Ebola Awareness Among Medical Students in Uganda

Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) is a rare but very serious illness that can affect both humans and certain animals like monkeys and fruit bats. It is caused by a type of virus known as a filovirus. There are six known types of this virus, with names that are a mouthful, such as Zaire ebolavirus and Sudan ebolavirus. Don’t worry; you don’t need to memorize those names for a trivia night.

#How Does Ebola Spread?

The way Ebola spreads is quite direct. It usually starts when someone comes into contact with infected animals, which is not exactly the kind of petting zoo experience you want. If you’re around someone infected, the virus can spread through direct contact with their blood or other bodily fluids. So, if you ever thought about starting a “blood brother” pact, maybe reconsider.

#What Are the Symptoms?

EVD shows up with symptoms that are pretty alarming. People often experience fever, fatigue, sore throat, stomach issues, and sometimes unexplained bleeding. Not your typical flu symptoms, right? The first recorded cases were in 1976, and since then, there have been several outbreaks, mainly in Africa.

#Recent Outbreaks

The most recent outbreak occurred in Uganda, started by Sudan ebolavirus, which caused a significant number of infections and deaths. Outbreaks have been reported in various African countries, and there have even been rare cases reported in places as far away as Europe and the USA.

#Uganda's Health Challenge

Uganda has seen sporadic outbreaks since 2000. The most recent was between August and November 2022, where there were 164 reported cases, with 77 fatalities. Sadly, health care workers were also affected, which is a big concern. After dealing with COVID-19, Uganda’s health system was already stretched thin, losing many health workers to that pandemic.

#Medical Students and Ebola Knowledge

Most studies regarding knowledge and attitudes toward Ebola have focused on experienced health care workers. However, the medical students who are our future doctors might be missing from this conversation. It's important to know how much they understand about EVD since they’ll be on the front lines one day.

#Study Overview

We conducted a study at Makerere University in Uganda. The school is among the top medical schools in Africa and has about 4,000 students. Our focus was on medical students who were in their clinical years-those already doing hospital rotations. We wanted to find out what they knew, how they felt, and what they do regarding EVD.

#Study Participants

We aimed to involve medical students who are currently studying to be doctors, dentists, and nurses. After getting consent, we sent out a questionnaire via WhatsApp. Out of 391 students we approached, 339 agreed to participate. It's pretty clear that medical students are social media savvy!

#What Did We Find?

#Knowledge Levels

When we looked at the knowledge scores of the students, we found an average score of 62.2%. That’s not too shabby, but it’s also not an A+. About 13.6% of students scored well enough to be considered knowledgeable. Interestingly, female participants scored a bit higher than males, but the difference wasn't big enough to make headlines.

#Where Did the Knowledge Come From?

The students mainly learned about EVD from news broadcasts, social media, and government health sites. So, if you think scrolling through Twitter is a waste of time, just remember, it might save a life someday!

#Attitudes Toward EVD

When it came to attitudes, the average score was 4 out of 5, but here’s the catch: only 10.9% of students had a positive attitude towards EVD. A significant number said they wouldn’t want to treat a patient with EVD. Go figure! While most agreed that it’s a serious disease, many seemed a little hesitant to jump into action.

#Preventive Practices

Now onto practices regarding EVD. A little more than a third of the students-32.7%-had good practices in place, which isn’t exactly crowd-pleasing news. However, many reported washing hands regularly and wearing gloves when dealing with patients. But, more troublingly, 54.9% mentioned avoiding patients showing symptoms of EVD. Talk about dodging responsibility!

#Where Can We Improve?

The findings show room for improvement in knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to EVD among medical students. If these students are going to be our future health care providers, we need to ensure they're better prepared. Many also mentioned a need for more training on handling outbreaks. After all, you don’t want your future doctor to be Googling symptoms while you're in dire need!

#The Importance of Training

Proper training can help turn these students into knowledgeable professionals who are not only aware of EVD but also confident dealing with it. An informed healthcare worker can save lives; you just can't have them spinning in circles when faced with a real outbreak.

#Final Thoughts

The study clearly shows that while medical students at Makerere University have some awareness of EVD, there is a noticeable gap in thorough understanding and readiness. These students are our future healthcare heroes, and it’s vital that they are well-armed with knowledge, positive attitudes, and effective practices.

So, here’s hoping for more training sessions, workshops, and perhaps a health education campaign on EVD. Let's keep those student doctors ready to face whatever comes their way. Who knows? That might just save the day when the next outbreak pops up!