Journals / Avrasya Sağlık Bilimleri Dergisi / 2026 / Cilt: 8 Sayı: 2

The Awareness of Health Sciences Students on Communicable Diseases Risks

Sağlık Bilimleri Bölümü Öğrencilerinin Bulaşıcı Hastalık Riskleri ve Etkileyen Faktörler Konusundaki Farkındalıkları

Dilek Baykal(İSTANBUL ATLAS ÜNİVERSİTESİ, SAĞLIK BİLİMLERİ FAKÜLTESİ)0000-0001-5965-9318
Ezgi Nur Akar(ISTANBUL ATLAS UNIVERSITY)0000-0001-9636-9379
Pages
108–116
Publication Date
2025-05-31
🏛️Bibliographic metadata and full text access for this article are provided via DergiPark.
DergiPark Record ↗
✨

AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

Furthermore, it was concluded that female students’ awareness of common life risk (p<0.05) and personal contact awareness were higher compared to males (p<0.05).

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:Objective: Communicable diseases are serious social problems that cause morbidity and mortality.
📊
Key Findings & Data:The study was conducted between April 2022 and 2023 in Istanbul.
💡
Conclusion & Impact:Furthermore, it was concluded that female students’ awareness of common life risk (p<0.05) and personal contact awareness were higher compared to males (p<0.05).
🔬Design:Survey & Empirical Study
📍Scope:2022 Verileri
⚙️Variables:Farkındalık · öğrenci · risk

Abstract

Objective: Communicable diseases are serious social problems that cause morbidity and mortality. Students studying health sciences face the risk of communicable diseases from the very beginning of their academic education. For this reason, the study aimed to examine the awareness of students studying health science on the risks of communicable diseases and the factors affecting this awareness. Material and Methods: This is a cross-sectional, descriptive study. The study was conducted between April 2022 and 2023 in Istanbul. Two hundred fifty students studying health sciences were included. Data were collected using the socio-demographic characteristics questionnaire to determine the socio-demographic characteristics of the participants and Communicable diseases risk awareness and protection scale aiming to determine the risk awareness on communicable diseases, and the prevention scale. Results: Results of the study revealed that the students studying health sciences were, in general, aware of the risks of communicable diseases and had a high level of protection. Furthermore, it was concluded that female students’ awareness of common life risk (p<0.05) and personal contact awareness were higher compared to males (p<0.05). Conclusions: Consequently, different educational strategies may be developed to further raise male students’ awareness of the risk of communicable diseases.

Özet

Amaç: Bulaşıcı hastalıklar, morbidite ve mortaliteye neden olan ciddi sosyal sorunlardır. Sağlık bilimleri okuyan öğrenciler, akademik eğitimlerinin başından itibaren bulaşıcı hastalık riskiyle karşı karşıyadır. Bu nedenle çalışmada sağlık bilimleri alanında öğrenim gören öğrencilerin bulaşıcı hastalık riskleri konusundaki farkındalıklarının ve bu farkındalığa etki eden faktörlerin incelenmesi amaçlandı. Gereç ve Yöntem: Kesitsel ve tanımlayıcı bir çalışmadır. Çalışma Nisan 2022-2023 tarihleri arasında İstanbul’da gerçekleştirildi. Sağlık bilimlerinde okuyan ikiyüz elli öğrenci çalışmaya dahil edildi. Veriler, katılımcıların sosyo-demografik özelliklerini belirlemeye yönelik sosyo-demografik özellikler anketi, bulaşıcı hastalıklara ilişkin risk farkındalığı ve korunma önleme ölçeği kullanılarak toplanmıştır. Bulgular: Araştırmanın sonuçları, sağlık bilimleri okuyan öğrencilerin genel olarak bulaşıcı hastalıkların risklerinin farkında olduklarını ve korunma düzeylerinin yüksek olduğunu ortaya koydu. Ayrıca kız öğrencilerin ortak yaşam riski (p<0.05) ve kişisel temas farkındalıklarının erkeklere göre daha yüksek olduğu sonucuna varıldı. (p<0.05). Sonuç: Sonuç olarak erkek öğrencilerin bulaşıcı hastalık riskine ilişkin farkındalığını daha da artırmak için farklı eğitim stratejilerini geliştirebilir.

