquette (95.9%), avoiding public places and maintaining a safe distance between individuals with percentages of 93.5% and 79.1%. Whereas, 154 (23.2%) displayed implementation for at least three negative practices. Concerning smoking habits, respondents reported smoking; less frequently (5.3%), same frequency (6.5%), more frequently (2.4%) and cessation (1.8%). (\u003cstrong\u003eFig. 2\u003c/strong\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTable 6\u003c/strong\u003e: Students\u0026rsquo; practices toward COVID-19\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ctable border=\"1\"\u003e\n\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"456\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eStatement\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOften or more n(%)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRarely or less n(%)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"456\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter the Palestinian government declared a state of emergency, were you committed to washing your hands with soap and water and using disinfectants on a regular basis? (Positive practice)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e645 (97.0)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e20 (3.0)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"456\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter the Palestinian government declared a state of emergency, did you practice the proper methods of coughing and sneezing etiquette? (Positive practice)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e638 (95.9)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e27 (4.1)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"456\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter the Palestinian government declared a state of emergency, did you wear a face mask when you left the house? (Negative practice)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e204 (30.7)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e461 (69.3)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"456\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter the Palestinian government declared a state of emergency, were you in places where people gathered? negative practice)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e38 (5.7)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e627 (94.3)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"456\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter the Palestinian government declared a state of emergency, did you travel between governorates? (negative practice)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e23 (3.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e642 (96.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"456\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter the Palestinian government declared a state of emergency, did you reduce your presence in public places and adhere to the state of emergency? (Positive practice)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e622 (93.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e43 (6.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"456\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter the Palestinian government declared a state of emergency, did you maintain a safe distance between you and the individuals around you? (Positive practice)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e526 (79.1)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e139 (20.9)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"456\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter the Palestinian government declared a state of emergency, did you supply your home with antipyretics and necessary medications? (Positive practice)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e363 (54.6)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e302 (45.4)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"456\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter the Palestinian government declared a state of emergency, did you supply your home with vitamins and nutritional supplements? (Positive practice)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e365 (54.9)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e300 (45.1)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"456\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter the Palestinian government declared a state of emergency, were your smoking habits affected by the emerging Corona virus (Covid-19)?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" width=\"168\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFig. 2\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRegarding the different variables affecting practices towards COVID-19, and based on data obtained by binary logistic regression as presented in (table 7), numbers showed that females had less negative practices compared to males (OR= 0.323, P\u0026lt;0.001). Other factors influencing the respondents\u0026rsquo; practices were found to be their major and study year. Negative practices were less promoted by health professions faculty participants (OR= 0.631, P=0.083)) compared to students from Literary faculties, whereas postgraduates tended to have less positive practices (OR= 3.362, P=0.004) compared with students at their first year, while no significant differences in practices were found between undergraduates at their different studying years. Moreover, among the variables having an impact on practices was the governorate to which the respondents belong, where middle of the WB revealed the lowest adherence with negative practices (OR= 0.512, p=0.006) compared with students from Jerusalem and the OPT.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTable 7\u003c/strong\u003e: Effect of different significant variables on positive practices of respondents obtained by binary logistic regression (odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ctable border=\"1\" width=\"666\"\u003e\n\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"2\" width=\"234\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIndependent variable\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMore PP\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003en(%)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLess PP\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003en(%)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"60\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ep- value\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegression coefficient B\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"132\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOR\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(95%CI)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"2\" width=\"108\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGender\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"126\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMale\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e107 (60.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e70 (39.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" width=\"270\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eReference\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"126\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFemale\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e404 (82.8)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e84 (17.2)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"60\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ep-value \u0026lt;o.oo1\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e-1.130\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"132\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.323 (0.212-0.491)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"3\" width=\"108\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMajor\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"126\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLiterary faculties\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e201 (74.7)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e68 (25.3)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" width=\"270\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eReference\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"126\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eScientific faculties\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e163 (74.1)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e57 (25.9)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"60\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.834\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e-0.048\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"132\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.953 (0.607-1.497)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"126\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHealth professions faculties\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e147 (83.