{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,28]],"date-time":"2026-05-28T07:03:03Z","timestamp":1779951783935,"version":"3.53.1"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,28]],"date-time":"2026-05-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1779926400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The main aim of the study was to assess the perception of the COVID-19 pandemic by Polish and Slovak medical students. Additional aims were assessment of their satisfaction with the quality of health care services and their attitudes toward vaccination against SARS-CoV-2. A group of 635 (100%) students of nursing and medicine from Poland and Slovakia were surveyed.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The results are part of a study conducted as part of international cooperation between the Silesian Medical University in Katowice (Poland) and the Comenius University in Bratislava, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin (Slovakia). Data were collected using a proprietary questionnaire developed for the purposes of this study.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The findings provide exploratory insight into retrospective perceptions related to psychosocial experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic among surveyed medical students from Poland and Slovakia. The lower evaluation of healthcare services during the pandemic and differences observed between Poland and Slovakia may reflect the perceived strain on healthcare systems, although these results should be interpreted with caution. While students expressed confidence in vaccination, differences between declared attitudes and vaccination uptake were observed, which may highlight the possible role of targeted educational and communication strategies. Overall, the findings may suggest the importance of considering psychosocial and systemic factors in shaping health-related attitudes among medical students. However, due to study limitations, the results should be interpreted cautiously and are not fully generalizable and should primarily be understood within the context of the analyzed sample.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1821945","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,28]],"date-time":"2026-05-28T06:19:54Z","timestamp":1779949194000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The COVID-19 pandemic in the eyes of Polish and Slovak medical students"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"J\u00f3zefa","family":"D\u0105bek","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cardiology, Faculty of Health Sciences in Katowice, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice","place":["Katowice, Poland"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Radka","family":"Kurucov\u00e1","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nursing, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin, Comenius University in Bratislava","place":["Martin, Slovakia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Katar\u00edna","family":"\u017diakov\u00e1","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nursing, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin, Comenius University in Bratislava","place":["Martin, Slovakia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Magdalena","family":"Szynal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cardiology, Faculty of Health Sciences in Katowice, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice","place":["Katowice, Poland"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Martina","family":"Tomagov\u00e1","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nursing, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin, Comenius University in Bratislava","place":["Martin, Slovakia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","volume-title":"WHO Director-General\u2019s Opening Remarks at the Media Briefing on COVID-19\u201411 March 2020","year":"2020"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"573390","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2020.573390","article-title":"Nursing students\u2019 perceptions, knowledge, and preventive Behaviors toward COVID-19: a multi-university study","volume":"8","author":"Albaqawi","year":"2020","journal-title":"Front Public Health"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"103148","DOI":"10.1016\/j.nepr.2021","article-title":"Nursing students\u2019 attitudes, knowledge and willingness of to receive the coronavirus disease vaccine: a cross-sectional study","volume":"55","author":"Jiang","year":"2021","journal-title":"Nurse Educ Pract"},{"key":"ref4","volume-title":"COVID-19 Situation Dashboard","year":"2023"},{"key":"ref5","volume-title":"Report on the Epidemiological Situation of COVID-19 in Poland","year":"2023"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"535","DOI":"10.3390\/vaccines10040535","article-title":"Attitude of health care workers and medical students towards vaccination against COVID-19","volume":"10","author":"Jankowska-Pola\u0144ska","year":"2022","journal-title":"MDPI Vaccines"},{"key":"ref7","volume-title":"COVID-19 Epidemiological Data","year":"2023"},{"key":"ref8","volume-title":"Coronavirus (COVID-19) Vaccinations\u2014Poland","year":"2023"},{"key":"ref9","first-page":"110","article-title":"Public perception and government response to COVID-19 in Slovakia","volume":"29","author":"Hude\u010dek","year":"2021","journal-title":"Cent Eur J Public Health"},{"key":"ref10","volume-title":"Health at a Glance: Europe 2022\u2014COVID-19 Impact across European Countries","year":"2022"},{"key":"ref11","volume-title":"Coronavirus (COVID-19) Vaccinations\u2014Slovakia","year":"2023"},{"key":"ref12","first-page":"24","article-title":"Factors influencing preventive behavior against COVID-19 in nursing students based on the health belief model","volume":"10","author":"Choi","year":"2020","journal-title":"J