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Gardanova Z, Belaia O, Zuevskaya S, Turkadze K, Strielkowski W. Lessons for Medical and Health Education Learned from the COVID-19 Pandemic. Healthcare (Basel) 2023; 11:1921. [PMID: 37444754 DOI: 10.3390/healthcare11131921] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2023] [Revised: 06/27/2023] [Accepted: 07/01/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Our paper analyzes lessons for medical education and health education stemming from the experience gained in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, it tackles the issue of the social health and psychological wellbeing of medical students involved in online education during the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper systematizes up-to-date data on how medical schools and universities have adapted to the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic and implemented novel effective solutions for the learning process, such as transitioning from traditional in-person classes to online learning, incorporating virtual simulations and telemedicine experiences for clinical training, and collaborating with health authorities to provide support in testing and contact tracing efforts. The paper contains an analysis of various aspects of medical education, such as the changes in practical classes, the impact of the pandemic on the formation of communication skills, methods for assessing students' knowledge and skills, and many others. It also considers case studies related to the implementation of educational programs, methodologies, and novel digital technologies in a pandemic. Additionally, the paper features an empirical study that is based on the results of our own survey that was carried out with the help of a snowball convenient sampling that involved 710 medical students between 19 and 25 years of age (56% females and 44% males) from 4 Russian regions (Moscow, Krasnodar, Kazan, and Saint Petersburg). We applied the correlation between stress scores, anxiety scores, factors of stress, and strategies for coping with stress and various economic and demographic variables (age, environment, and gender) that were analyzed using the chi-square test. Our results demonstrate that over 85% of the students in our sample yielded an above-average vulnerability to stress due to the COVID-19 restrictions. At the same time, around 61% of the students experienced severe anxiety during online education in the COVID-19 pandemic. The important factors leading to stress and anxiety were the fear of getting infected and social distancing, and the best strategy to deal with stress and increase wellbeing was self-control. Through a comprehensive review of the literature and empirical estimations, our paper identifies key areas of improvement, including curriculum adaptation, technology integration, faculty development, student support, and interprofessional collaboration. The proposed recommendations aim at strengthening medical education systems and preparing healthcare professionals to effectively navigate future pandemics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhanna Gardanova
- Department of Psychotherapy, Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, Ostrovitianov Str. 1, Moscow 117997, Russia
| | - Olga Belaia
- Department of Infectious Diseases, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenov University), Trubetskaya Str. 8/2, Moscow 119991, Russia
| | - Svetlana Zuevskaya
- Department of Infectious Diseases, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenov University), Trubetskaya Str. 8/2, Moscow 119991, Russia
| | - Klavdiya Turkadze
- Department of Infectious Diseases, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenov University), Trubetskaya Str. 8/2, Moscow 119991, Russia
| | - Wadim Strielkowski
- Department of Trade and Finance, Faculty of Economics and Management, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, Prague 6, 165 00 Prague, Czech Republic
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Martinez-Nicolas I, Basaraba C, Delgado-Gomez D, Lopez-Fernandez O, Baca-Garcia E, Wainberg ML. The Electronic Mental Wellness Tool as a Self-Administered Brief Screening Instrument for Mental Disorders in the General Spanish Population during the Post-COVID-19 Era. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2023; 20:3204. [PMID: 36833900 PMCID: PMC9959534 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20043204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2022] [Revised: 01/29/2023] [Accepted: 02/03/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
(1) Background: In the "post-COVID-19 era", there is a need to focus on properly assessing and addressing the extent of its well-established mental health collateral damage. The "Electronic Mental Wellness Tool" (E-mwTool) is a 13-item validated stepped-care or stratified management instrument that aims at the high-sensitivity captures of individuals with mental health disorders to determine the need for mental health care. This study validated the E-mwTool in a Spanish-speaking population. (2) Methods: It is a cross-sectional validation study using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview as a criterion standard in a sample of 433 participants. (3) Results: About 72% of the sample had a psychiatric disorder, and 67% had a common mental disorder. Severe mental disorders, alcohol use disorders, substance use disorders, and suicide risk had a much lower prevalence rate (6.7%, 6.2%, 3.2%, and 6.2%, respectively). The first three items performed excellently in identifying any mental health disorder with 0.97 sensitivity. Ten additional items classified participants with common mental disorders, severe mental disorders, substance use disorders, and suicide risk. (4) Conclusions: The E-mwTool had high sensitivity in identifying common mental disorders, alcohol and substance use disorders, and suicidal risk. However, the tool's sensitivity in detecting low-prevalence disorders in the sample was low. This Spanish version may be useful to detect patients at risk of mental health burden at the front line of primary and secondary care in facilitating help-seeking and referral by their physicians.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ismael Martinez-Nicolas
