Nursing students' knowledge and practices about COVID-19: A cross-sectional survey

Background: It is important that nursing students who will be at the forefront of providing health services and be key personnel in the development of public health practices have sufficient knowledge of COVID-19 and related appropriate practices surrounding the outbreak. Thus, it is necessary to update the nursing curriculum for the changing needs in nursing education in urgent public health problems such as epidemics. Aims: This study aims to determine the knowledge and practices of nursing students about the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This study was conducted with 304 nursing students. The study data were collected using online tools consisting of a personal information form and the COVID-19 Knowledge and Practice Questionnaire. Results: Participants had good levels of knowledge and practices regarding the COVID-19 outbreak. The students' total mean knowledge score regarding COVID-19 was 28.95 +/- 4.46 and their total mean practice score was 5.85 +/- 1.03. Conclusions: It is very important that all nurse candidates, who will soon play an active role in the pandemic, have the correct knowledge and practices to prevent its spread. Therefore, the current curriculum for nurses, whom we can describe as the backbone of public health, should be equipped and enriched with evidence to support them during major events such as the COVID-19 pandemic.