🔖

Cite This Article

Baykal, D., Akar, E. N. (2025). The Awareness of Health Sciences Students on Communicable Diseases Risks. Avrasya Sağlık Bilimleri Dergisi, Cilt: 8 Sayı: 2, 108–116. https://doi.org/10.53493/avrasyasbd.1537373

📄 Full Text PDF Viewer

📄

PDF görüntüleyici hazırlanıyor...

References (30)

  1. Açıkel, U.D.C.H., Babayiğit, M.A. (2005). Knowledge levels of young adult men about sexually transmitted diseases. TSK Koruyucu Hekimlik Bülteni, 4(1), 16-24. https://www. researchgate.net/publication/26447990
  2. Afshari, A., Ghahnaviyeh, L., Khezeli, M., Daniali, S. (2019). Health promotion perception among health-care providers working in educational hospitals of Isfahan, Iran: a qualitative study. J Educ Health Promot, 8(1), 144. doi:10.4103/jehp.jehp_336_18
  3. Akalpler, Ö., Eroğlu, K. (2015). University students’ sexual behavior and knowledge levels on common sexually transmitted infections in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. J Hacettepe Univ Fac Nurs, 2(2), 64-74. https:// dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/88660
  4. Akça, B., Altınay, Z.Ö., Demirbaşoğlu, H., Kırdar, İ., Okol, B., Özkan, H.G., et al. (2016). Knowledge and attitudes of the third-year medical students in a university about sexually transmitted diseases and prevention methods. Fam Pract Palliat Care, 1(2), 48-52. doi:10.22391/920.256692
  5. Akel, M., Sakr, F., Haddad, C., Hajj, A., Sacre, H., Zeenny, R.M., et al. (2023). Knowledge, attitude, and practices of the general population toward the old-new outbreak of cholera in a developing country. Trop Med Infect Dis, 8(4), 236. doi:10.3390/tropicalmed8040236
  6. Aldahmash, A., Almutairi, S. (2023). The extent of incorporating health education requirements in middle school science textbooks. Sustainability, 15(14), 11005. doi:10.3390/ su151411005
  7. Altunışık, R., Coşkun, R., Bayraktaroğlu, S., Yıldırım, E. (2010). Sosyal bilimlerde araştırma yöntemleri (SPSS uygulamalı). In: Pegem Akademi, 7-253.
  8. Babaoğlu, Ü., Demir, G. (2017). Knowledge about Brucella in semi-urban regions. Acıbadem Univ Health Sci J, 4, 214- 219. doi:10.22391/920.256692
  9. Barlett, J.E., Kotrlik, J.W., Higgins, C.C. (2001). Organizational research: determining appropriate sample size in survey research. Inf Technol Learn Perform J, 19(1), 43-50. https:// www.opalco.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Reading- Sample-Size1.pdf
  10. Demir, C., Yıldız, H., Yürektürk, Ş. (2020). Van Yuzuncu Yıl University vocational school of health services students’ knowledge level on infectious diseases. Van Med J, 27(4), 458-465. doi:10.5505/vtd.2020.74875
  11. Ebrahimi, B., Nazarinia, M., Molayem, M., Jokar, M.J., Nemati, M. (2023). Assessment of knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) towards COVID-19 and the risks of SARS-CoV-2 infection among the Iranian EMS workers: an online cross-sectional survey. Air Med J, 42, 271-275. doi:10.1016/j. amj.2023.04.007
  12. Ener, D., Seyfeli, Y., Çetinkaya, F. (2022). A scale development and validation study: communicable diseases risk awareness and protection scale. J Istanbul Fac Med, 85(2), 258-269. doi:10.26650/IUITFD.973903
  13. Esposito, S. (2016). Infectious diseases: pathophysiology, diagnostics and prevention. Int J Mol Sci, 17(9), 1464. doi:10.3390/ijms17091464
  14. Filip, R., Gheorghita Puscaselu, R., Anchidin-Norocel, L., Dimian, M., Savage, W.K. (2022). Global challenges to public health care systems during the COVID-19 pandemic: a review of pandemic measures and problems. J Pers Med, 12(8), 1295. doi:10.3390/jpm12081295