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Catholic University of Murcia (UCAM), 30107 Guadalupe, Spain
- Sistema Español de Notificación en Seguridad en Anestesia y Reanimación (SENSAR), IDEhA Simulation Centre, Fundación Alcorcon University Hospital, 28922 Alcorcon, Spain
| | - Cale Basaraba
- New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10024, USA
| | - David Delgado-Gomez
- Department of Statistics, University Carlos III of Madrid, 28903 Getafe, Spain
- Santander Big Data Institute, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, 28903 Getafe, Spain
| | - Olatz Lopez-Fernandez
- Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Jimenez Diaz Foundation, 28040 Madrid, Spain
- Faculty of Psychology, Madrid Complutense University, 28049 Madrid, Spain
- Faculty of Psychology, Francisco de Vitoria University, 28049 Madrid, Spain
- Faculty of Psychology, Cardenal Cisneros Centro de Estudios Universitarios, 28223 Madrid, Spain
| | - Enrique Baca-Garcia
- Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Jimenez Diaz Foundation, 28040 Madrid, Spain
- Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Rey Juan Carlos, 28933 Móstoles, Spain
- Department of Psychiatry, General University Hospital of Villalba, 28400 Collado Villalba, Spain
- Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Infanta Elena, 28342 Valdemoro, Spain
- Department of Psychiatry, Madrid Autonomous University, 28049 Madrid, Spain
- CIBERSAM (Centro de Investigacion en Salud Mental), Carlos III Institute of Health, 28029 Madrid, Spain
- Faculty of Psychology, Universidad Catolica del Maule, Talca 3605, Chile
- Department of Psychiatry, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nîmes, 30900 Nîmes, France
| | - Milton L. Wainberg
- New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10024, USA
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Etando A, Amu AA, Haque M, Schellack N, Kurdi A, Alrasheedy AA, Timoney A, Mwita JC, Rwegerera GM, Patrick O, Niba LL, Boahen-Boaten BB, Tabi FB, Amu OY, Acolatse J, Incoom R, Sefah IA, Guantai AN, Opanga S, Chikowe I, Khuluza F, Kibuule D, Kalemeera F, Hango E, Lates J, Fadare J, Ogunleye OO, Saleem Z, Oosthuizen F, Cordier W, Matlala M, Meyer JC, Schellack G, Massele A, Malande OO, Kalungia AC, Sichone J, Banda SS, Zaranyika T, Campbell S, Godman B. Challenges and Innovations Brought about by the COVID-19 Pandemic Regarding Medical and Pharmacy Education Especially in Africa and Implications for the Future. Healthcare (Basel) 2021; 9:1722. [PMID: 34946448 PMCID: PMC8701006 DOI: 10.3390/healthcare9121722] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2021] [Revised: 11/19/2021] [Accepted: 12/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Multiple measures introduced early to restrict COVID-19 have dramatically impacted the teaching of medical and pharmacy students, exacerbated by the lack of infrastructure and experience with e-learning at the start of the pandemic. In addition, the costs and reliability of the Internet across Africa pose challenges alongside undertaking clinical teaching and practical programmes. Consequently, there is a need to understand the many challenges and how these were addressed, given increasingly complex patients, to provide future direction. METHOD An exploratory study was conducted among senior-level medical and pharmacy educators across Africa, addressing four key questions, including the challenges resulting from the pandemic and how these were dealt with. RESULTS Staff and student members faced multiple challenges initially, including adapting to online learning. In addition, concerns with the lack of equipment (especially among disadvantaged students), the costs of Internet bundles, and how to conduct practicals and clinical teaching. Multiple activities were undertaken to address these challenges. These included training sessions, developing innovative approaches to teaching, and seeking ways to reduce Internet costs. Robust approaches to practicals, clinical teaching, and assessments have been developed. CONCLUSIONS Appreciable difficulties to teaching arising from the pandemic are being addressed across Africa. Research is ongoing to improve education and assessments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ayukafangha Etando
- Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Eswatini Medical Christian University, P.O. Box A624, Swazi Plaza, Mbabane H100, Eswatini
| | - Adefolarin A Amu
- Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Eswatini Medical Christian University, P.O. Box A624, Swazi Plaza, Mbabane H100, Eswatini
| | - Mainul Haque
- Unit of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine and Defence Health, Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (National Defence University of Malaysia), Kem Perdana Sungai, Besi, Kuala Lumpur 57000, Malaysia
| | - Natalie Schellack
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Basic Medical Sciences Building, Prinshof Campus, University of Pretoria, Arcadia 0083, South Africa
| | - Amanj Kurdi
- Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0RE, UK
