Dental Education During Pandemic – Cross-Sectional Lecturer-Side Evaluation For The Use of Digital Teaching Concepts In German Universities

Author(s):  
Ephraim Nold ◽  
Vivienne Demeter ◽  
Kurt Erdelt ◽  
Daniel Edelhoff ◽  
Anja Liebermann

Abstract Background: The Covid-19 pandemic resulted in significant restrictions on dental teaching. The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the attitudes of faculty members towards digital teaching formats and the effort creating digital lectures. Methods: All German dental faculties were invited from January to April 2021 to the online survey by an anonymous voluntary questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of 27 questions that could be answered with a visual analog scale, free text answers or with fixed answer options. Data was analyzed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and an exploratory data analysis (α=0.05).Results: Before the pandemic, 24.8% of the participating lecturers were using digital teaching and 64.4% had no previous experience. After the outbreak of the pandemic, more than 80% of the lecturers stated that they offer online lectures (86.1%), online seminars (81.2%), and/or online bedside teaching (33.7%). 88.1% see face-to-face teaching as the preferred teaching format.The lecturers also see the greatest opportunities for interaction in the area of analog teaching and significantly worse in synchronous and asynchronous digital teaching. In the course of the pandemic, respondents' attitudes towards online teaching improved in the median of 24.0 to a median of 50.0. Conclusions: Faculty members have positively changed their attitudes towards online teaching formats over the course of the pandemic. Although they see the greatest learning success in conventional face-to-face teaching formats and the creation of digital lectures is associated with a higher effort, they want more online lessons in the future.

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 1522-1528
Author(s):  
Deependra Prasad Sarraf ◽  
Gajendra Prasad Rauniar ◽  
Basant Kumar Karn ◽  
Ramayan Prasad Kushwaha ◽  
Shashi Keshwar

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected medical education and has forced educators to switch to online teaching-learning activities worldwide. Online teaching-learning activities has ensured the safe delivery of the lectures to the students. Objective: To assess the perception of students towards online lectures and to analyze the perceived barriers to online learning in our context during the COVID-19 lockdown period. Methodology: A cross-sectional online descriptive study was conducted among undergraduate students at a tertiary teaching college in Eastern Nepal during September-November 2020. The link of the Google form consisting of the semi-structured questionnaire was sent to the students through email. Descriptive statistics frequency and percentage were calculated using Microsoft Excel 2010. The study was approved by the Institutional Review Committee (IRC/2069/20). Results: A total of 211 students participated in the study. Mean age of the students was 20.5±1.5 years. Out of 211, 130 (61.61%) students used smartphones to attend online lectures and 176 (83.41%) students had not attended any online classes before the COVID-19 pandemic. The most common perceived advantage of the online lectures was availability of recorded lectures (186, 88.15%) whereas reduced interaction (179, 84.83%) was the most common disadvantage. More than half (126, 59.72%) of the students disagreed/strongly disagreed that online lectures are more effective than traditional face-to-face lectures. Conclusions: Most of the students had negative perception towards the online lectures. The study findings recommend using a hybrid of conventional face-to-face classroom based teaching and newer online teaching-learning activities for delivering medical education.


Author(s):  
Bareera Saeed ◽  
Asmat Ullah ◽  
Muhammad Ali Khan

The COVID-19 has resulted in schools, colleges and universities shut all across the world. As a result; education has changed dramatically, with the distinctive rise of e-learning, whereby teaching is undertaken remotely and on digital platforms. This research study examines the attitudes of university students towards online teaching under corona virus pandemic situation in Pakistan. A cross sectional study design was used on 400 (Male=195, Female=205) university students. A convenient sampling technique was used to draw the sample from different universities in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. An online survey was conducted to collect the data. Descriptive statistics were calculated out to measure the distribution of attitude of study participants. Frequency and percentages were estimated to assess the attitude towards online mode of learning, and opinion on educational decisions, and problems related to study due to lockdown. All analyses were performed using the SPSS-V20. The results of study highlighted that a large majority of student (83.9 percent) preferred face-to-face classroom teaching method. This study concluded that in Pakistan, despite picking up gigantic ubiquity nowadays, virtual education has still not been grasped by students. Students are still more in the favour of face-to-face classroom teaching.


