Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices of Undergraduate Students Regarding Climate Change in a Medical College of Assam

Abstract Context: Climate change poses significant challenges that warrant serious concerns for India. Yet, there is an alarming lack of awareness about this critical issue. Aims: This study was done to evaluate the knowledge of undergraduate students regarding climate change and to assess their attitude and self-reported practices. Settings and Design: A cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduate students of various courses in a medical college. This study was done from October 2024 to March 2025. Stratified sampling with proportional allocation to the strength of students was done. Subjects and Methods: The final sample size was 972. A predesigned, pretested questionnaire was used, which was adopted from the United Nations Development Programme–Japan-Caribbean Climate Change Partnership knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) and United Nations Children’s Fund KAP surveys on climate change. Statistical Analysis Used: Quantitative data were summarized using mean/median and standard deviation/interquartile range. Qualitative data were expressed in proportion/percentages. The Chi-square test was used to test associations. Results: Overall, 762 (78.4%) students were found to have adequate knowledge regarding climate change. Six hundred and eighty-five (70.5%) students were very concerned or concerned about climate change. Five hundred and fifty-eight (57.4%) students reported that they have taken any actions to prevent or lessen the impact of climate change. The association between adequate knowledge and action taken to prevent the impact of climate change was found to be statistically significant ( P = 0.0001). Conclusions: The results of the study reflected that most of the participants were aware about climate change, expressed concern, and a willingness to act. However, their actions toward climate change were only basic conservation activities and not target oriented.