- Division of Public Health Pharmacy and Management, School of Pharmacy, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, Garankuwa, Pretoria 0208, South Africa
- Department of Pharmacology, College of Pharmacy, Hawler Medical University, P.O. Box 178, Erbil 44001, Iraq
| | - Alian A Alrasheedy
- Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy, Qassim University, Buraidah, Qassim 51452, Saudi Arabia
| | - Angela Timoney
- Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0RE, UK
- Chair SIGN Council, Healthcare Improvement Scotland, Edinburgh EH12 9EB, UK
| | - Julius C Mwita
- Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana
| | | | - Okwen Patrick
- Effective Basic Services (eBASE) Africa, Ndamukong Street, Bamenda, Cameroon
- Adelaide University, Adelaide 5005, Australia
| | - Loveline Lum Niba
- Effective Basic Services (eBASE) Africa, Ndamukong Street, Bamenda, Cameroon
- Department of Public Health, University of Bamenda, P.O. Box 39, Bambili, Cameroon
| | - Baffour Boaten Boahen-Boaten
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Applied Social Sciences, Eswatini Medical Christian University, P.O. Box A624, Swazi Plaza, Mbabane H100, Eswatini
| | - Felicity Besong Tabi
- Department of Social Work, Faculty of Applied Social Sciences, Eswatini Medical Christian University, P.O. Box A624, Swazi Plaza, Mbabane H100, Eswatini
| | - Olufunke Y Amu
- Department of Social Work, Faculty of Applied Social Sciences, Eswatini Medical Christian University, P.O. Box A624, Swazi Plaza, Mbabane H100, Eswatini
| | - Joseph Acolatse
- Pharmacy Directorate, Cape Coast Teaching Hospital (CCTH), Cape Coast, Ghana
| | - Robert Incoom
- Pharmacy Directorate, Cape Coast Teaching Hospital (CCTH), Cape Coast, Ghana
| | - Israel Abebrese Sefah
- Pharmacy Practice Department of Pharmacy Practice, School of Pharmacy, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Volta Region, Ghana
| | - Anastasia Nkatha Guantai
- Department of Pharmacology & Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmacy, University of Nairobi, P.O. Box 19676-00202 KNH, Nairobi 00200, Kenya
| | - Sylvia Opanga
- Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmacy Practice, School of Pharmacy, University of Nairobi, P.O. Box 19676-00202 KNH, Nairobi 00200, Kenya
| | - Ibrahim Chikowe
- Pharmacy Department, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KUHeS), Blantyre, Malawi
| | - Felix Khuluza
- Pharmacy Department, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KUHeS), Blantyre, Malawi
| | - Dan Kibuule
- Department of Pharmacy Practice and Policy, Faculty of Health Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, University of Namibia, Windhoek 10000, Namibia
| | - Francis Kalemeera
- Department of Pharmacy Practice and Policy, Faculty of Health Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, University of Namibia, Windhoek 10000, Namibia
| | - Ester Hango
- Department of Pharmacy Practice and Policy, Faculty of Health Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, University of Namibia, Windhoek 10000, Namibia
| | - Jennie Lates
- Department of Pharmacy Practice and Policy, Faculty of Health Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, University of Namibia, Windhoek 10000, Namibia
| | - Joseph Fadare
- Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti 362001, Nigeria
- Department of Medicine, Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti 362001, Nigeria
| | - Olayinka O Ogunleye
- Department of Pharmacology, Therapeutics and Toxicology, College of Medicine, Lagos State University, Ikeja, Lagos 21266, Nigeria
- Department of Medicine, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, Lagos 101233, Nigeria
| | - Zikria Saleem
- Faculty of Pharmacy, The University of Lahore, Lahore 54000, Pakistan
| | - Frasia Oosthuizen
- Discipline of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4041, South Africa
| | - Werner Cordier
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Basic Medical Sciences Building, Prinshof Campus, University of Pretoria, Arcadia 0083, South Africa
| | - Moliehi Matlala
- Division of Public Health Pharmacy and Management, School of Pharmacy, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, Garankuwa, Pretoria 0208, South Africa
| | - Johanna C Meyer
- Division of Public Health Pharmacy and Management, School of Pharmacy, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, Garankuwa, Pretoria 0208, South Africa
| | | | - Amos Massele
- Hurbert Kairuki Memorial University, 70 Chwaku Road Mikocheni, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Oliver Ombeva Malande
- Department of Child Health and Paediatrics, Egerton University, Nakuru, Kenya
- East Africa Centre for Vaccines and Immunization (ECAVI), Namela House, Kampala, Uganda
| | | | - James Sichone
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
| | - Sekelani S Banda
- Department of Medical Education Development, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
| | - Trust Zaranyika
- Department of Medicine, University of Zimbabwe College of Health Sciences, Harare, Zimbabwe
| | - Stephen Campbell
- Centre for Primary Care and Health Services Research, School of Health Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
- NIHR Greater Manchester Patient Safety Translational Research Centre, School of Health Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
| | - Brian Godman
- Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0RE, UK
- Division of Public Health Pharmacy and Management, School of Pharmacy, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, Garankuwa, Pretoria 0208, South Africa
- Centre of Medical and Bio-Allied Health Sciences Research, Ajman University, Ajman 20550, United Arab Emirates
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