scholarly journals Impact of COVID-19 on the Educational Process in Saudi Arabia: A Technology–Organization–Environment Framework

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 7103
Author(s):  
Khloud Alshaikh ◽  
Shaikhah Maasher ◽  
Afnan Bayazed ◽  
Farrukh Saleem ◽  
Sahar Badri ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Disruptive Effect ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
The Impact

The lockdown of universities and educational institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the educational process. Saudi Arabia became a forerunner during COVID-19 by taking initial precautions of curfews and total restrictions. However, these restrictions had a disruptive effect on various sectors, specifically the educational sector. The Ministry of Education strived to cope with the consequences of these changes swiftly by shifting to online education. This paper aims to study the impact of COVID-19 on the educational process through a comparative study of the responses collected from different cases, and the challenges that are faced throughout the educational process. The study conducted a cross-sectional, self-administered online questionnaire during the outbreak and distance learning, which was designed based on the Technology–Organization–Environment (TOE) framework of students. Most questions used a five-point Likert scale. The responses were randomly collected from 150 undergraduate and postgraduate students who were studying in Saudi Arabian universities, to study the overall performance of education institutions during COVID-19. The collected data were analyzed and compared to the results in the literature. The main factors impacted by this transformation are addressed. These factors are based on research and observations and aim to overcome the encountered limitations and to present their level of impact on distance education. The research framework can be useful for higher educational authorities aiming to overcome the issues highlighted and discussed in this study.

scholarly journals The Effectiveness of Online Education in Basic Medical Sciences Courses during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Saudi Arabia: Cross-Sectional Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 224
Author(s):  
Mohamed A. Alblihed ◽  
Syed Moyn Aly ◽  
Ashraf Albrakati ◽  
Ahmed Fathy Eldehn ◽  
Shaimaa Ahmed Awad Ali ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Blended Learning ◽  
Student Perception ◽  
Dental Students ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Impact

Coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) is an emerging pandemic that has caused significant disruptions to education, resulting in marked scholar closures across the world. The present study documents the student perception of the online educational process at six universities in Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 lockdown period. The individual variable factors, i.e., institution, sex, and blended learning, that might influence student perception were also investigated. In this respect, a questionnaire that assessed the impact of COVID-19 on the online learning process and student perception was emailed to a total of 17,230 students from 3 institutions (medical, applied health and dental students) affiliated with six universities in Saudi Arabia. Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed to determine the validity of the questionnaire. A total of 4850 (28%) students responded to the questionnaire and 46.9% (n = 2275) of the respondents were highly satisfied with their online education. Analyses of the scores from the students showed a highly significant difference (p = 0.000) between the male and female students. Applied health students (highly satisfied score = 63.13) were the most satisfied with their online education, while medical students (highly satisfied score = 39.3) were the least satisfied with this education. In addition, applied health, dental and medical students showed a significantly higher score in favor of blended learning after schools re-open (p = 0.000). Collectively, student satisfaction with online education was common, and blended learning was preferred over the traditional format by both genders and all the students. The present data provide interesting contributions and evidence for policy makers and implementers, which might be helpful for the judgment side of decision making.

scholarly journals COVID-19 Psychological Impact on Health Care Workers in Saudi Arabia

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (11) ◽  
pp. 6076
Author(s):  
Hasan S. Alamri ◽  
Wesam F. Mousa ◽  
Abdullah Algarni ◽  
Shehata F. Megahid ◽  
Ali Al Bshabshe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Psychological Impact ◽  
Psychological Outcomes ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
The Impact

Objective: Little is known about the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) among the health care workers in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess the psychological impact of COVID-19 among the health care workers. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted from May till mid-July among 389 health care workers from government and private hospitals in Saudi Arabia. Data was collected using a pre-structured online questionnaire that measured adverse psychological outcomes, including the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) scale and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) scale. The Pearson chi-square test was used to assess the distribution of depression and anxiety among health care workers. Results: A high level of anxiety was recorded among the health care workers, and 69.3% of health care workers below the age of 40 were found to have depression. There was a significant increase in depression among staff with chronic health problems (72.1% vs. 61.9%; p = 0.048). High anxiety levels were detected among young staff compared to others (68.7% vs. 43.8%; p = 0.001). Moreover, 82.1% of the female staff were anxious, as compared to 55.6% of the males (p = 0.001). Conclusions: We found increased prevalence of adverse psychological outcomes among the health care workers in Saudi Arabia during the outbreak of COVID-19. Therefore, there is a need for proper screening and development of corresponding preventive measures to decrease the adverse psychological outcomes.

