Abstract

H1N1 influenza (Swine influenza or Swine flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza virus that regularly causes outbreaks of influenza in pigs. Worldwide, as of October 17, 2009, there have been more than 414,000 laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009 and nearly 5000 deaths. The 2009 flu pandemic is a global outbreak of a new strain of influenza A virus subtype H1N1 and was first identified April 2009 in Mexico. On June 11, 2009, WHO declared the H1N1 outbreak as a pandemic. Worldwide, as of April 11, 2010, more than 214 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including over 17798 deaths. The purpose of this study was to identify if the students studying at Minnesota State University, Mankato have enough knowledge about H1N1 influenza and whether or not they viewed H1N1 influenza as a threat to their health. This study also investigated knowledge about possible preventive measures that can be taken among the students including vaccination against H1N1 influenza. A cross-sectional study was conducted by sending out an email message with a link to an electronic survey to students who were enrolled at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Students’ general knowledge and information about H1N1 influenza was assessed. The survey was sent electronically to the students during February, 2010. A total of fifteen days was provided for the students to respond to the questions. Two reminders were sent before the survey was closed on March 12th, 2010. In total, n=700 students participated in the survey. Data obtained were entered into the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software. All the questions were recorded on the variable view of the SPSS software. Descriptive statistics and frequencies were used to interpret results of the study. Participants’ responses were coded by giving 1 for a correct answer and a 0 for an incorrect answer. For negative response correct answers, reverse scoring was done in order to properly calculate the knowledge score, by giving 1 for correct answer (response “No”) and a 0 for incorrect answer (response “Yes”). ANOVAs and t-tests were conducted to determine interactions within and between groups and to determine whether or not significant relationships exist. The results of the study showed that students at Minnesota State University, Mankato have very high knowledge about H1N1 influenza. The majority of students know about symptoms, transmission, treatment and prevention of H1N1 influenza. However, most of them did not find H1N1 as a major threat to their health. All the scores on general knowledge about H1N1 influenza were high, which indicates that the students are well aware of this disease. Students’ self- reported knowledge and computed knowledge from the survey showed a significant correlation. Students with previous experience about H1N1 influenza also demonstrated high knowledge about this disease compared to students without any previous experience. However, students’ knowledge about H1N1 influenza did not vary with their perceived level of threat for contacting H1N1 influenza. Statistically, there was no significant difference in the knowledge of the students between males and females and between the different years in school, but in numbers there were few students who were more knowledgeable than the rest of the students about H1N1 influenza.

Advisor

Dr. John A. Romas

Committee Member

Dr. Christine Connolly

Committee Member

Dr. Marlene Tappe

Date of Degree

2010

Language

english

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

Master of Science (MS)

Program of Study

Community Health Education

Department

Health Science

College

Allied Health and Nursing

Recommended Citation

Parvathareddy, S. K. (2010). Knowledge and awareness about H1N1 Influenza (Swine Flu) among university students [Master’s thesis, Minnesota State University, Mankato]. Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato. https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/etds/1536/