  15. Hussein, M., Khalil, M. (2020). Assessment of primary schools teachers’ knowledge and attitudes toward communicable diseases prevention and control at primary schools. Indian J Forensic Med Toxicol. doi:10.37506/ijfmt.v14i2.3040
  16. Islami, R. (2023). Covid-19 prevention intentions of pre-science science teachers from South African and Indonesian universities. Eurasia J Math Sci Technol Educ, 19(8), em2305. doi:10.29333/ejmste/13426
  17. Karimi-Sari, H., Bayatpoor, M., Khotbesara, M., Ebrahimi, M., Sattari, Z., Sattari, P., et al. (2017). Knowledge, attitude, and practice of Iranian health sciences students regarding hepatitis B and C virus infections: a national survey. Am J Infect Control, 45(11), e135-e141. doi:10.1016/j.ajic.2017.07.012
  18. Kerr, A., Hughes, C. (2023). Midwives' and women's understanding of cytomegalovirus infection during pregnancy. Br J Midwifery, 31(5), 268-276. doi:10.12968/ bjom.2023.31.5.268
  19. Kurt, A.S., Yılmaz, S.D. (2012). The levels of knowledge and sources of information on HIV/AIDS of university health science students. J Educ Res Nurs, 9(3), 47-52. https://jag. journalagent.com/jern/pdfs/JERN_9_3_47_52.pdf
  20. Miller, N., Wick, J., Luther, V.P., Newman, J.R. (2023). Online Infectious Diseases Subspecialty Supplementary Curriculum for Medical Students and Residents: Moving Beyond "You Get What You Get". J Med Educ Curric Dev. Apr 26;10:23821205231171206. doi: 10.1177/23821205231171206. PMID: 37123078; PMCID: PMC10134105.
  21. Nii-Trebi, N.I. (2017). Emerging and neglected infectious diseases: insights, advances, and challenges. Biomed Res Int, 2017, 5245021. doi:10.1155/2017/5245021
  22. Patja, K., Veld, T., Arva, D., Bonello, M., Pees, R., Soethout, M., et al. (2022). Health promotion and disease prevention in the education of health professionals: a mapping of European educational programmes from 2019. BMC Med Educ, 22(1). doi:10.1186/s12909-022-03826-5
  23. Shravani, R. (2018). Awareness of risk factors for non-communicable diseases among adolescent girls aged 15-17 years in Koti, Hyderabad. J Med Sci Clin Res, 6(4). doi:10.18535/jmscr/v6i4.124
  24. Solmaz Avcıkurt, A. (2014). Evaluation of knowledge and attitudes on HIV/AIDS of Balikesir University students. Balikesir Health Sci J, 3(2), 79-86. doi:10.5505/ bsbd.2014.83703
  25. Suryasa, W., Rodríguez-Gámez, M., Herrera-Velázquez, M., Koldoris, T. (2022). Health education programs and their importance for disease prevention and health promotion. Int J Health Sci, 6(3):xi-xv. doi:10.53730/ijhs.v6n3.13788
  26. Taştan, R., Altıntaş, L., Cevizci, S. (2016). The determination of knowledge level of nurses working in the hospitals in the center of Kocaeli province about the zoonotic diseases. Turk Bull Hyg Exp Biol, 73(4), 365-78. doi:10.5505/ TurkHijyen.2016.62134
  27. Tulchinsky, T.H., Varavikova, E.A. (2014). Communicable diseases. The New Public Health, 149–236. doi:10.1016/ B978-0-12-415766-8.00004-5
  28. Wang, M., Han, X., Fang, H., Xu, C., Lin, X., Xia, S., et al. (2018). Impact of health education on knowledge and behaviors toward infectious diseases among students in Gansu Province, China. Biomed Res Int, 1-12. doi:10.1155/2018/6397340
  29. World Health Organization. (2020). Communicable disease. Available at: https://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/ WHA73/A73_24-en.pdf [Last accessed: May 2023]
  30. World Health Organization. (2023). Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard. Available at: https://COVID19.who.int/ [Last accessed: May 2023]