scholarly journals Feasibility of learning dermatology among undergraduates through online means: the impact of COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 354-358
Author(s):  
Sagar Pokhrel ◽  
Neelam Dahal ◽  
Dhan Kesar Khadka
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Learning Material ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Online Tools ◽  
The Impact

Background: The outbreak of the deadly disease COVID-19 has shaken the entire world. The pandemic has resulted in a global lockdown affecting all areas of life, including medical education. This has impeded the traditional way of teaching and learning activities and forced educational institutions such as medical universities to shift rapidly to distance and online learning. Aims and Objectives: The aim was to find out the impact of COVID-19 and the perception of undergraduate students of B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS) of learning dermatology through online means. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with a self-administered online questionnaire. The inclusion criteria were all MBBS third and fourth years students of BPKIHS willing to participate in the study. Result: A total of 151 participants agreed to complete the online survey questionnaire. The overall attitude toward online education was positive. The majority of students agreed that online learning material should be of high quality for online education (66.2%) and that online learning will bring new opportunities for organizing teaching and learning (62.3%). Zoom and Dudal were the most common online tools used by students. The geographic location, lack of past experience in using online tools, and communication barriers such as a poor Internet connection and frequent electricity cutoffs were identified by students as the main barriers to online education. Conclusion: Although the COVID-19 pandemic culminated in the lockdown of medical universities, it provided opportunities for bringing innovations into effect. Such large-scale studies are missing in developing countries such as Nepal, thus further research is needed to explore these possibilities nationwide.

scholarly journals Stress and turnover intention among healthcare workers in Saudi Arabia during the time of COVID-19: Can social support play a role?

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (10) ◽  
pp. e0258101
Author(s):  
Khalid Al-Mansour
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Turnover Intention ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Regression Weight ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

The turnover intention of healthcare workers is a threat to the competence of health services, especially during COVID-19 time. This study aimed to investigate the association between stress and turnover intention among healthcare workers in Saudi Arabia and whether social support could affect this association. In this cross-sectional study, healthcare workers in primary healthcare centers in Saudi Arabia responded to an online questionnaire assessing their sociodemographic and occupational history, stress levels using the Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10), social support using the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), and turnover intention within the next few months. Path analysis was conducted to assess the mediating effect of social support on the association between stress and turnover intention. A total of 1101 healthcare workers (242 physicians, 340 nurses, 310 paramedics, and 209 administrative workers) participated in this study. The path between stress and support had a significant standardized regression weight (-.34, p < .05). The path between support and turnover had a significant standardized regression weight (.08, p < .05). The standardized total effect of stress on turnover without the impact of support was significant (-.39, p < .05). The direct effect of stress on turnover with the presence of support was significant (-.36, p < .05). The indirect effect of stress on turnover with the presence of support was significant (-.03, p < .05). Thus, there is evidence to show that support mediates the relationship between stress and support. Stress is associated with turnover intention among healthcare workers in Saudi Arabia. Social support had a mitigating effect on the relationship between stress and turnover intention.

scholarly journals COVID-19 Pandemic Causing Depression in Different Sociodemographic Groups in Saudi Arabia

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (13) ◽  
pp. 6955
Author(s):  
Hana Sonbol ◽  
Hadil M. Alahdal ◽  
Rasis A. Alanazi ◽  
Khawla Alsamhary ◽  
Fuad Ameen
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
World Health ◽  
Depression Symptoms ◽  
Elderly Persons ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Impact Of Event Scale ◽  
Event Scale ◽  
The Impact

COVID-19 disease was announced as a global pandemic in March 2020 by the World health organization (WHO). Saudi Arabia was among the first countries to enforce restriction measures such as closing schools, remote working, and a travel ban. We aim to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people’s depression in Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional online survey of 1109 participants was conducted during the curfew between 18th of May and 11th of June 2020. An online questionnaire included questions about the commitment to follow the precautionary measures, knowledge on COVID-19, and depression. Depression was assessed with the Impact of Event Scale-Revised method. Females, unmarried individuals, elderly persons, parents of young children, unemployed, and small families were more likely to be depressed. Education level did not explain the differences in depression. However, the more knowledge the participants had about COVID-19 the better they followed the restrictions. A regression analysis revealed that the commitment of a person to follow the restrictions increased his/her depression symptoms. Attention should be paid to different groups of people in future psychiatric planning.

