COMPARISON OF KNOWLEDGE OF MEDICAL AND NON-MEDICAL STUDENTS REGARDING MPOX

Background: World Health Organization (WHO)'s declaration on July 23, 2022 regarding Mpox (previously Monkey pox) outbreak appeared as Public Health Emergency of International Concern. It is important to assess how well-known and understood Mpox is, among the general public particularly students, including both medical non-medical students. Objectives: The objective of this study was to compare the knowledge of medical and non-medical students regarding Mpox. Methods: The cross-sectional study was ethically approved by Institutional Review Board of Ameer-ud-Din Medical College, Lahore. The data for this study was gathered from medical and non-medical students at various institutes across Punjab. Participants were invited to complete an anonymous, optional, online survey consisting of Likert-type questions by convenience sampling. The collected data was entered in SPSS 26 and was analyzed using appropriate statistical methods. Chi square test was applied for comparison. P value of ≤0.05 was considered as significant for all analyses. Results: The study participants comprised of 303 students, among which 72.9% were medical students while 27.1% were non-medical students. Majority students were female (69%). Out of total, 178 (58.7%) came to know about Mpox through social media. Compared to non-medical students, knowledge of medical students about epidemiology, transmission, symptoms, and prevention was statistically better. (p value ≤0.05) Conclusion: Compared to non-medical students, knowledge of medical students about epidemiology, transmission, symptoms, and prevention was better. Educational activities are needed to improve Mpox-related knowledge among students. Furthermore, emerging infectious diseases should be routinely incorporated into curricula.