RESEARCH ARTICLE: The impact of COVID-19 on pharmacy students in Sudan: A cross-sectional survey
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46542/pe.2020.202.276282Keywords:
COVID-19, Pharmacy Education, Pharmacy Students, SudanAbstract
Background: The new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has impacted many aspects of life. Several studies have investigated the effect of this pandemic on academic activities. Yet, no studies addressed the impact of COVID-19 on students in Sudan. This study examines the impact of COVID-19 on Sudanese undergraduate pharmacy students.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using an online questionnaire delivered to undergraduate pharmacy students.
Results: A total of 137 students responded to the survey. The majority were female (74.5%) and were students in private colleges (60.6%). Majority of the students (95.0%) were affected by COVID-19 crisis and about half of the respondents (54.0%) were depressed and 85.4% reported a decreased level of concentration. In spite of these challenges, majority of our respondents were still motivated (85.3%) to continue their education on campus.
Conclusion: Despite unprecedented challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, pharmacy students in Sudan are motivated to continue their studies, and they want the traditional teaching model to resume. It is time to invest more in education and rethink delivery of pharmacy education in Sudan during public health emergencies. There is no better time than now.
References
Abdulmajeed, K., Joyner, D. A., & McManus, C. (2020). Challenges of Online Learning in Nigeria. Proceedings of the Seventh ACM Conference on Learning @ Scale, 417–420. https://doi.org/10.1145/3386527.3405953
Adebisi, Y. A., Agboola, P., & Okereke, M. (2020). COVID-19 Pandemic: Medical and Pharmacy Education in Nigeria. International Journal of Medical Students, 8(2), 162-164. https://doi.org/10.5195/ijms.2020.559
Al-Mohair, H., & Alwahaishi, S. (2020). Study on students’ experiences about online teaching during COVID-19 Outbreak. Technium Social Sciences Journal, 8(1), 102–116. https://doi.org/10.47577/tssj.v8i1.701
Apostol, A.-C. (2020). Students` perceptions about the impact of COVID-19 on learning process. A sociological approach. Technium Social Sciences Journal, 9(1), 495–500. https://doi.org/10.47577/tssj.v9i1.928
Backer, J. A., Klinkenberg, D., & Wallinga, J. (2020). Incubation period of 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infections among travellers from Wuhan, China, 20–28 January 2020. Eurosurveillance, 25(5), 2000062. https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.5.2000062
Blankenberger, B., & Williams, A. M. (2020). COVID and the impact on higher education: The essential role of integrity and accountability. Administrative Theory & Praxis, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/10841806.2020.1771907
Brooks, S. K., Webster, R. K., Smith, L. E., Woodland, L., Wessely, S., Greenberg, N., & Rubin, G. J. (2020). The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: Rapid review of the evidence. The Lancet, 395(10227), 912–920. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30460-8
Dashti, S., Peyman, N., Tajfard, M., & Esmaeeli, H. (2017). E-Health literacy of medical and health sciences university students in Mashhad, Iran in 2016: A pilot study. Electronic Physician, 9(3), 3966. https://doi.org/10.19082/3966
Desai, A. N., & Patel, P. (2020). Stopping the spread of COVID-19. Jama, 323(15). https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.4269
Elhadi, Y. A. M., Adebisi, Y. A., Hassan, K. F., Mohammed, S. E. E., Lin, X., & Lucero-Prisno III, D. E. (2020). The formidable task of fighting COVID-19 in Sudan. The Pan African Medical Journal, 35(137). https://doi.org/10.11604/pamj.supp.2020.35.2.24984
Fathelrahman, Ahmed., Ibrahim, M. Izham., & Wertheimer, Albert. (2016). Pharmacy practice in Developing Countries: Achievements and challenges. Academic Press
George, D., & Mallery, M. (2003). Using SPSS for Windows step by step: A simple guide and reference
Hazelkorn, E., & Gibson, A. (2019). Public goods and public policy: What is public good, and who and what decides? Higher Education, 78(2), 257–271. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-018-0341-3
Humanitarian Response. (2020). Available at: https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/en/op%C3%A9rations/sudan/document/technical-note-education-during-covid-19-pandemic
Janzen, D., Fitzpatrick, K., Jensen, K., & Suveges, L. (2013). Women in pharmacy. Canadian Pharmacists Journal / Revue Des Pharmaciens Du Canada, 146(2), 109–116. https://doi.org/10.1177/1715163513481323
Jin, Y., Yang, H., Ji, W., Wu, W., Chen, S., Zhang, W., & Duan, G. (2020). Virology, epidemiology, pathogenesis, and control of COVID-19. Viruses, 12(4), 372. https://doi.org/10.3390/v12040372