2020 ◽  
Vol 70 (suppl 1) ◽  
pp. bjgp20X711293
Author(s):  
Sarah Garnett ◽  
Hajira Dambha-Miller ◽  
Beth Stuart

BackgroundEmpathy is a key health care concept and refers to care that incorporates understanding of patient perspective’s, shared decision making, and consideration of the broader context in which illness is experience. Evidence suggests experiences of doctor empathy correlate with improved health outcomes and patient satisfaction. It has also been linked to job satisfaction, and mental wellbeing for doctors. To date, there is a paucity of evidence on empathy levels among medical students. This is critical to understand given that it is a key point at which perceptions and practices of empathy in the longer term might be formed.AimTo quantify the level of empathy among UK undergraduate medical studentsMethodAn anonymised cross-sectional online survey was distributed to medical students across three universities. The previously validated Davis’s Interpersonal Reactivity Index was used to quantify empathy. The survey also collected information on age, sex, ethnicity, year of medical school training and included a free-text box for ‘any other comments’.ResultsData analysis is currently underway with high response rates. Mean empathy scores by age, sex, year of study and ethnic group are presented. A correlation analysis will examine associations between age and year of study, and mean empathy sores.ConclusionThese data will help to provide a better understanding of empathy levels to inform the provision of future empathy training and medical school curriculum design. Given previous evidence linking experiences of empathy to better health outcomes, the findings may also be significant to future patient care


2021 ◽  
Vol 108 (Supplement_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
L E Murchison ◽  
R Anbarasan ◽  
A Mathur ◽  
M Kulkarni

Abstract Introduction In the already high-risk, high-stress environment of the operating theatre, operating during Covid-19 has brought its own unique challenges. Communication, teamwork and anxiety related new operating practices secondary to Covid-19 are hypothesised to have a negative impact on patient care. Method We conducted a single-centre online survey of operating theatre staff from 22nd June–6th July 2020. Respondents completed 18 human factors questions related to COVID-19 precautions including communication, teamwork, situational awareness, decision making, stress, fatigue, work environment and organisational culture. Questions consisted of yes/no responses, multiple choice and Likert items. Kruskall-Wallis tests, Chi-Squared, Mann Whitney U tests, Spearman’s correlation coefficient, lambda and Cramer’s V tests were used. Free-text responses were also reviewed. Results 116 theatre staff responded. Visual (90.5%), hearing/ understanding (96.6%) difficulties, feeling faint/lightheaded (66.4%) and stress (47.8%) were reported. Decreased situational awareness was reported by 71.5% and correlated with visors (r = 0.27 and p = 0.03) and FFP2/3 mask usage (r = 0.29 and p = 0.01). Reduced efficiency of theatre teams was reported by 75% of respondents and 21.5% felt patient safety was at greater risk due to Covid-19 precautions in theatre. Conclusions Organisational adjustments are required, and research focused on development of fit-for-purpose personal protective equipment (PPE).


Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 735
Author(s):  
Schoultz Mariyana ◽  
Leung Janni ◽  
Bonsaksen Tore ◽  
Ruffolo Mary ◽  
Thygesen Hilde ◽  
...  

Background: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the strict national policies regarding social distancing behavior in Europe, America and Australia, people became reliant on social media as a means for gathering information and as a tool for staying connected to family, friends and work. This is the first trans-national study exploring the qualitative experiences and challenges of using social media while in lockdown or shelter-in-place during the current pandemic. Methods: This study was part of a wider cross-sectional online survey conducted in Norway, the UK, USA and Australia during April/May 2020. The manuscript reports on the qualitative free-text component of the study asking about the challenges of social media users during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK, USA and Australia. A total of 1991 responses were included in the analysis. Thematic analysis was conducted independently by two researchers. Results: Three overarching themes identified were: Emotional/Mental Health, Information and Being Connected. Participants experienced that using social media during the pandemic amplified anxiety, depression, fear, panic, anger, frustration and loneliness. They felt that there was information overload and social media was full of misleading or polarized opinions which were difficult to switch off. Nonetheless, participants also thought that there was an urge for connection and learning, which was positive and stressful at the same time. Conclusion: Using social media while in a shelter-in-place or lockdown could have a negative impact on the emotional and mental health of some of the population. To support policy and practice in strengthening mental health care in the community, social media could be used to deliver practical advice on coping and stress management. Communication with the public should be strengthened by unambiguous and clear messages and clear communication pathways. We should be looking at alternative ways of staying connected.