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e29 (16.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"60\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.083\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e-0.461\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"132\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.631 (0.375- 1.062)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"5\" width=\"108\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStudy year\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"126\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFirst\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e136 (78.2)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e38 (21.8)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" width=\"270\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eReference\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"126\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSecond\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e135 (79.9)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e34 (20.1)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"60\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.567\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e-0.162\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"132\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.850 (0.488-1.481)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"126\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThird\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e105 (74.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e36 (25.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"60\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.754\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.089\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"132\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.094 (0.625-1.912)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"126\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFourth or more\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e117 (80.1)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e29 (19.9)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"60\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.378\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e-0.259\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"132\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.771 (0.433-1.374)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"126\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePostgraduate\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e18 (51.4)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e17 (48.6)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"60\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.004\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.213\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"132\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3.362 (1.458-7.755)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"4\" width=\"108\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGovernorate\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"126\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJerusalem and the oPt\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e99 (70.7)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e41 (29.3)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" width=\"270\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eReference\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"126\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNorth of the WB\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e47 (66.2)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e24 (33.8)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"60\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.849\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e-0.065\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"132\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.937 (0.480- 1.830)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"126\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMiddle of the WB\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e322 (81.1)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e75 (18.9)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"60\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.006\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e-0.669\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"132\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.512 (0.317- 0.828)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"126\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSouth of the WB\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e43 (75.4)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e14 (24.6)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"60\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.144\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e-0.583\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"132\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.558 (0.255- 1.221)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"3\" width=\"108\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlace of residency\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"126\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCity\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e257 (77.2)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e76 (22.8)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" rowspan=\"3\" width=\"270\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.298 not significant, no regression had done\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"126\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVillage\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e238 (77.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e69 (22.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"126\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRefugee camps\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e16 (64.0)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e9 (36.0)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"3\" width=\"108\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eParents completed diploma or higher educational level\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"126\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNone\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e160 (76.2)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e50 (23.8)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" rowspan=\"3\" width=\"270\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.577 not significant, no regression had done\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"126\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne of them\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e139 (74.7)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e47 (25.3)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"126\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBoth\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e212 (78.8)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e57 (21.2)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"3\" width=\"108\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMother\u0026rsquo;s