Обізнаність студентів-медиків у Тікріті (Ірак) щодо симптомів пост-COVID-19 у дітей

Medical students’ knowledge of COVID-19 symptoms in children has been increasing since the World Health Organization declared the virus a pandemic. COVID-19 is an acute infectious respiratory disease. The objective: to evaluate medical students’ understanding of post-COVID-19 symptoms to raise awareness and help mitigate these symptoms in children. Materials and methods. The cross-sectional study was conducted on 267 Iraqi undergraduate medical students at the University of Tikrit, using a questionnaire designed by the researchers. The collected data were analyzed using both statistical methods and Microsoft software. Results. The study found that 104 (38.9%) out of 267 students were aware of post-COVID-19 symptoms in children, while 163 (61.1%) were not. Social media was the primary source of information, with 69 (66.35%) of the 104 aware students learning about the symptoms from it. The results were calculated among 104 students who declared awareness about post-COVID symptoms in general, and indicated that 47 (45.2%) students believed children experienced mild hypoxia post-COVID-19, and 44 (42.3%) thought children had mild anosmia. Additionally, 48 (46.17%) thought children had a slight cough, and 47 (45.2%) thought children experienced mild fatigue after COVID-19. Conclusions. The study revealed gaps in knowledge, with many students unaware of potential post-COVID-19 symptoms such as heart problems, neurological issues, or multisystem inflammatory syndrome. The main source of information was social media, highlighting a need for improved education on post-COVID-19 symptoms in children.