Author(s):  
Emily Shoesmith ◽  
Luciana Santos de Assis ◽  
Lion Shahab ◽  
Elena Ratschen ◽  
Paul Toner ◽  
...  

Background: Companion animals may be a positive presence for their owners during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the welfare of a companion animal is strongly influenced by the behaviour of their owners, as well as their physical and social environment. We aimed to investigate the reported changes in companion animal welfare and behaviour and to examine the association between these changes and companion animal owners’ mental health. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey of UK residents over 18 years of age was conducted between April and June 2020 (n = 5926). The questionnaire included validated, bespoke items measuring outcomes related to mental health, human-animal bonds and reported changes in animal welfare and behaviour. The final item of the survey invited open-ended free-text responses, allowing participants to describe experiences associated with human-animal relationships during the first UK lockdown phase. Results: Animal owners made up 89.8% of the sample (n = 5323), of whom 67.3% reported changes in their animal’s welfare and behaviour during the first lockdown phase (n = 3583). These reported changes were reduced to a positive (0–7) and negative (0–5) welfare scale, following principal component analysis (PCA) of 17 items. Participants reported more positive changes for cats, whereas more negative changes were reported for dogs. Thematic analysis identified three main themes relating to the positive and negative impact on companion animals of the Covid-19 pandemic. Generalised linear models indicated that companion animal owners with poorer mental health scores pre-lockdown reported fewer negative changes in animal welfare and behaviour. However, companion animal owners with poorer mental health scores since lockdown reported more changes, both positive and negative, in animal welfare and behaviour. Conclusion: Our findings extend previous insights into perceived welfare and behaviour changes on a very limited range of species to a wider a range of companion animals. Owner mental health status has a clear, albeit small, effect on companion animal welfare and behaviour.


2022 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reham Hassan ◽  
Ayman R. Khalifa ◽  
Tarek Elsewify ◽  
Mohamed G. Hassan

Objectives: To evaluate the perceptions of clinical dental students on the role of online education in providing dental education during the COVID-19 crisis.Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was sent to four Egyptian dental schools from the 20th of January 2021 to the 3rd of February 2021. Survey questions included the demographics, uses, experiences, perceived benefits, and barriers of distance learning in dentistry during the COVID-19 pandemic. Responses were collected from the clinical dental school students. Categorical data were presented as frequencies (n) and percentages (%) and were analyzed using Fisher’s exact test.Results: Three hundred thirty-seven clinical dental students across four Egyptian dental schools responded. Most students used either Google Classroom or Microsoft Teams to access the online content. The data showed that the COVID-19 pandemic affected the academic performance of most participants (97.4%) with varying degrees. On average, students were neutral when asked to rate the online lectures, but did not find online practical education as effective (81.3%) as online theoretical teaching. The commonly described barriers to online teaching included loss of interaction with educators, inappropriateness in gaining clinical skills, and the instability of the internet connection.Conclusion: Despite the reported benefits, clinical dental students in Egypt preferred the hybrid approach in dental education as distance learning represented a prime challenge to gain adequate clinical dental skills.


