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Abstract

Monkeypox is an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus, which is a primarily endemic disease in Western and Central Africa. Monkeypox infections among humans have been on the rise in certain areas of Africa in recent times, leading to its identification as a major health hazard. It is important for medical college students, who will become future healthcare professionals, to actively participate in educating the general population about this illness. Their readiness and capacity to properly handle such health emergencies are strongly influenced by their knowledge, attitudes, and preventive measures regarding newly emerging infectious diseases such as monkeypox. This study aimed to assess medical students’ awareness, attitudes, and preventive practices toward the monkeypox outbreak. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at the University of Kerbala, Iraq. The study included 230 samples across four colleges within the university: Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, and Nursing. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 26. In this study, the study participants' awareness of monkeypox prevention shows moderate levels (mean=1.68), positive attitudes (mean=3.41), and poor practices (mean=1.91). Weak negative correlation (r = -0.230, p < 0.01) between awareness and attitudes, a moderate positive correlation (r = 0.466, p < 0.01) between awareness and preventive practices, and a moderate negative correlation (r = -0.338, p < 0.01) between attitudes and preventive practices. While awareness of monkeypox among health students is moderately associated with better preventive practices, it may also correlate with slightly less favorable attitudes. It underscores the complex nature of education’s involvement in health behavior. The development of approaches that address cognitive and emotional factors is crucial to enhancing public health readiness in educational settings.

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