DOI: https://doi.org/10.14710/jphtcr.v5i2.13754

Healthcare Students' Knowledge and Distrust of COVID-19 Conspiracy Theories

*Ahmad Fauzi orcid scopus publons  -  Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang, Indonesia
Jenny J. S. Sondakh  -  Politeknik Kesehatan Kementerian Kesehatan Malang, Indonesia
Maryam Saleem  -  Government College University Faisalabad, Pakistan
Open Access Copyright (c) 2022 Journal of Public Health for Tropical and Coastal Region

Citation Format:
Abstract

Introduction: The spread of various conspiracy theories (CT) is one of the causes of the difficulty in handling the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study was to analyze the level of knowledge and distrust of healthcare students towards CT about COVID-19 and analyze what factors influence it.

Methods : This survey research involved 230 health students from higher education institution in Malang. The respondents were selected through purposive sampling techniques. Data collection used a questionnaire which was distributed online. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistical techniques, one-way ANOVA test, LSD test, Pearson correlation test, and calculation of the coefficient of determination.

Results: A total of 47.83% of students had knowledge scores that were in the good category, while only 7.39% of students had their CT scores in the good category. Length of study, degree program, and institution type have a significant effect on student knowledge, but CT scores were only influenced by institution type. Student knowledge was not significantly correlated to their distrust of CT about COVID-19.

Conclusion: The majority of health students still believe CT about COVID-19. Considering the findings, it is necessary to reformulate the curriculum for healthcare education to prepare the next pandemic.

Fulltext View|Download
Keywords: conspiracy theory; COVID-19 pandemic; knowledge; misinformation; healthcare students

Article Metrics:

Article Info
Section: Articles
Language : EN
Recent articles
Covid-19 Epidemiology in Madura: Public Behaviors’ Compliance to Goverment Policy A Preliminary Study of Ocimum basilicum Essential Oil as a Repellent against Aedes aegypti in Surabaya Healthcare Students' Knowledge and Distrust of COVID-19 Conspiracy Theories More recent articles
  1. El Zowalaty ME, Järhult JD. From SARS to COVID-19: A previously unknown SARS- related coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) of pandemic potential infecting humans – Call for a One Health approach. One Heal. 2020;9:100124
  2. Singhal T. A review of Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19). Indian J Pediatr. 2020;87(4):281–286
  3. Li T, Lu H, Zhang W. Clinical observation and management of COVID-19 patients. Emerg Microbes Infect. 2020;9(1):687–90
  4. Chen L, Li X, Chen M, Feng Y, Xiong C. The ACE2 expression in human heart indicates new potential mechanism of heart injury among patients infected with SARS-CoV-2. Cardiovasc Res. 2020 May 1;116(6):1097–100. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/cardiovascres/article/116/6/1097/5813131
  5. Liu F, Long X, Zhang B, Zhang W, Chen X, Zhang Z. ACE2 expression in pancreas may cause pancreatic damage after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2020 Aug;18(9):2128-2130.e2. Available from: https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1542356520305371
  6. Wu YC, Chen CS, Chan YJ. The outbreak of COVID-19: An overview. J Chinese Med Assoc. 2020;83(3):217–20
  7. Cucinotta D, Vanelli M. WHO Declares COVID-19 a Pandemic. Acta Bio-Medica Atenei Parm. 2020;91(1):157–60
  8. Wilder-Smith A, Freedman DO. Isolation, quarantine, social distancing and community containment: pivotal role for old-style public health measures in the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak. J Travel Med. 2020;27(2):1–4
  9. Howard J, Huang A, Li Z, Tufekci Z, Zdimal V, van der Westhuizen H-M, et al. An evidence review of face masks against COVID-19. In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2021. p. e2014564118. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2014564118
  10. Borah P, Deb PK, Al-Shar’i NA, Dahabiyeh LA, Venugopala KN, Singh V, et al. Perspectives on RNA vaccine candidates for COVID-19. Front Mol Biosci. 2021 Mar;8
  11. Cardenas NC. Harnessing strategic policy on COVID-19 vaccination rollout in the Philippines. J Public Health (Bangkok). 2021 May 28; doi: 10.1093/pubmed/fdab181/6287131
  12. Araf Y, Akter F, Tang Y, Fatemi R, Parvez MSA, Zheng C, et al. Omicron variant of SARS‐CoV‐2: Genomics, transmissibility, and responses to current COVID‐19 vaccines. J Med Virol. 2022 Jan 23; doi: 10.1002/jmv.27588
  13. Brashier NM, Schacter DL. Aging in an era of fake news. Curr Dir Psychol Sci. 2020;29(3):316–23
  14. Bruns A, Harrington S, Hurcombe E. ‘Corona? 5G? or both?’: The dynamics of COVID-19/5G conspiracy theories on Facebook. Media Int Aust. 2020;177(1):12–29
  15. Stephens M. A geospatial infodemic: Mapping Twitter conspiracy theories of COVID-19. Dialogues Hum Geogr. 2020;10(2):276–81
  16. Verma A, Singh MK, Pareek A. Information, misinformation, and disinformation about COVID-19: A content study of closed-cross platform messaging using Whatsapp. Int J Adv Sci Technol. 2020;29(10):7797–804. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Amit-Verma-30/publication/342260210_Information_Misinformation_and_Disinformation_About_Covid-19_A_Content_Study_of_Closed-Cross_Platform_Messaging_Using_Whatsapp/links/5eeb0f0e458515814a675dfd/Information-Misinformati
  17. Ginossar T, Cruickshank IJ, Zheleva E, Sulskis J, Berger-Wolf T. Cross-platform spread: vaccine-related content, sources, and conspiracy theories in YouTube videos shared in early Twitter COVID-19 conversations. Hum Vaccin Immunother. 2022 Jan 21;1–13. Available from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21645515.2021.2003647
  18. Quinn EK, Fazel SS, Peters CE. The instagram infodemic: cobranding of conspiracy theories, Coronavirus Disease 2019 and authority-questioning beliefs. Cyberpsychology, Behav Soc Netw. 2021 Aug 1;24(8):573–7. doi: 10.1089/cyber.2020.0663
  19. Tasnim S, Hossain MM, Mazumder H. Impact of rumors and misinformation on COVID-19 in social media. J Prev Med Public Heal. 2020 May 31;53(3):171–4. doi: 10.3961/jpmph.20.094
  20. Romer D, Jamieson KH. Conspiracy theories as barriers to controlling the spread of COVID-19 in the U.S. Soc Sci Med. 2020;263:113356
  21. Kearney MD, Chiang SC, Massey PM. The Twitter origins and evolution of the COVID-19 “plandemic” conspiracy theory. Harvard Kennedy Sch Misinformation Rev. 2020 Oct 9; Available from: https://misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu/?p=3397