Author(s):  
Shikha Gautam ◽  
Salamah Parveen Imteyaz ◽  
Mohammed Iqbal Alam

Introduction: The coronavirus pandemic has involved nearly all the countries of the world. The lockdowns and closure of educational institutes to reduce the risk of disease transmission has brought a change in the medium of teaching as most educational institutes have moved to the online mode. There is a widespread increase in stress as the number of cases and mortality associated with Coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID-19) continue each day. Aim: To assess the stress status of first year undergraduate medical students in reference to the coronavirus pandemic and the perception of first year undergraduate medical students in reference to the E-learning being carried out during the coronavirus pandemic. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional web-based online survey that was conducted using a questionnaire in August 2020 at Hamdard Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, New Delhi, India. The questionnaire was prepared and reviewed by the involved faculty members of the project and it was approved by a faculty from Department of Psychiatry. Reliability of questionnaire was measured using Cronbach’s alpha (0.89). A questionnaire with 20 questions was administered via Google forms to all 100 students of first year MBBS course. Some of the questions in the questionnaire were framed to assess the stress status of the students; some were designed to study students’ perception of E-learning. Data was represented as the percentage distribution of response for each question. Results: Ninety five responses were received, after accounting for exclusion factors; data was compiled for 91 respondents. Out of the 91 participants in the study, 48.4% were males (n=44) and 51.6% were females (n=47). Most of the students in this study (84.6%) felt that online teaching had helped in learning Physiology theory; around 43% students found online practical teaching useful. Around 39% students have reported internet connectivity issues all the time while 59% faced problem sometimes. Total 51.6% of students had difficulty in accessibility to devices. Due to coronavirus pandemic, 37.4% of students have reported to be under stress. Around 33% reported feeling unsafe all the time while 39.5% felt unsafe some of the times. Conclusion: Students found online teaching more helpful in learning Physiology theory than practical. Majority of class reported internet connectivity issues. All the responders agreed that this pandemic affected their regular life. Most of the students felt that online classes have helped them to remain positive and motivated towards study.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suhaib Muflih ◽  
Sawsan Abuhammad ◽  
Reema Karasneh ◽  
Sayer Al-Azzam ◽  
Karem H Alzoubi ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: The online teaching demand has increased tremendously to promote the implementation of online teaching-leaning system to meet the need of students during the outbreaks of emerging infectious disease. This study aims to explore whether the pandemic of COVID-19, which requires universities to rapidly offer online learning, will affect attitudes about online education for undergraduate health sciences students. Also, it investigates the barriers for using online tools. Method: A cross-sectional survey using online social media was used to recruit eligible participants. The data for this study were focused on students’ experiences utilizing an online education method offered by the Jordanian government universities. This study is utilizing newly developed measuring tools that are expected to enable students to evaluate online teaching in terms of their own learning progress. Results: A total of 1,210 participants agreed to complete the online survey questionnaire. The mean score preparedness and attitude toward online education was average. The majority of students agreed that online courses helped assign reading and homework time better than on-campus approach (75.0%) and felt comfortable to actively communicate with my classmates and instructors online. Zoom and eLearning were the most common online platforms utilized by students. The geographic locations, lack of past experience on using online tools, and lack of past experience on using online tools were identified by students as the main barrier to online educations. Conclusions: Although the pandemic of COVID-19 appeared as uncommon catalyst for promoting eLearning, further research is needed to assess whether learners are ready and willing to make greater use of online education to obtain high quality teaching and learning opportunities, which could totally change educators’ and students’ attitudes and impression, and subsequently the general themes of online education.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edmond Li ◽  
Rosy Tsopra ◽  
Geronimo Jimenez ◽  
Alice Serafini ◽  
Gustavo Gusso ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND With the onset of COVID-19, general practitioners (GPs) and patients worldwide swiftly transitioned from face-to-face to digital remote consultations. There is a need to evaluate how this global shift has impacted patient care, healthcare providers, patient and carer experience, and health systems. OBJECTIVE We explored GPs’ perspectives on the main benefits and challenges of using digital remote care. METHODS GPs across 20 countries completed an online questionnaire between June – September 2020. GPs’ perceptions on main barriers and challenges were explored using free-text questions. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. RESULTS A total of 1,605 respondents participated in our survey. The benefits identified included reducing COVID-19 transmission risks, guaranteeing access and continuity of care, improved efficiency, faster access to care, improved convenience and communication with patients, greater work flexibility for providers, and hastening the digital transformation of primary care and accompanying legal frameworks. Main challenges included patient’s preference for face-to-face consultations, digital exclusion, lack of physical examinations, clinical uncertainty, delays in diagnosis and treatment, overuse and misuse of digital remote care, and unsuitability for certain types of consultations. Other challenges include the lack of formal guidance, higher workloads, remuneration issues, organisational culture, technical difficulties, implementation and financial issues, and regulatory weaknesses. CONCLUSIONS At the frontline of care delivery, GPs can provide important insights on what worked well, why, and how during the pandemic. Lessons learned can be used to inform the adoption of improved virtual care solutions, and support the long-term development of platforms that are more technologically robust, secure. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT RR2-10.2196/30099


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