Nurs Educ Pract"},{"key":"ref13","first-page":"104901","article-title":"Perceived knowledge, preventive behaviors and risks perception of COVID-19 among nursing students: a cross- sectional study","volume":"102","author":"Choi","year":"2021","journal-title":"Nurse Educ Today"},{"key":"ref14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"66","DOI":"10.3390\/vaccines10010066","article-title":"COVID-19 vaccination acceptance among healthcare workers and non-healthcare Workers in Poland","volume":"10","author":"Lindner-Paw\u0142owicz","year":"2022","journal-title":"Vaccine"},{"key":"ref15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"328","DOI":"10.1177\/109019817400200403","article-title":"Historical origins of the health belief model","volume":"2","author":"Rosenstock","year":"1974","journal-title":"Health Educ Monogr"},{"key":"ref16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e54769","DOI":"10.2196\/54769","article-title":"COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy: umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analysis","volume":"10","author":"Rahbeni","year":"2024","journal-title":"JMIR Public Health Surveill"},{"key":"ref17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1395","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2022.938067","article-title":"COVID-19 booster vaccine hesitancy among healthcare workers and medical students in Poland","volume":"10","author":"Dziedzic","year":"2022","journal-title":"Vaccine"},{"key":"ref18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"100008","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijnsa.2020.100008","article-title":"Satisfaction with the use of telehealth during COVID-19: an integrative review","volume":"2","author":"Andrews","year":"2020","journal-title":"Int J Nurs Stud Adv"},{"key":"ref19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"62671","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-024-62671-2","article-title":"Assessment of the dynamics of inpatient health care during COVID-19 in Poland","volume":"14","author":"\u015aliwczy\u0144ski","year":"2024","journal-title":"Sci Rep"},{"key":"ref20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"870314","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2022.870314","article-title":"Quality of the healthcare services during COVID-19 \u2013 a survey from Poland","volume":"10","author":"Tuczy\u0144ska","year":"2022","journal-title":"Front Public Health"},{"key":"ref21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e948225","DOI":"10.12659\/MSM.948225","article-title":"Factors influencing patient satisfaction with healthcare services in Poland","volume":"31","author":"Mularczyk-Tomczewska","year":"2025","journal-title":"Med Sci Monit"},{"key":"ref22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"7109","DOI":"10.1080\/1331677X.2022.2059691","article-title":"Satisfaction of inpatients with health care facilities in the Slovak Republic","volume":"35","author":"Gavurov\u00e1","year":"2022","journal-title":"Econ Res"},{"key":"ref23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"255","DOI":"10.3390\/economies12090255","article-title":"Comprehensive assessment of Slovakian hospitals using multicriteria methods in pre-crisis, crisis and post- crisis periods","volume":"12","author":"Jen\u010dov\u00e1","year":"2024","journal-title":"Econ"},{"key":"ref24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e940227","DOI":"10.12659\/MSM.940227","article-title":"COVID-19 pandemic and healthcare communication: a patient-centric evaluation of treatment and diagnostic procedures in Poland","volume":"29","author":"Izdebski","year":"2023","journal-title":"Med Sci Monit"},{"key":"ref25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e0254960","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0254960","article-title":"The impact of medicine teleconsultations on general practitioner-patient communication during COVID-19: a case study from Poland","volume":"16","author":"Kludacz-Alessandri","year":"2021","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"key":"ref26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e0283740","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0283740","article-title":"Pandemic management impacts Slovak health care workers\u2019 quality of life during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic","volume":"18","author":"Pacutov\u00e1","year":"2023","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"key":"ref27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"185","DOI":"10.1186\/s12912-023-01356-z","article-title":"The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health, well-being and working conditions of nurses in Slovakia","volume":"22","author":"Putekov\u00e1","year":"2023","journal-title":"BMC Nurses"},{"key":"ref28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2438831","DOI":"10.1080\/17482631.2024.2438831","article-title":"\u201cThe doctors and nurses looked like aliens\u201d: a qualitative study on the subjective hospitalization experiences of severe COVID-19 patients in Slovakia","volume":"20","author":"Halama","year":"2025","journal-title":"Int J Qual Stud Health Well Being"},{"key":"ref29","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1286","DOI":"10.3390\/vaccines9111286","article-title":"Attitude of polish healthcare workers towards COVID-19 vaccination","volume":"9","author":"Lindner-Paw\u0142owicz","year":"2021","journal-title":"Vaccines"},{"key":"ref30","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"113429","DOI":"10.1016\/j.psychres.2020.113429","article-title":"Impact of COVID-19 and lockdown on mental health of children and adolescents: a narrative review","volume":"293","author":"Singh","year":"2020","journal-title":"J Indian Assoc Child Adolesc Ment Health"},{"key":"ref31","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"743","DOI":"10.1186\/s12889-024-17532-y","article-title":"Determinants