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Medical students and risk of COVID-19 infection: A descriptive cross-sectional study from the University of Jordan
Amjad Bani Hani1, Nader Alaridah2, Mahmoud Abu Abeeleh1
1University of Jordan, School of Medicine, The Department of General Surgery; Queen Rania st, Amman, Zip code: 11942, Jordan.
Insights
Clinical medical students had higher COVID-19 infection rates than preclinical students. Current safety measures were insufficient, necessitating enhanced strategies like vaccination for student well-being during the pandemic.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Epidemiology
- Infectious Diseases
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted global health and medical education.
- Resuming on-site medical education in Jordan raised concerns about COVID-19 infection risks for students.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine COVID-19 infection rates among medical students at the University of Jordan.
- To compare infection rates between preclinical and clinical medical students.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study was conducted from December 2020 to February 2021.
- Data were collected via a web-based questionnaire from 1,830 medical students.
- The study analyzed COVID-19 PCR test positivity and compared rates between student groups.
Main Results:
- Overall, 13% of students tested positive for COVID-19.
- Clinical students showed a higher infection rate (15.2%) compared to preclinical students (11.2%).
- The relative risk of infection for clinical students was 1.36 (P=0.010), indicating a statistically significant difference.
Conclusions:
- Clinical medical students exhibited a higher incidence of COVID-19 compared to preclinical students.
- Existing health safety precautions were not fully protective for clinical students.
- Additional safety strategies, including vaccine access, are crucial for safeguarding student health.
Backgrounds:
The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic with increasing morbidity and mortality has impacted the lives of the global population, including medical education. With the return of on-site medical education in Jordan, it is important to know whether this would pose any risk of COVID-19 infection in medical students.
Objective:
To investigate COVID-19 infection infection rates among medical students and whether there is difference between preclinical and clinical students' infection rate.
Methods:
The study is a cross-sectional study, designed to (1) determine the incidence of COVID-19 in clinical and preclinical medical students (2) determine if there is a difference in infection rates between clinical and preclinical students. The study was situated at the University of Jordan and its affiliated hospitals. Data were collected from the 4th of December 2020 till the 17th of February 2021through a structured web-based questionnaire.
Results:
A total of 1,830 responses were retrieved. Thirty-nine percent were males, and (61.5%) were females. Overall, 237(13%) of students reported testing positive for COVID-19 infection by PCR, of which 123 were clinical students (15.2%) and 114 were pre-clinical students (11.2%), representing a relative risk of 1.36 of COVID-19 infection among clinical students compared to pre-clinical students. This difference is statistically significant (P = 0.010). Rates of COVID-19 in females 13%; CI 7.5,18.4), were very close to those of males (12.9%; 95% CI 6.0,19.8). Positive COVID-19 cases peaked in November and October forming 36.3% and 32.9% of the cases, respectively.
Conclusion:
The incidence of positive COVID-19 tests was found to be higher among clinical students as compared to pre-clinical students. Commitment to general health safety precautions did not appear to be protective enough for clinical students. It is fundamental that additional strategies, including access to vaccines, are set, and deficiencies in current protections are identified to maintain students' safety and well-being.