Health Science Students' Knowledge, Attitude, and Readiness Towards Epidemiology Learning in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Region: A Multi-Institutional Study

Background: As the backbone of public health, epidemiology is a required component of the health science curriculum. Epidemiology education requires careful planning and thorough assessment. Few studies have focused on undergraduate health science students' perspectives on learning epidemiology. Methods: This study assessed health science students' readiness for epidemiology learning at select institutions in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. Zayed University (ZU), with two campuses, University of Sharjah (US), Princess Noura Bint Abdul Rahman University (PNU), and Kuwait University partnered for classroom-based research. Students who registered for an epidemiology course from August 2022 to January 2024 were invited to respond to a self-administered online questionnaire in the first week of classes. Score variables were created for general knowledge, attitude, and readiness. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression were performed to identify significant predictors of knowledge and attitude. Results: Most respondents (n=258) were from ZU (52%), followed by US (28%). Overall, 78% had general knowledge about epidemiology, while 83% were ready to learn epidemiology. Students who took a prior epidemiology course had higher odds of correctly answering knowledge questions (adjusted OR 5.75, p-value 0.017), whereas students who preferred calculations in the course were twice as likely to provide correct answers as those who did not (adjusted OR 2.08, p-value 0.029). Having adequate general knowledge was significantly associated with a firm opinion on certain aspects of epidemiology (OR 6.82, p-value <0.001) and a positive attitude towards it (OR 2.45, p-value 0.012). Surprisingly, fourth-or-fifth-year students had significantly lower odds (OR 0.14, p-value 0.006) of correctly answering the knowledge questions compared to first-or-second year students. Students taking more than 15 credit hours (OR 2.11, p-value 0.029) were more likely to have a positive attitude towards epidemiology, in contrast to those who had taken prior public health courses (OR 0.40, p-value 0.031). Conclusions: Overall, the findings showed that having sufficient basic knowledge about epidemiology is strongly positively associated with having a firm opinion and a positive attitude towards the course. By identifying key determinants such as prior coursework and preferences for course content, epidemiology educators can effectively tailor course design to foster a deeper understanding of epidemiological principles, thereby preparing future public health professionals for field and clinical investigations.