KNOWLEDGE OF ONE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS ON COVID-19 IN INDONESIA

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a massive challenge for university students in Indonesia who have to shift to distance learning method, especially due to the disparity from “digital divide” between students from various socio-economic backgrounds and geographical origins. Campus reopening is still one of the goals of pandemic recovery in the higher education sector. In response to the epidemiological condition, a consideration and strategy to reopen the campus must take into account the students’ understanding about COVID-19 infection and the risk-mitigation for its transmission. A survey on the level of knowledge about COVID-19 was done in students of three faculties in one university in Indonesia. It employed an online data collection in April 2021, and obtained 1037 respondents with completed questionnaire. The results revealed the composite measurement of the students’ knowledge level, consisting of COVID-19 signs and symptoms, modes of transmission mode, high risk behaviour, and population groups at risk, was categorised as satisfactory. The faculty of health sciences scored slightly higher compared to those in the faculties of social sciences and economics, with the difference supported by a one-way anova statistical analysis and followed by LSD posthoc comparison. This study points toward recommendations on the need for the university-level governance to strengthen strategies for health promotion on COVID-19 issues, with students as the specific target audience.