A Students’ Perspective on University Education and Well-Being One-Year into the COVID-19 Pandemic

Authors

  • Akira Gareeb King's College London
  • Isabella Gavazzi
  • Natasha Woodman
  • Chulananda Goonasekera
  • Antoinette Lombard
  • Mohammad Omar Faruq
  • Joanna Ray
  • Rasika Dhanapala
  • Sadhani Sandarenu
  • Mosarrat Mahjabeen
  • Seema Hashmi
  • Darshana Kottahachchi
  • Elmien Claassens
  • Mirza Naqi Zafar

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/ijms.2022.1801

Keywords:

COVID-19 pandemic, General Health Questionnaire GHQ 28, General Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire GAD7, Virtual Learning, University Student Well-being

Abstract

We report university student perspectives on COVID-19 impact on education, general health and well-being, one year into the pandemic.

 

A ‘low risk’ questionnaire with modified General Health (GHQ-28) and Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) instruments was shared with students via an email link over a 4-week period.

 

725 students responded from five countries. Half of the students reported significant general health difficulties and more than ten per cent experienced a severe state of generalised anxiety disorder. The virtual learning techniques adopted during the pandemic were welcomed by students but many were frustrated by the poor quality teaching material, poor scheduling of virtual sessions with inadequate spacing and assessments not being truly representative of what was taught. Digital poverty due to inadequacies in hardware, software compatibility and connectivity were major hindrances to virtual learning.

 

Universities should urgently modify the virtual training methods and enhance mental health and wellbeing support before disaster strikes.

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Published

2022-12-31 — Updated on 2023-02-21

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How to Cite

Gareeb, A., Gavazzi, I., Woodman, N., Goonasekera, C., Lombard, A., Faruq, M. O., Ray, J., Dhanapala, R., Sandarenu, S., Mahjabeen, M., Hashmi, S., Kottahachchi, D., Claassens, E., & Zafar, M. N. (2023). A Students’ Perspective on University Education and Well-Being One-Year into the COVID-19 Pandemic. International Journal of Medical Students, 10, S219. https://doi.org/10.5195/ijms.2022.1801 (Original work published December 31, 2022)

Issue

Vol 10 (2022): Supplement 1

Section

Abstracts of the WCMSR

Categories

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Copyright (c) 2022 Akira Gareeb, Isabella Gavazzi, Natasha Woodman, Chulananda Goonasekera, Antoinette Lombard, Mohammad Omar Faruq, Joanna Ray, Rasika Dhanapala, Sadhani Sandarenu, Mosarrat Mahjabeen, Seema Hashmi, Darshana Kottahachchi, Elmien Claassens, Mirza Naqi Zafar

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