Knowledge of, attitudes toward and practices regarding noncommunicable diseases among undergraduate students at a university in the Western Cape

Abstract

Background: Non-communicable diseases are non-infectious, irreversible with multi-causal origins that have no expectancy for cure and generate functional disability. The World Health Organisation reveals that most of the global deaths are caused by non-communicable diseases. Aim of the study: The aim of this study was to investigate and describe the knowledge of, attitude towards, and practices regarding non-communicable diseases among undergraduate students at a School of Nursing at a university in the Western Cape Province. Methodology: A descriptive quantitative survey design was used with a structured questionnaire that explored the knowledge of, attitude towards, and practices regarding noncommunicable diseases among undergraduate students at a School of Nursing at a university in the Western Cape Province. Permission was obtained to use the 97-item self-report questionnaire on knowledge, attitudes and practice. The population of this study included second to final year undergraduate nursing students at a School of Nursing at a university in the Western Cape registered for the year 2022. The Statistical Package for Social Science version 28 was used to analyse the data against the research objectives by means of descriptive analysis.