  22. Fuchs C. Bill Gates Conspiracy Theories as ideology in the context of the COVID-19 crisis. In: Communicating COVID-19. Emerald Publishing Limited; 2021. p. 91–144. doi: 10.1108/978-1-80117-720-720211007/full/html
  23. Ladini R. Religious and conspiracist? An analysis of the relationship between the dimensions of individual religiosity and belief in a big pharma conspiracy theory. Ital Polit Sci Rev Ital di Sci Polit. 2021 May 12;1–18. Available from: https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0048840221000150/type/journal_article
  24. Jamison AM, Broniatowski DA, Dredze M, Sangraula A, Smith MC, Quinn SC. Not just conspiracy theories: Vaccine opponents and proponents add to the COVID-19 ‘infodemic’ on Twitter. Harvard Kennedy Sch Misinformation Rev. 2020 Sep 9; Available from: https://misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu/?p=2462
  25. Sondakh JJS, Warastuti W, Susatia B, Wildan M, Sunindya BR, Budiyanto MAK, et al. Indonesia medical students’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward COVID-19. Heliyon. 2022 Jan;8(1):e08686. Available from: https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S2405844021027894
  26. Jia Y, Qi Y, Bai L, Han Y, Xie Z, Ge J. Knowledge–attitude–practice and psychological status of college students during the early stage of COVID-19 outbreak in China: a cross-sectional study. BMJ Open. 2021 Feb 5;11(2):e045034. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-045034
  27. Hamza MS, Badary OA, Elmazar MM. Cross-sectional study on awareness and knowledge of COVID-19 among senior pharmacy students. J Community Health. 2020;(0123456789):1–8. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32542552
  28. Saqlain M, Munir MM, Rehman SU, Gulzar A, Naz S, Ahmed Z, et al. Knowledge, attitude, practice and perceived barriers among healthcare workers regarding COVID-19: A cross-sectional survey from Pakistan. J Hosp Infect. 2020;105(3):419–23. doi: 10.1016/j.jhin.2020.05.007
  29. Sarria-Guzmán Y, Fusaro C, Bernal JE, Mosso-González C, González-Jiménez FE, Serrano-Silva N. Knowledge, Attitude and Practices (KAP) towards COVID-19 pandemic in America: A preliminary systematic review. J Infect Dev Ctries. 2021 Jan 31;15(01):9–21. Available from: https://www.jidc.org/index.php/journal/article/view/14388
  30. Azlan AA, Hamzah MR, Sern TJ, Ayub SH, Mohamad E. Public knowledge, attitudes and practices towards COVID-19: A cross-sectional study in Malaysia. PLoS One. 2020;15(5):1–15. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0233668
  31. Sulistyawati S, Rokhmayanti R, Aji B, Wijayanti SPM, Hastuti SKW, Sukesi TW, et al. Knowledge, attitudes, practices and information needs during the COVID-19 pandemic in indonesia. Risk Manag Healthc Policy. 2021;14:163–75. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33488129
  32. Pisl V, Volavka J, Chvojkova E, Cechova K, Kavalirova G, Vevera J. Dissociation, cognitive reflection and health literacy Have a modest effect on belief in conspiracy theories about COVID-19. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(10). Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34065023
  33. Pisl V, Volavka J, Chvojkova E, Cechova K, Kavalirova G, Vevera J. Willingness to vaccinate against COVID-19: The role of health locus of control and conspiracy theories. Front Psychol. 2021;12:717960. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34744880
  34. Fauzi A, Saefi M, Adi WC, Kristiana E, Lestariani N. Instrument evaluation of conspiracy theory about COVID-19: Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. Int J Eval Res Educ. 2022;11(2)
  35. Saefi M, Fauzi A, Kristiana E, Adi WC, Muchson M, Setiawan ME, et al. Validating of Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices questionnaire for prevention of COVID-19 infections among undergraduate students: A RASCH and factor analysis. Eurasia J Math Sci Technol Educ. 2020 Dec;16(12):em1926
  36. Bhagavathula AS, Aldhaleei WA, Rahmani J, Mahabadi MA, Bandari DK. Knowledge and perceptions of COVID-19 among health care workers: Cross-sectional study. JMIR Public Heal Surveill. 2020 Apr 30;6(2):e19160. Available from: http://publichealth.jmir.org/2020/2/e19160/
  37. Zhang M, Zhou M, Tang F, Wang Y, Nie H, Zhang L, et al. Knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding COVID-19 among healthcare workers in Henan, China. J Hosp Infect. 2020;105(2):183–7. doi: 10.1016/j.jhin.2020.04.012
  38. Fauzi A, Husamah H, Miharja FJ, Fatmawati D, Permana TI, Hudha AM. Exploring COVID-19 literacy level among biology teacher candidates. Eurasia J Math Sci Technol Educ. 2020 May;16(7):em1864
  39. Singler B. Big Bad Pharma. Nov Relig. 2015 Nov 1;19(2):17–29. Available from: https://online.ucpress.edu/nr/article/19/2/17/71146/Big-Bad-PharmaThe-Indigo-Child-Concept-and