scholarly journals The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on parents’ behavior toward scheduled pediatric vaccinations in Saudi Arabia

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (08) ◽  
pp. 1054-1058
Author(s):  
Abdullah Saleh Al-Nafeesah ◽  
Abdullah Saleh Aldamigh ◽  
Basel Abdulrahman Almansoor ◽  
Osama Al-Wutayd ◽  
Ashwaq Ahmed AlE'ed
Keyword(s):  
Logistic Regression ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Multiple Logistic Regression Analysis ◽  
Binary Logistic Regression ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
World Health ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
The Impact

Introduction: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is caused by a newly discovered coronavirus and has resulted in a global pandemic. The World Health Organization recommended avoiding any delay or disruption of immunization services, as this could result in increases in outbreak-prone vaccine-preventable diseases. This study aimed to determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on parents’ behaviour towards their children’s scheduled vaccinations. Methodology: This web-based cross-sectional study recruited 1,143 parents/guardians of children below six years of age living in Saudi Arabia between May 1 and May 30, 2020 via social media platforms. A self-developed online questionnaire consisting of eight items was used. Simple and multiple binary logistic regression was used to determine the factors associated with vaccine delay during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: The parents/guardians were aged 20–60 years; 82% were aged between 20 and 39 years. It was found that 26% of parents did not vaccinate their children on time according to the national immunization schedule in regular situations, and 38% of parents reported delaying vaccination due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The multiple logistic regression analysis found that having two or more children, living in Riyadh or the Western region or not vaccinating children during regular situations were associated with an increased risk of vaccine delay during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusions: Delaying children’s vaccinations during the COVID-19 pandemic was influenced most by living in regions with high COVID-19 prevalence and having two or more children.

scholarly journals The impact of Saudi lockdown to counter COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 78-87
Author(s):  
Khaleel I. Alyahya ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Survey Design ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Almost All ◽  
The Impact

The study aimed to assess the impact of awareness of citizens and residents in Saudi Arabia toward the home isolation and social distancing during lockdown that might decrease the outbreak of COVID-19, to measure the importance of social behavior to maintain the constant decline of COVID-19 cases and to determine if there is a difference in the level of awareness and behavior between citizens and residents in Saudi Arabia toward the governmental measures during the pandemic. We have adopted a cross-sectional survey design to investigate the impact of Saudi lockdown on blockade COVID-19 by using an anonymous online questionnaire. The targeted population of the study was Saudi citizens and non-Saudi residents of different ages. The collected data were entered into Microsoft Excel (version 2011) and analyzed by using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 23. The Chi-square test with 95% confidence intervals (CI) was used to examine significant associations between the socio-demographic characteristic of participants, their awareness, and their behavior towards the COVOD-19 pandemic. AP value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. The total number of the current study participants was 1168. The majority (70.50%) were married males with children (73.50%). Three-quarters of the participants were equally distributed between the age groups of 30-39, 40-49, and 50-59 years old. Almost all (90.90%) of the participants have received higher education, 73.60% living in the central region, and in large and crowded cities (75.30%). More than half (58.50%) of the Saudi respondents know about the coronavirus from media sources, while for the non-Saudis, 54.50% are well informed regarding the virus. The results of the current study revealed that the majority of the population in the country believe in home isolation and social distancing for the COVID-19 blockade. Additionally, they also consider non-compliance to these measures as one the main factor for the disease outbreak. Most of the participants were committed to home isolation, social distancing, and personal protective measures including wearing masks, gloves, and avoiding face contact.

Online education empowerment with artificial intelligence tools

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 22-29
Author(s):  
Boichenko A.V. ◽  
◽  
Boichenko O.A. ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Distance Learning ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
Learning System ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
External Data ◽  
Types Of Information ◽  
The Impact

