tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Public Health. 2010 May 24. [Epub ahead of print]
Influence of country of study on student responsiveness to the H1N1 pandemic.
Griffiths SM, Wong AH, Kim JH, Yung TK, Lau JT.
School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: University students, both travelling abroad on holiday or exchange students entering a country, can serve as mobile carriers of infectious diseases during a pandemic, and thus require special attention when considering preventive measures. The objectives of this study were to evaluate student compliance and opinions on preventive measures of a university before and during an H1N1 influenza pandemic, and to explore environmental and behavioural factors that might contribute towards compliance. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional, self-administered questionnaire. METHODS: Local and foreign students attending an international summer school programme were invited to participate in a self-administered survey. RESULTS: Respondents complied with most of the preventive measures, excluding website viewing and mask wearing. Significant differences in compliance and perceived necessity were found amongst students from Singapore, Hong Kong and the USA. Singaporean students were significantly more likely to comply with all measures and consume antiviral medication in response to the pandemic than students studying in the US. CONCLUSIONS: Students' responses towards university pandemic measures were largely positive, but sensitivity towards these measures varied between groups by country of study. This should be considered in further comparative studies. Copyright ? 2010 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
PMID: 20510428 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20510428
Influence of country of study on student responsiveness to the H1N1 pandemic.
Griffiths SM, Wong AH, Kim JH, Yung TK, Lau JT.
School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: University students, both travelling abroad on holiday or exchange students entering a country, can serve as mobile carriers of infectious diseases during a pandemic, and thus require special attention when considering preventive measures. The objectives of this study were to evaluate student compliance and opinions on preventive measures of a university before and during an H1N1 influenza pandemic, and to explore environmental and behavioural factors that might contribute towards compliance. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional, self-administered questionnaire. METHODS: Local and foreign students attending an international summer school programme were invited to participate in a self-administered survey. RESULTS: Respondents complied with most of the preventive measures, excluding website viewing and mask wearing. Significant differences in compliance and perceived necessity were found amongst students from Singapore, Hong Kong and the USA. Singaporean students were significantly more likely to comply with all measures and consume antiviral medication in response to the pandemic than students studying in the US. CONCLUSIONS: Students' responses towards university pandemic measures were largely positive, but sensitivity towards these measures varied between groups by country of study. This should be considered in further comparative studies. Copyright ? 2010 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
PMID: 20510428 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20510428