Investigation of carbon monoxide (CO) knowledge and awareness in students studying at university

Abstract

Carbon monoxide (CO) remains one of the most common forms of poisoning and a massive public health issue, despite being highly preventable. There is a lack of research on students’ knowledge and awareness of CO exposure and poisoning even though they are considered to be one of the most vulnerable groups. This may be because university tends to be the first time a person moves away from home, where they may not need to be as aware of this topic. This study aims to discover what exactly students know about CO exposure and poisoning, where there is a knowledge gap and what variables affects this knowledge, or lack of. An online questionnaire was distributed to students studying at LJMU university via their LJMU email address. The results from this study suggest that although students may have a basic understanding of what CO is, they lack a deeper understanding of how to prevent CO exposure and poisoning, pick up on warning signs and many were aware of just how harmful the effects can have on an individuals’ health and quality of life. This study’s findings were limited as it was a small-scale research study – more participants would have made the results more accurate and allow for generalisability of the student population.