ABSTRACT

Background: Higher education in health institution has an important role in the prevention and health care activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to play this role, there is a need for medical and health students had positive perception, attitude, and behavior. However, there is a lack of information on the medical student perception about COVID-19 pandemic and health protocols. This study aimed to provide an overview of medical student perceptions about COVID-19 and health protocol in Tasikmalaya, West Java.
Subjects and Method: A mix-method study was conducted in Tasikmalaya, West Java, from October to December 2020. A total of 320 medical student was selected by purposive sampling. The key informants were six medical students. The study variable was medical students perception of COVID-19 and health protocols. The triangulation of data was taken from COVID-19 task force and regional disaster management agency. The quantitative data were analyzed descriptively (frequency and percent). The qualitative data were analyzed by content analysis.
Results: Half of the medical students had a good perception of COVID-19 and health protocols (56.9%). They looked for information on COVID-19 and health protocols from trusted sources, such as the World Health Organization and Ministry of Health Indonesia website.
Conclusion: Half of the medical students have a good perception of COVID-19 and health protocols and they seek trusted sources of information.

Keywords: health protocols, perceptions, COVID-19, medical students