of COVID-19 vaccination intention: a global systematic review","volume":"24","author":"Slavec","year":"2024","journal-title":"BMC Public Health"},{"key":"ref32","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"507","DOI":"10.3390\/vaccines12030507","article-title":"Trust, risk perception, and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Poland","volume":"12","author":"\u017buk","year":"2024","journal-title":"Vaccines"},{"key":"ref33","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"337","DOI":"10.1038\/s41562-021-01056-1","article-title":"Measuring the impact of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation on vaccination intent across 40 countries","volume":"5","author":"Loomba","year":"2021","journal-title":"Nat Hum Behav"},{"key":"ref34","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"23","DOI":"10.3390\/vaccines12010023","article-title":"Impact of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccination program on Presenteeism and absenteeism among healthcare Workers in Poland","volume":"12","author":"Hoffmann","year":"2023","journal-title":"Vaccines (Basel)"},{"key":"ref35","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1711428","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2025.1711428","article-title":"A systematic review on the psychological factors behind vaccine hesitancy in the COVID-19 era","volume":"13","author":"Panico","year":"2025","journal-title":"Front Public Health"},{"key":"ref36","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"263","DOI":"10.7774\/cevr.2024.13.4.263","article-title":"COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among medical students, health professionals, and health care workers: an umbrella review","volume":"13","author":"Iqbal","year":"2024","journal-title":"Clin Exp Vaccine Res"},{"key":"ref37","first-page":"12567618","article-title":"COVID-19 pandemic and vaccine hesitancy: the role of misinformation and trust","volume":"22","author":"Brumbaugh","year":"2025","journal-title":"Int J Environ Res Public Health"},{"key":"ref38","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"151976","DOI":"10.1016\/j.apnr.2025.151976","article-title":"Clustering vaccine hesitancy and social media use of nurses and nursing students: a cross-sectional study","volume":"84","author":"Comparcini","year":"2025","journal-title":"Appl Nurs Res"},{"key":"ref39","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"12695","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph182312695","article-title":"Acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination among healthcare and non- healthcare workers of hospitals and outpatients clinics in the northern region of Slovakia","volume":"18","author":"Ulbrichtova","year":"2021","journal-title":"Int J Environ Res Public Health"},{"key":"ref40","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1858","DOI":"10.3390\/vaccines10111858","article-title":"Secondary school teachers and outpatient physicians: differences in attitudes towards vaccination against COVID-19 in Slovakia","volume":"10","author":"Tatarkova","year":"2022","journal-title":"Vaccines"},{"key":"ref41","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"6815","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph18136815","article-title":"Odds ratio estimation of medical students\u2019 attitudes to COVID-19 vaccination in Slovakia","volume":"18","author":"Sovicova","year":"2021","journal-title":"Int J Environ Res Public Health"},{"key":"ref42","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"276","DOI":"10.1186\/s12916-024-03119-x","article-title":"Impact of public health and social measures on COVID-19 transmission and unintended consequences: systematic review","volume":"22","author":"Fadlallah","year":"2024","journal-title":"BMC Med"},{"key":"ref43","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"694610","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2021.694610","article-title":"Negative impacts of COVID-19 induced lockdown on lifestyle behaviors in developing countries: a review","volume":"9","author":"Nguyen","year":"2021","journal-title":"Front Public Health"},{"key":"ref44","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"101113","DOI":"10.1016\/j.eclinm.2021.101113","article-title":"Attitudes, acceptance and hesitancy among the general population worldwide to receive the COVID-19 vaccines and associated factors: a systematic review and meta- analysis","volume":"40","author":"Cascini","year":"2021","journal-title":"EClinicalMedicine"},{"key":"ref45","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"793","DOI":"10.1186\/s12909-022-03789-1","article-title":"Distance learning and assessment during the COVID-19 pandemic: experiences of polish medical students","volume":"22","author":"Przymusza\u0142a","year":"2022","journal-title":"BMC Med Educ"},{"key":"ref46","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2298","DOI":"10.1186\/s12889-023-17104-6","article-title":"A systematic review of the direct and indirect COVID-19\u2019s impact on food security and its dimensions: pre-and post-comparative analysis","volume":"23","author":"Gebeyehu","year":"2023","journal-title":"BMC Public Health"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Public Health"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1821945\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,28]],"date-time":"2026-05-28T06:19:57Z","timestamp":1779949197000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1821945\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,28]]},"references-count":46,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1821945"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1821945","relation":{},"ISSN":["2296-2565"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2296-2565","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,28]]},"article-number":"1821945"}}