RESEARCH ARTICLE: Impact of the COVID-19 national lockdown on pharmacy students’ productivity and their coping strategies in a developing country: An online survey in Nigerian universities
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46542/pe.2020.202.249259Keywords:
COVID-19, Pharmacy Students, Productivity, Coping Strategy, Online learningAbstract
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria led to a national lockdown that resulted in the suspension of academic activities.
Objective: To evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 national lockdown on pharmacy students’ productivity and their coping strategies.
Methods: This study involved the cross-sectional collection of responses from undergraduate students of six Nigerian schools of pharmacy. Data was collected using a structured, validated questionnaire in the form of Google form. The data was entered into a statistical product and service solutions software (SPSS, version-25) for analysis.
Results: A total of 808 students responded to the questionnaire. The majority of the students’ responses (757, 93.7%) showed that their reading duration had decreased during the lockdown. The most missed variable during the closure by students was ‘school life’ (303, 37.5%). The use of social media (133, 16.5%) was the most common coping strategy. The majority of the students, 544 (67.3%), agreed to participate in the virtual mode of learning. The cost of data was the main challenge to online learning by the students (288, 36.0%).
Conclusion: This study shows that the productivity of pharmacy students decreased during the COVID-19 lockdown. Social media and business activities were the most common coping mechanisms of pharmacy students. Pharmacy students were willing to accept virtual learning despite possible challenges.
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