ATTITUDE AND PERCEPTION

Background: Universal Health Coverage (UHC) aims to ensure that all individuals have access to needed health services of adequate quality without financial hardship. As future healthcare providers and health-system leaders, medical and dental students play an important role in advancing UHC through clinical practice, advocacy, and policy engagement. Objectives: This study assessed the knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of Universal Health Coverage among medical and dental students of the University of Benin, Nigeria, and examined associated socio-demographic factors. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduate medical and dental students using a structured, self-administered questionnaire. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Descriptive statistics were presented as frequencies and percentages, while associations were tested using the Chi-square test at a 5% level of significance. Results: Most respondents demonstrated good knowledge of UHC (60.1%) and positive attitudes toward its principles (89.0%). However, perceptions revealed notable concerns regarding the financial sustainability of UHC and its potential impact on quality of care. Knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions were significantly more favorable among older students, those in higher academic levels, and those with formal exposure to health policy or UHC training (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Medical and dental students at the University of Benin generally possess good knowledge and positive attitudes toward Universal Health Coverage, but their perceptions reflect realistic concerns about implementation challenges within Nigeria’s health system. Strengthening early, structured, and policy-oriented UHC education during undergraduate training is essential to prepare future healthcare professionals to effectively contribute to achieving UHC in Nigeria.

Background: Physiotherapists are part of the multidisciplinary health care team (MDT) and are essential in providing mental health education to patients and, when necessary, making referrals for additional customized therapy. However, there is a little or no studies on the knowledge, attitudes and perception of clinical students on the roles of physiotherapy in mental health. Aim: The aim of the study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes and perception of final clinical students of the university of Benin on the roles of physiotherapy in mental health. Methods: This was a cross sectional design study where 256 participants were recruited via convenience sampling technique from final year clinical class at University of Benin. Data was summarized using frequency, percentages, mean, median and interquartile range as appropriate. Inferential statistics such as Chi-square was used to test for the association between the variables and Mann Whitney u-test was used to test for the level of differences. The level of significance will be set at p < 0.05. Results: Majority of the participants 221 (86.3%) had adequate knowledge of the role of physiotherapy, 131 (51.2%) had positive attitude and 218 (85.2%) had good perception towards the role of physiotherapy in mental health. There was no significant difference in knowledge, attitude and practice between male and female (p = >0.05). However, there was a significant difference in attitude between various departments. Furthermore, there was a significant relationship between knowledge and attitude (X2= 4.627, p=0.031). Conclusion: The study revealed there was an adequate knowledge on the role of physiotherapy, attitude towards mental health and a good perception of the role of physiotherapy in mental health among the respondents.