[01] Eu Geen Wee, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka Manipal Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Melaka, Malaysia. [02] Mayurina Sanchiya Giri, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka Manipal Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Melaka, Malaysia. [03] Thiruppathy Kalyana Sundram, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka Manipal Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Melaka, Malaysia. [04] Charnita Vinosha Venudran, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka Manipal Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Melaka, Malaysia.

In 2020, a new strain of coronavirus was first reported in Wuhan, China after the detection of a cluster of cases of pneumonia. After initial local spread, the virus soon became a worldwide outbreak with the index case of Malaysia on 25th January 2020 in Sungai Buloh, Selangor. Since then, the virus has inflicted considerable strain on medical and economic sectors of Malaysia with drastic measures taken to contain the virus. An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted to assess and infer on the knowledge, perception and attitude with associated preventive behaviours of medical and dental students in Melaka Manipal Medical College (MMMC), Malaysia, a private tertiary institution. A questionnaire was distributed online to clinical phase medical and dental students of this college and a total of 174 responses was collated. Results revealed that 55.2% of 174 students had good knowledge of COVID-19 with scores above 80 while 44.8% possessed moderate knowledge with scores of 60-80. There was no student with poor knowledge with scores below 60. Summarising scores of all participants, the mean averages of knowledge and attitude with associated preventive behaviours of students was 81.5% (SD=6.3) and 85.7% (SD=13.1) respectively highlighting a good level of both. There were no statistically significant relationships between sociodemographic factors and both knowledge and attitude with corresponding preventive behaviours. Again, while statistically insignificant with a p-value of 0.540, knowledge had a positive association with attitude and preventive behaviours (regression coefficient=0.097, standard error=0.158). Perceptions of students towards this ongoing pandemic was generally excellent, with commendable awareness on its severity and concurrence with the measures taken by the Malaysian government. Our study demonstrates the high level of knowledge and capability of medical and dental students in Malaysia in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, deficiencies are noted in participants’ knowledge of treatment measures and signs and symptoms of COVID-19. As such, we recommend integration of COVID-19 in the academic curriculums of medical and dental schools with lectures or study materials and validate the efficiency and practicality of mobilising final year medical students into a nation’s health workforce.

COVID-19, Knowledge, Attitude, Preventive Behaviours, Perception, Medical Students, Dental Students, Cross-Sectional Study, Malaysia

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