work\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"126\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHealth sector\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e19 (76.0)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e6 (24.0)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" rowspan=\"3\" width=\"270\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.329 not significant, no regression had done\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"126\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOther sectors\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e172 (80.4)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e42 (19.6)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"126\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHousewife\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e320 (75.1)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e106 (24.9)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"3\" width=\"108\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFather\u0026rsquo;s work\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"126\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHealth sector\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e27 (79.4)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e7 (20.6)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" rowspan=\"3\" width=\"270\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.146 not significant, no regression had done\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"126\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOther sectors\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e459 (77.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e133 (22.5)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"126\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUnemployed\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e25 (64.1)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e14 (35.9)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"2\" width=\"108\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNumber of family members\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"126\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSix or less\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e234 (76.0)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e74 (24.0)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" rowspan=\"2\" width=\"270\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.622 not significant, no regression had done\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"126\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMore than six\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e277 (77.6)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e80 (22.4)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"2\" width=\"108\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIncluding a family members over the age of 60\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"126\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e91 (72.2)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e35 (27.8)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" rowspan=\"2\" width=\"270\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.172 not significant, no regression had done\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"126\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e420 (77.9)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e119 (22.1)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd rowspan=\"2\" width=\"108\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKnowledge level\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"126\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAcceptable\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e294 (75.4)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e96 (24.6)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\" rowspan=\"2\" width=\"270\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.289 not significant, no regression had done\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"126\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGood\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"84\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e217 (78.9)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd width=\"78\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e58 (21.1)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e"},{"header":"4. Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eOur findings indicate that although less than half of the participants have a good knowledge level regarding COVID-19, none of the participants was totally unaware of the disease. This could be attributed to conducting the study early on the outbreak in Palestine and the diverse media coverage of COVID-19 in concurrence with the state of emergency in the country. The relatively low percentage of participants with a good knowledge level in this study is in line with findings of a study conducted among health care workers which reported that Knowledge and perceptions of COVID-19 varied across different categories of health care workers but in general the participants had a poor knowledge level(Bhagavathula et al. 2020a). Nevertheless, the percentage of participants with a good knowledge level is lower when compared to studies conducted among different segments of the society against MERS(Kharma et al. 2015; Elrggal et al. 2018) and against COVID 19(Zhong et al. 2020; Wolf et al. 2020; 2020; Zhang et al. 2020a) where the participants have claimed good knowledge regarding transmission, symptoms and treatment of COVID-19.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe level of knowledge varied depending on the type of question. For example; almost all of respondents knew that COVID-19 is a viral infection that affects the respiratory tract system and majority of them knew the methods of transmission and believed that personal hygiene is the optimal method of preventing COVID-19. However, some practices such as drinking hot beverages, gargling with water and washing the nose were wrongly believed to be preventative. In addition, around eighth of the participants believed that antibiotics were an optimal method of prevention; more than half of these participants were from literary faculties.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe students from health professions faculties achieved a knowledge level higher than their counterparts\u0026rsquo;. This could be attributed to these students taking various health related courses, as well as their involvement in public health campaigns which in turn enable them to have a better understanding of potentially epidemic infectious diseases such as COVID 19. These findings are consistent with previous studies which reported that students from Health Colleges had significantly better knowledge than others(Alzoubi et al. 2020; White et al. 2020), and oppose what was concluded in a study conducted in Jordan where no significant difference between the mean of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice level was found among medical and non-medical students(Alzoubi et al. 2020). In accordance with a study conducted in Uganda(Olum et al. 2020), this study reported that females manifested lower knowledge levels compared to males. Our results are inconsistent with prior studies which reported that females had a significantly higher score than males(Al-Hazmi et al. 2018; Zhong et al. 2020; 2020) and one study which reported no significant correlation of gender and specialty with both knowledge and attitude(MQ et al. 2020).