Assessment and Evaluation of Knowledge, Attitude and Perception on Topical Corticosteroids among Health Science Student Population

Background: Abuse of topical corticosteroids is a growing concern for dermatologists in India. It manifests itself in a variety of ways, most frequently on the face. Important underlying issues include a lack of public knowledge and the simplicity of acquiring topical corticosteroids without a prescription. There is a need to take urgent remedial steps and increase awareness about this problem in Health Science Student Population. Therefore, our study aims to assess and evaluate the Knowledge, Attitude and Perception (KAP) among health science student population regarding usage of topical corticosteroids. Materials and Methods: A Randomized case control study carried out among health science student population. A Self-prepared and validated KAP questionnaires were distributed to the health science student population through online forms and face-to-face interview were done after seminar was conducted in case group using audio-video visuals and only subject information leaflet is given in control group then post study was done after 1 month and follow-up after 3 months with the same set of questionnaires. Results: Out of 520 students women made up 69.23% more participants than men. The percentage of people aged 20 to 30 was 71.15%. Most of the participants were undergraduates with 81.15%. Pharmacy (22.69%) is the field with the highest enrolment, followed by Ayurveda, Nursing, Physiotherapy, Medical, dental and allied degrees. Case group showed significant improvement in KAP score respectively compared to control group (p<0.05). Conclusion: Educating with audio video visuals and seminar shows significant improvement in KAP scores compared to giving subject information leaflet.