The Effectiveness of an Educational Intervention on Helicobacter pylori for University Students: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Abstract

Introduction

Helicobacter pylori infection is widespread and harmful, rendering its eradication a serious public health problem. Undergraduate students’ general understanding of H. pylori infection is relatively poor. This was a second-phase research study to evaluate the efficacy of an educational intervention in raising awareness among university students.

Methods

A quasi-experimental approach was employed, with 108 undergraduate students at King Saud University as participants. First, during the October 2021 academic year, data were gathered using a validated survey. The survey was divided into sociodemographic characteristics and H. pylori knowledge. Second, we assessed the effectiveness of an educational intervention to increase university students’ awareness of the topic.

Results

Before the intervention, the percentage of students that had good (9.3%), fair (28.7%) and poor (62%) knowledge of H. pylori infection changed to 55.6%, 41.7%, and 2.8% respectively. There was a significant increase in overall and domain-wise mean knowledge score after the educational intervention (p = 0.001). The pretest knowledge was independent of all socio-demographic variables except “whether or not they had heard about H. pylori infection” (χ²= 8.666, p = 0.013).

Conclusion

Educational intervention may help increase students’ awareness of H. pylori infections.

Keywords:

• awareness
• infectious disease
• H. pylori infection
• education-intervention
• undergraduate student
• infection control

Data Sharing Statement

All data are available on reasonable request from the corresponding author.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Deputyship for Research and Innovation, Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia for funding this research work through the project no. (IFKSUOR3–218–1). The authors also extend their appreciation to Dr. Regie Buenafe Tumala, Medical-Surgical Nursing Department, College of Nursing, King Saud University, for his valuable contribution to the data collection. The authors also thank the Prince Naif Health Research Center, Investigator Support Unit, for the language editing service.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Additional information

Funding

Deputyship for Research and Innovation, Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia, the project no. (IFKSUOR3–218–1).