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt\u0026rsquo;s noteworthy that despite Facebook being the most social media application used by students in Palestine, official media including; The Ministry of Health\u0026rsquo;s website, Government spokesperson and the scientific resources were found to be the most important sources of information amongst students. This is attributed to the extremely active media coverage regarding COVID 19 in Palestine, where the official government spokesman and the Minister of Health held two press conferences each day on national TV channels concerning the latest updates about COVID 19 in Palestine, as well as relatable information regarding this disease, such as; modes of transmission and preventive instructions during the outbreak. These results are in line with the findings of former studies, which revealed that the mass media is the major source of information about COVID19 and SARS epidemics(Lau et al. 2003; Motta Zanin et al. 2020). Whereas, other previous studies reported that the majority of participants referred to social media in order to obtain information concerning COVID-19 which is relatively inconsistent with our finding(Giao et al. 2020; Bhagavathula et al. 2020b; Abdelhafiz et al. 2020; Saqlain et al. 2020; Aker and Mıdık 2020). Moreover, 69.6% of the students reported scientific resources as their source of information, which is due to their easy access to highly recommended medical articles and journals available at the university's library.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNotwithstanding that official media and scientific resources were seen to be the main sources of information in 83.6% and 81.5% of students with a good knowledge level, respectively, 57.5% and 40.7% of these students considered media and social media as well a source of information. On the other hand, 75.9% and 70.7 % students with poor knowledge level relied on official media and media, respectively, as a source of information, furthermore, 61.3% and 51% of these students used scientific resources and social media. The difference in information sources contributed to the variety of knowledge levels. Moreover, besides the presented correct and accurate information, unconfirmed information intended to misinform the people can as well be rapidly disseminated via the media and social media.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith regards to practices, positive and cautious practices towards the COVID-19 epidemic were carried out by the vast majority of participants, where (76.8%) of the respondents adhered with at least eight practices out of 10, while only (23.2%) displayed implementation for at least three negative practices. Our findings revealed that more than 90% of students avoided crowded places, practiced the appropriate methods of coughing and sneezing, washed their hands with soap and water, did not travel between governorates and reduced their presence in public places during the rapid rise period of the COVID-19 outbreak. Furthermore, a high percentage of the students (79.1%) maintained a safe distance between them and other people. This is attributed to the good knowledge level about the mode of transmission and the belief that personal hygiene is optimal for prevention from the disease, in addition to strict prevention and control measures implemented by the Palestinian government. We found our results encouraging since good hygiene practices, behavioral commitment and social distancing aids in decreasing the transmission rate of COVID 19. These results are comparable with a study performed in China, where the vast majority of the participants held an optimistic attitude towards the COVID-19 epidemic(Zhong et al. 2020), and with other studies, where the participants revealed generally adequate positive practices towards the COVID-19 disease ([CSL STYLE ERROR: reference with no printed form.]; MQ et al. 2020; Al Nsour et al. 2020).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThroughout COVID-19 outbreak, results have shown that two-third of participants didn\u0026rsquo;t wear face masks when out in public, whereas fifth did not maintain physical distancing. Compliance with the pandemic restrictions is essential and crucial in this phase, and failure to adhere to preventive measures \u0026ndash; even if by a minority- would only lead to uncontrolled spreading of the disease. Positive practices towards COVID-19 pandemic were found to be significantly associated with the gender and major of the precipitant. Females were found to have less negative practices when compared to males; mainly by avoiding crowded places, practicing coughing and sneezing etiquette, maintaining proper hand hygiene and avoiding traveling between governorates during the rapid rise of the disease. These findings are in line with other studies; which reported association between gender and some positive practices toward COVID 19([CSL STYLE ERROR: reference with no printed form.]; Zhong et al. 2020; Khader et al. 2020). Results have also shown that health care professions students were more compliant with COVID19 restrictions when compared to students of other faculties. Which is comparable to previous studies which investigated KAP towards COVID 19 among participants from a medical and non-medical study group([CSL STYLE ERROR: reference with no printed form.]; Hussain et al. 2020).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRegarding the attitudes towards COVID-19, the majority of participants were found to be worried that a family member would get COVID-19 and believed that the prevention measures should be applied by the whole population. This is analogue with multiple previous studies in Egypt(Abdelhafiz et al. 2020) and Pakistan(Mirza et al. 2020). Although many studies reported that a significant percentage of the infected people were young(Chen et al. 2020; Bialek et al. 2020; Escalera-Antezana et al. 2020), our study has shown that less than half of the participants \u0026ndash; who are considered young- thought that they can be infected with COVID-19, and nearly one third thought they were invincible from the disease. Based on the results of the study, a molding of knowledge about COVID 19 into a positive attitude was clearly observed. Interesting differences were noted when comparing students with GKL and AKL, where GKL students tended to be less worried that a family member might get COVID-19, and believed that preventative measures should not be practiced solely by older adults and high risk groups, as compared with AKL students. Furthermore, findings showed that participants with GKL were less likely to find themselves invincible from COVID-19 when compared to those with AKL.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConcerning the performance of the local authorities, two thirds of participants considered the authorities\u0026rsquo; attempts successful in controlling the spread of COVID-19, and around half of them thought that the preventative measures were sufficient. Furthermore, less than a quarter of the participants believed that local authorities have sufficient tools to deal with the confirmed and suspected cases of COVID-19. These findings disagree with other studies among different communities(Zhong et al. 2020; Rugarabamu et al. 2020; Azlan et al. 2020), that might be due to the lack of economic and medical resources and the shortage within the health system compared to developed countries.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"5. Conclusion","content":"\u003cp\u003eOur results revealed that students had variable knowledge regarding Covid-19 and majority depended on the official media briefs in Palestine as a source of information thus reflecting the need of collaborative efforts between the ministry of health and the media to implement more effective tools that increase the community knowledge level about COVID-19 and the needed preventive measures to be followed, especially that the protective measures were more adhered by health profession students, that may revealed that increase the community knowledge increase they commitment with the preventive measures. With regards to practices, positive and cautious practices towards the COVID-19 epidemic were carried out by the vast majority of participants. Positive practices towards COVID-19 pandemic were found to be significantly associated with the gender where females were found to have less negative practices when compared to males. Furthermore, majority of respondents were worried that a family member might get infected with the virus and considered the preventative measures taken by the Palestinian government at the beginning were sufficient and on timely manner.