Knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward monkeypox among university health science students in Türkiye

Background: The aim of this study is to examine the level of knowledge, attitudes and preventive practices regarding Mpox among health science students. Methods: This cross-sectional study is conducted among a group of students from four schools of a university in İstanbul, Türkiye. All students are invited to participate in the study voluntarily and without using any sampling method. A total of 1,466 students participated with a participation rate of 31%. Data is collected in person by using a self-administered structured questionnaire. The questionnaire included questions to describe demographic characteristics and to measure the level of knowledge. Attitudes and practices are evaluated by measuring the agreement level on a 5-point Likert scale of various statements. Results: Health science students have a level of knowledge slightly under half about Mpox with the mean number of correct responses of 10.09±4.22 among 22 statements. More than half (51.7%) of the participants stated positive attitudes towards the disease and only 22.9% expressed engagement in preventive practices. Social media is the primary source of information for Mpox, and it is followed by TV channels. Vaccination for Mpox is a concern, with fear of side effects being the most frequently cited reason for reluctance. Conclusion: Our study highlights the gaps in Mpox knowledge, attitudes, and preventive practices among a group of university health sciences students. Low level of vaccination willingness and high proportion of social media use as an information source are the most prominent findings of the study. Willingness to vaccination is less common, primarily due to concerns about side effects.