Posted: November 14th, 2022

A review of healthcare student volunteers’ level of readiness for the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus

A review of healthcare student volunteers’ level of readiness for the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is a viral respiratory disease that was first identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012 and has since spread to 27 countries, causing 858 deaths as of November 2022 (WHO, 2022). MERS-CoV is transmitted between animals and humans, mainly through direct or indirect contact with infected dromedary camels, and can cause severe acute respiratory infection, pneumonia, and gastrointestinal symptoms. The mortality rate of MERS-CoV is estimated to be around 35%, but this may be an overestimate due to underreporting of mild cases (WHO, 2022).

Healthcare workers are at high risk of exposure to MERS-CoV, especially in health care settings where human-to-human transmission is more frequent. Therefore, it is essential that healthcare workers are well prepared and trained to prevent, detect, and respond to MERS-CoV outbreaks. However, there is a lack of studies on the level of readiness of healthcare student volunteers, who may also play a vital role in supporting the health system during MERS-CoV emergencies.

This review aims to assess the current literature on the level of readiness of healthcare student volunteers for MERS-CoV, focusing on their knowledge, attitudes, practices, and barriers. The review will also identify the gaps and recommendations for future research and interventions to enhance the preparedness of healthcare student volunteers for MERS-CoV.

The review will follow the PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (Moher et al., 2009). The search strategy will include the following databases: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar. The search terms will include: “Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus” OR “MERS-CoV” OR “MERS” AND “healthcare student” OR “medical student” OR “nursing student” OR “pharmacy student” OR “dentistry student” OR “volunteer” AND “readiness” OR “preparedness” OR “knowledge” OR “attitude” OR “practice” OR “barrier”. The inclusion criteria will be: peer-reviewed articles published in English between 2020 and 2023; original research studies that assessed the level of readiness of healthcare student volunteers for MERS-CoV; quantitative or qualitative methods or mixed methods. The exclusion criteria will be: review articles, editorials, commentaries, letters, case reports, conference abstracts; studies that did not focus on healthcare student volunteers or MERS-CoV; studies that did not measure the level of readiness or its components.

The data extraction will include the following information: author(s), year of publication, country of study, study design, sample size, sampling method, data collection tool, data analysis method, main findings, limitations, and implications. The quality assessment will be done using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) version 2018 (Hong et al., 2018), which evaluates the methodological quality of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods studies. The data synthesis will be done using a narrative approach, summarizing the main themes and subthemes related to the level of readiness of healthcare student volunteers for MERS-CoV.

The expected outcomes of this review are: a comprehensive overview of the current literature on the level of readiness of healthcare student volunteers for MERS-CoV; a identification of the strengths and weaknesses of the existing studies; a identification of the gaps and recommendations for future research and interventions to improve the preparedness of healthcare student volunteers for MERS-CoV.

References:

Hong QN, Pluye P, Fàbregues S et al. (2018) Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT), version 2018. Registration of Copyright/Screening Questions.
http://mixedmethodsappraisaltoolpublic.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/127916259/MMAT_2018_criteria-manual_2018-08-01_ENG.pdf

Moher D., Liberati A., Tetzlaff J., Altman D.G., The PRISMA Group (2009). Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: The PRISMA Statement. PLoS Med 6(7): e1000097.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed1000097

WHO (2022). Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/middle-east-respiratory-syndrome-coronavirus-(mers-cov)