Emergency remote learning in anatomy during the COVID-19 pandemic: A study evaluating academic factors contributing to anxiety among first year medical students.

Anxiety COVID-19 Emergency remote learning GAD-7 Medical students Online learning

Journal

Medical journal, Armed Forces India
ISSN: 0377-1237
Titre abrégé: Med J Armed Forces India
Pays: India
ID NLM: 7602492

Informations de publication

Date de publication:
Feb 2021
Historique:
received: 15 10 2020
accepted: 12 12 2020
entrez: 22 2 2021
pubmed: 23 2 2021
medline: 23 2 2021
Statut: ppublish

Résumé

'Emergency remote learning' (ERL) has been undertaken as an emergency response globally to facilitate online shift of medical education due to COVID-19. Although medical students world-wide have reported an increased level of anxiety, factors in the academic setting during ERL that influenced anxiety levels have not been studied yet. The present study aimed to evaluate anxiety levels of first year medical students and its correlation with academic factors during ERL. ERL for neuroanatomy was conducted for six weeks mainly by online small group teaching. At completion, feedback was collected from students (n = 97) which included a GAD-7 questionnaire for anxiety levels and a modified VARK analysis to record changes in learning styles. Of 97 students (M46, F51) 43.30% had minimal, 31.96% mild, 10.31% moderate and 14.43% severe anxiety. Academic exchanges such as student-teacher interaction (80.41%), tutor feedback (90.72%) and mentor meetings (81.44%) were reported to be advantageous. There was a significant (p = 0.0056) correlation between enjoyment of small group discussion and lower GAD-7 scores. There was significant change in perceived learning styles during ERL. Video calls (p = 0.018) and gaming (p = 0.022) were significant modes of stress relief. There was significant correlation (p = 0.022) between gaming and GAD-7 scores. About one-fourth of the students faced anxiety issues during ERL period. Small group interactions with focus on promoting connectedness and interaction, augmented by feedback, mentorship, familial and social support are important in reducing anxiety which should be kept in mind by educators while delivering such learning experiences.

Sections du résumé

BACKGROUND BACKGROUND
'Emergency remote learning' (ERL) has been undertaken as an emergency response globally to facilitate online shift of medical education due to COVID-19. Although medical students world-wide have reported an increased level of anxiety, factors in the academic setting during ERL that influenced anxiety levels have not been studied yet. The present study aimed to evaluate anxiety levels of first year medical students and its correlation with academic factors during ERL.
METHODS METHODS
ERL for neuroanatomy was conducted for six weeks mainly by online small group teaching. At completion, feedback was collected from students (n = 97) which included a GAD-7 questionnaire for anxiety levels and a modified VARK analysis to record changes in learning styles.
RESULTS RESULTS
Of 97 students (M46, F51) 43.30% had minimal, 31.96% mild, 10.31% moderate and 14.43% severe anxiety. Academic exchanges such as student-teacher interaction (80.41%), tutor feedback (90.72%) and mentor meetings (81.44%) were reported to be advantageous. There was a significant (p = 0.0056) correlation between enjoyment of small group discussion and lower GAD-7 scores. There was significant change in perceived learning styles during ERL. Video calls (p = 0.018) and gaming (p = 0.022) were significant modes of stress relief. There was significant correlation (p = 0.022) between gaming and GAD-7 scores.
CONCLUSION CONCLUSIONS
About one-fourth of the students faced anxiety issues during ERL period. Small group interactions with focus on promoting connectedness and interaction, augmented by feedback, mentorship, familial and social support are important in reducing anxiety which should be kept in mind by educators while delivering such learning experiences.

Identifiants

pubmed: 33612938
doi: 10.1016/j.mjafi.2020.12.012
pii: S0377-1237(20)30272-0
pmc: PMC7873698
doi:

Types de publication

Journal Article

Langues

eng

Pagination

S90-S98

Informations de copyright

© 2021 Director General, Armed Forces Medical Services. Published by Elsevier, a division of RELX India Pvt. Ltd.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

The authors have none to declare.

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Auteurs

Supraja Srivastava (S)

Assistant Professor (Anatomy), Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.

Jenny Jacob (J)

Assistant Professor (Anatomy), Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.

Aby S Charles (AS)

Assistant Professor (Anatomy), Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.

Priyanka Daniel (P)

Associate Professor (Anatomy), Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.

John K Mathew (JK)

Assistant Professor (Anatomy), Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.

Pauline Shanthi (P)

Assistant Professor (Anatomy), Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.

Kiran Devamani (K)

Counsellor, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.

Gowri Mahasampath (G)

Lecturer (Biostatistics), Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.

Suganthy Rabi (S)

Professor (Anatomy), Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.

Classifications MeSH