  40. Loomba S, de Figueiredo A, Piatek SJ, de Graaf K, Larson HJ. Measuring the impact of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation on vaccination intent in the UK and USA. Nat Hum Behav. 2021 Mar 5;5(3):337–48. Available from: http://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-021-01056-1
  41. Machete P, Turpin M. The use of critical thinking to identify fake news: A systematic literature review. In: Hattingh M, Matthee M, Smuts H, Pappas I, Dwivedi YK, Mäntymäki M, editors. Responsible Design, Implementation and Use of Information and Communication Technology. Cham: Springer; 2020. p. 235–46. Available from: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-030-45002-1_20
  42. Miller BL. Science denial and COVID conspiracy theories. JAMA. 2020 Dec 8;324(22):2255. Available from: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2772693
  43. Crowley Ú. Review of critical thinking skills. AISHE. 2015;7(3):2641–5. Available from: http://ojs.aishe.org/index.php/aishe-j/article/download/264/361
  44. Jgunkola BJ, Ogunkola BJ. Scientific literacy: Conceptual overview, importance and strategies for improvement. J Educ Sociai Res. 2013;3(1):265–74
  45. Fasce A, Picó A. Science as a vaccine: The relation between scientific literacy and unwarranted beliefs. Sci Educ. 2019 Mar 12;28(1–2):109–25. Available from: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11191-018-00022-0
  46. Car LT, Kyaw BM, Dunleavy G, Smart NA, Semwal M, Rotgans JI, et al. Digital problem-based learning in health professions: Systematic review and meta-analysis by the digital health education collaboration. J Med Internet Res. 2019;21(2):1–12
  47. Jackson YM. An exploration of the effectiveness of problem-based learning in nursing education. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. Walden University; 2016. Available from: https://search.proquest.com/docview/1799599794?accountid=10673%0Ahttp://openurl.ac.uk/redirect/athens:edu/?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&genre=dissertations+%26+theses&sid=ProQ:ProQuest+Dissertations+%26+Theses+Global&a
  48. Yaqinuddin A. Problem-based learning as an instructional method. J Coll Physicians Surg Pakistan. 2013;23(5):83–5. Available from: https://jcpsp.pk/archive/2013/Jan2013/18.pdf
  49. Borhan MT. Problem Based Learning (PBL) in teacher education: a review of the effect of PBL on pre-service teachers’ knowledge and skills. Eur J Educ Sci. 2014 Mar 31;1(1):76–87. Available from: http://ejes.eu/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/9.pdf
  50. Ramdiah S, Abidinsyah H, Mayasari R. Problem-based learning: Generates higher-order thinking skills of tenth graders in ecosystem concept. J Pendidik Biol Indones. 2018 Mar 27;4(1):29. Available from: http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/jpbi/article/view/5490
  51. Issa HB, Khataibeh A. The effect of using project based learning on Improving the critical thinking among upper basic students from teachers’ perspectives. Pegem Egit ve Ogr Derg. 2021;11(2):52–7
  52. Flores C. Problem-based science, a constructionist approach to science literacy in middle school. Int J Child-Computer Interact. 2018;16:25–30. doi: 10.1016/j.ijcci.2017.11.001
  53. Winarni EW, Purwandari EP. Project-based learning to improve scientific literacy for primary education postgraduate students in science subject. J Prima Edukasia. 2020 Jan 25;8(1):67–77. Available from: https://journal.uny.ac.id/index.php/jpe/article/view/30618
  54. Guess AM, Lerner M, Lyons B, Montgomery JM, Nyhan B, Reifler J, et al. A digital media literacy intervention increases discernment between mainstream and false news in the United States and India. In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2020. p. 15536–45. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1920498117
  55. Patil U, Kostareva U, Hadley M, Manganello JA, Okan O, Dadaczynski K, et al. Health literacy, digital health literacy, and COVID-19 pandemic attitudes and behaviors in U.S. college students: Implications for interventions. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Mar 23;18(6):3301. Available from: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/6/3301
  56. Keselman A, Smith CA, Leroy G, Kaufman DR. Science education as a barrier against “fake health news.” In: Zeyer A, Kyburz-Graber R, editors. Science | Environment | Health. Cham: Springer; 2021. p. 225–50. Available from: https://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-030-75297-2_12
  57. Fauzi A, Saefi M, Kristiana E, Adi WC, Lestariani N. Factor and Rasch analysis on COVID-19 genetics literacy assessment instrument. Eurasia J Math Sci Technol Educ. 2021 Oct 14;17(11):em2032. Available from: https://www.ejmste.com/article/factor-and-rasch-analysis-on-covid-19-genetics-literacy-assessment-instrument-11264

Last update:

No citation recorded.

Last update:

No citation recorded.