Kunna, E. (2020, May 29). Sudan: Managing COVID-19 Pandemic During a Time of Transition. Arab Reform Initiative. Available at: https://www.arab-reform.net/publication/sudan-managing-covid-19-pandemic-during-a-time-of-transition/
Lei, L., Huang, X., Zhang, S., Yang, J., Yang, L., & Xu, M. (2020). Comparison of Prevalence and Associated Factors of Anxiety and Depression among People Affected by versus People Unaffected by Quarantine during the COVID-19 Epidemic in Southwestern China. Medical Science Monitor, 26. https://doi.org/10.12659/MSM.924609
McCrum-Gardner, E. (2008). Which is the correct statistical test to use? British Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, 46(1), 38– 41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bjoms.2007.09.002
Meo, S. A., Abukhalaf, A. A., Alomar, A. A., Sattar, K., & Klonoff, D. C. (2020). Covid-19 pandemic: Impact of quarantine on medical students’ mental wellbeing and learning behaviors. Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences, 36(COVID19-S4), S43–S48. https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.COVID19-S4.2809
Mohamed, S. S.-E. (2011). Current state of pharmacy education in the Sudan. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 75(4). Nguyen, D. Van, Pham, G. H., & Nguyen, D. N. (2020). Impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on perceptions and behaviors of university students in Vietnam. Data in Brief, 31, 105880. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2020.105880
Okereke, M., Williams, A.E., Emmanuella, N.C., Ashinedu, N.U., & Mairaj, M.W. (2020). COVID-19: challenges affecting the uptake of e- learning in pharmacy education in Africa. Pan African Medical Journal, 35(2), 70. https://doi.org/10.11604/pamj.supp.2020.35.2.23910
Patel, P., Adebisi, Y.A., Steven M, et al. (2020) Addressing COVID-19 in Malawi. Pan African Medical Journal, 35, 71. http://doi.org/10.11604/pamj.supp.2020.35.2.23960
Patton, W., Bartrum, D. A., & Creed, P. A. (2004). Gender Differences for Optimism, Self-esteem, Expectations and Goals in Predicting Career Planning and Exploration in Adolescents. International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance, 4(2–3), 193–209. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10775-005-1745-z
Riou, J., & Althaus, C. L. (2020). Pattern of early human-to-human transmission of Wuhan 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), December 2019 to January 2020. Eurosurveillance, 25(4), 2000058. https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.4.2000058
Röhr, S., Müller, F., Jung, F., Apfelbacher, C., Seidler, A., & Riedel-Heller, S. G. (2020). Psychosocial Impact of Quarantine Measures during Serious Coronavirus Outbreaks: A Rapid Review. Psychiatrische Praxis, 47(4), 179–189. https://doi.org/10.1055/a-1159-5562
Taylor, D. A., & Patton, J. M. (2008). The pharmacy student population: Applications received 2006-07, degrees conferred 2006-07, fall 2007 enrollments. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 72(Suppl). https://doi.org/10.5688/aj7206S6
Vallée, A., Blacher, J., Cariou, A., & Sorbets, E. (2020). Blended Learning Compared to Traditional Learning in Medical Education: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. In Journal of medical Internet research (Vol. 22, Issue 8, p. e16504). NLM (Medline). https://doi.org/10.2196/16504
Vanaken, L., Scheveneels, S., Belmans, E., & Hermans, D. (2020). Validation of the Impact of Event Scale With Modifications for COVID-19 (IES-COVID19). Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11, 738. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00738
Varalakshmiw, V., & Arunachalamw, A. (2020). Covid 2019 – Role Of Faculty Members To Keep Mental Activeness Of Students. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2020.102091
Zhang, W., Wang, Y., Yang, L., & Wang, C. (2020). Suspending classes without stopping learning: China’s education emergency management policy in the COVID-19 Outbreak. Journal of Risk Financial Management, 13(3), 55. https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm13030055
Zhang, Y., Liu, W., Liu, Y., Huang, Z., & Liu, Q. (2019). Chinese college students’ optimism and social creativity mediated by creative self-efficacy and hope. Social Behavior and Personality, 47(7). https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.8268
Zhou, P., Yang, X. Lou, Wang, X. G., Hu, B., Zhang, L., Zhang, W., Si, H. R., Zhu, Y., Li, B., Huang, C. L., Chen, H. D., Chen, J., Luo, Y., Guo, H., Jiang, R. Di, Liu, M. Q., Chen, Y., Shen, X. R., Wang, X., et al., (2020). A pneumonia outbreak associated with a new coronavirus of probable bat origin. Nature, 579(7798), 270–273. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2012-7