The experience of organizing the educational process during the quarantine caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is considered. Using of interactive technologies that allow organizing instant audio communication with a remote audience, as well as intelligent tools based on artificial intelligence that can help educational institutions to work more efficiently. Examples of sufficient use of artificial intelligence in distance learning are given. Particular attention is paid to the development of intelligent chatbots intended for use in communications with students of online courses of educational web portals. The use of technologies of ontology formation based on automatic extraction of concepts from external sources is offered, what can lead to greater acceleration of construction of the intellectual component of chatbots. Artificial intelligence tools can become an essential part of distance learning during this global COVID-19 pandemic. While educational institutions are closed to quarantine and many of them transitioned to distance learning lecturers and schoolteachers, as well as students and schoolchildren faced with the necessity to study in this new reality. The impact of these changes depends on people's ability to learn and on the role that the education system will play in meeting the demand for quality and affordable training. The experience of organizing the educational process at the University of Education Management of the National Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of Ukraine in the quarantine caused by the COVID-19 pandemic showed that higher and postgraduate institutions were mostly ready to move to distance learning. However, most distance learning systems, on whatever platform they are organized, need to be supplemented: the ability to broadcast video (at least ‒ one-way streaming), providing fast transmission of various types of information, receiving instant feedback when voting, polls and more. The structure of each section of the training course for the online learning system should fully cover the training material and meet all the objectives of the course. Appropriate language should be used, and wording, syntax, and presentation of tasks should be considered. One of the areas of application of artificial intelligence technologies in online learning is the use of chatbots which are characterrized by the following properties. It is advisable to use computer ontologies to ensure the intellectualization of chatbots. In this case, the metadata must be understandable to both humans and software and meet the requirements of modern standards in the field of information technology. The extraction of concepts from external data sources was carried out to build the ontology.

scholarly journals Stress Perceived by University Health Sciences Students, 1 Year after COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (10) ◽  
pp. 5233
Author(s):  
Yolanda Marcén-Román ◽  
Angel Gasch-Gallen ◽  
Irene Isabel Vela Martín de la Mota ◽  
Estela Calatayud ◽  
Isabel Gómez-Soria ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Students ◽  
University Students ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Psychological Health ◽  
Health Sciences ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Occupational Therapy Students ◽  
Health Sciences Students ◽  
The Impact

Today’s COVID-19 situation can affect university Health Sciences students’ psychological health. This study aimed to analyze the stress caused by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Health Sciences students from the University of Zaragoza (Spain) almost 1 year after the pandemic began. This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted with a sample of 252 university students who completed a self-administered online questionnaire. It evaluated the impact of perceived stress with a modified scale (PSS-10-C), and assessed anxiety and depression on the Goldberg scale. Students presented stress (13.1%), anxiety (71.4%) and depression (81%). Females (81.7%) and the third-year Occupational Therapy students (p = 0.010) reported perceived stress. Nursing students perceived less stress (OR: 0.148; 95% CI: 0.026 to 0.842). University students developed stress and anxiety due to COVID-19 almost 1 year after the pandemic began. Psychological support measures for these groups should be prioritized.

scholarly journals Assessment of Saudi Parents’ Beliefs and Behaviors towards Management of Child Fever in Saudi Arabia—A Cross-Sectional Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (10) ◽  
pp. 5217
Author(s):  
Mohamed N. Al Arifi ◽  
Abdulrahman Alwhaibi
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Side Effects ◽  
Febrile Seizures ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Inclusion Criteria ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Electronic Thermometer ◽  
And Behavior

Objective: Fever alone can lead to rare serious complications in children, such as febrile seizures. The aim of this study is to assess the knowledge, beliefs, and behavior of parents toward fever and its management. Methods: A cross-sectional study using an online questionnaire was applied over a period of 3 months, from January to March 2018, to parents who were living in Saudi Arabia. The inclusion criteria were a parent who is a resident of Saudi Arabia, with at least one child aged 6 years or less, while incomplete questionnaires, having a child aged more than 6 years, or parents who were not living in Saudi Arabia were excluded. Results: A total of 656 parents completed the questionnaire. More than two-thirds of the subjects were female, the majority of whom were aged between 25–33 years old. The best-reported place to measure the temperature of children was the armpit (46%), followed by the ear (28%) and the mouth (10.7%). More than half of the parents considered their children feverish at a temperature of 38 °C. The majority of parents (79.7%) reported that the most serious side effects of fever were seizure, brain damage (39.3%), coma (29.9%), dehydration (29.7%), and death (25%). The most common method used to measure a child’s temperature was an electronic thermometer (62.3%). The most common antipyretic was paracetamol (84.5%). Conclusions: Our study demonstrates the good knowledge of parents in identifying a feverish temperature using the recommended route and tools for measuring body temperature.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document