| Abstract [eng] |
COVID-19 pandemic in Lithuania took not only the lives of Lithuanians but also caused a lot of confusion among them including distrust of the Government’s decisions regarding the management of the COVID-19 pandemic and caused the occurrence of many conspiracy theories about the emergence of COVID-19 disease and it’s control and preventative measures effectiveness. To properly manage such pandemics in the future, it is important to find out how the theoretical knowledge gained during pandemic about COVID-19 differs from practical knowledge and opinion. Only by identifying the gaps of management this pandemic we will prepare better for upcoming pandemics. Aim of the study. To ascertain the knowledge and opinion of Vilnius University the Faculty of Medicine Public Health students‘ and Public Health specialists‘ of Vilnius Public Health Office about COVID-19 and it’s control and preventative measures. Objectives. To find out the knowledge and opinion of Vilnius University the Faculty of Medicine students’ and Public Health specialists’ of Vilnius Public Health Office about COVID-19 and it’s control and preventative measures and evaluate how theoretical knowledge and opinion differs from practical knowledge. Methods. During the year of 2022 from November to December an anonymous survey of Vilnius University the Faculty of Medicine students and Public Health specialists of Vilnius Public Health Office was conducted on the Internet. Results. 82 Public Health students of Vilnius University the Faculty of Medicine and 99 Public Health specialists of Vilnius Public Health Office were interviewed. The results show that students have more accurate knowledge about the most vulnerable groups of COVID-19 disease and specifics, most effective control and preventative measures, effective treatment methods while specialists know more about ways how COVID-19 disease spread and mortality rate. Specialists by 45.9 percent agreed more and by 8.3 percent followed more the restrictions and recommendations on COVID-19 disease of the Government of Lithuania. Conclusions. Assessing the knowledge of students and specialists about the COVID-19 disease and it’s preventative and control measures, a quarter of all the questions were answered more accurate by specialists while the rest (75%) – by students. The opinion of COVID-19 diagnostic tests used at schools and kindergartens coincided: both agree on effectiveness of rapid antigens from saliva / nasopharynx, disagree on environmental surface tests, but admit them being more effective if after positive tests people are tested with PGR / rapid antigen tests. Key words. Knowledge, opinion, COVID-19, Vilnius University the Faculty of Medicine Public Health students, Public Health specialists of Vilnius Public Health Office, COVID-19 control and preventative measures. |