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"6. Limitations","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe study has potential limitations to be noted. Above all, the participants of the study were students, and this sample of participants is unlikely to be a representative of the general Palestinian population. Also, the study participants volunteered to participate in the study (self- selection bias), thus limiting the generalizability of the study findings. Moreover, the collected data was self-reported and depended on the participants' integrity and recall ability; thus, might be subjected to recall bias. Taking all the above mentioned limitations into consideration, more studies should be conducted in the future to evaluate the knowledge, practices and attitudes toward COVID-19 among different groups of society.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDATA AVAILABILITY: \u003c/strong\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eThe data used to support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCONFLICT OF INTEREST:\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cbr /\u003eThe authors state that they do not present any conflict of interests in the present research.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFUNDING:\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cbr /\u003eNo funding sources.\u003cbr /\u003e\u0026emsp;\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003cp\u003eAbdelhafiz AS, Mohammed Z, Ibrahim ME, et al (2020) Knowledge, Perceptions, and Attitude of Egyptians Towards the Novel Coronavirus Disease\u0026nbsp;(COVID-19). Journal of Community Health 1\u0026ndash;10. doi: 10.1007/s10900-020-00827-7\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAker S, Mıdık \u0026Ouml; (2020) The Views of Medical Faculty Students in Turkey Concerning the COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of Community Health 1. doi: 10.1007/s10900-020-00841-9\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAl-Hazmi A, Gosadi I, Somily A, et al (2018) Knowledge, attitude and practice of secondary schools and university students toward Middle East Respiratory Syndrome epidemic in Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional study. Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences 25:572\u0026ndash;577. doi: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2016.01.032\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAl Nsour M, Khader Y, Al Serouri A, et al (2020) Awareness and preparedness of Field Epidemiology Training Program graduates in the Eastern Mediterranean Region to respond to COVID-19: A cross-section study. 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JAMA - Journal of the American Medical Association. doi: 10.1001/jama.2020.1585\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhite MS, Omer DM, Mohammad DGN (2020) Knowledge, Attitude and Practice on Prevention of Airborne and Droplet Infections During the Outbreak of Corona Virus among the College Students in University of Bisha, Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Contemporary Research and Review 11:20773\u0026ndash;20776\u0026ndash;20773\u0026ndash;20776. doi: 10.15520/IJCRR.V11I04.802\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWHO/Europe Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak - WHO announces COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic. https://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/health-emergencies/coronavirus-covid-19/news/news/2020/3/who-announces-covid-19-outbreak-a-pandemic. 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Accessed 3 Apr 2020a\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e(2020) Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Associated with COVID-19 among University Students: a Cross-Sectional Survey in China. doi: 10.21203/RS.3.RS-21185/V1\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKnowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Among University Students in Relation to Dengue Fever: A Multi-Center Study Across Vietnamese Regions - PubMed. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31369540/. Accessed 5 Jun 2020b\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e(No Title). https://www.ejgm.co.uk/download/knowledge-attitude-and-preventive-practices-toward-covid-19-among-bangladeshi-internet-users-8223.pdf. Accessed 5 Jun 2020c\u003c/p\u003e\n"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Coronavirus disease 19, COVID-19, Knowledge, Awareness, Attitudes, Practices, Palestine, Birzeit University.","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-83268/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-83268/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAim\u003c/strong\u003e: COVID-19 the novel corona virus that has been characterized as a pandemic; as it spreads all over the world and has so far infected more than 20 million worldwide. In Palestine, the first seven cases were documented on March 5\u003csup\u003eth\u003c/sup\u003e, 2020 followed by the declaration of the state of emergency. This study aimed to assess knowledge, attitudes and practices toward COVID-19 among Birzeit University students.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSubject and methods\u003c/strong\u003e: A cross sectional study was carried out, a questionnaire was developed based on the WHO, CDC, ECDC recommendations. The questionnaire was distributed online and filled by Birzeit University students. Chi-square testing was performed to check for significant association between KAP and different sociodemographic variables. Binary logistic regression performed to identify and control the confounding factors. Data were analyzed using SPSS (version 22).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eResults\u003c/strong\u003e: A total of 665 students have completed the online questionnaire. The mean age was (20.55±3.069) years. Multivariate analysis revealed that males, students from health professions and scientific faculties and those with highly educated parents had manifested a good knowledge level (GKL) about Covid -19. Regarding students’ practices, less negative practices were prompted by students from health professions faculty and the students living at the middle governorate of Palestine compared to north, south and Jerusalem dwellers. With regards to the practices, the vast majority of the participants held a positive and very cautious practice towards the COVID-19 epidemic.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConclusion\u003c/strong\u003e: Our results revealed that students had variable knowledge regarding Covid-19 and the vast majority depended on the official media briefs in Palestine as a source of information. With regards to practices, positive and cautious practices towards the COVID-19 epidemic were carried out by the vast majority of participants.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Knowledge, attitudes and practices about Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) among Birzeit University students: A cross-sectional study","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2020-09-29 14:19:32","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-83268/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":1}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"d3f332f0-7960-46f2-9351-4d2317ae236f","owner":[],"postedDate":"September 29th, 2020","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[{"id":607416,"name":"Epidemiology"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2021-11-08T15:56:00+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-83268","link":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-021-01665-0","journal":{"identity":"journal-of-public-health","isVorOnly":false,"title":"Journal of Public Health"},"publishedOn":"2021-11-08 15:56:00","publishedOnDateReadable":"November 8th, 2021"},"versionCreatedAt":"2020-09-29 14:19:32","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1007/s10389-021-01665-0","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-021-01665-0","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-83268","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-83268","identity":"rs-83268","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"-HB7Z8yhvgn0wM9Nzuekk","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}