Knowledge about COVID-19 Pandemic and Learning Practices Satisfaction among University Students in Beni-Suef and October 6 Universities

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Beni-Suef University

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on Egypt's educational system, shifting from traditional lectures to online platforms. Universities have begun to offer online courses through many platforms, but many lack proper training or standardized learning systems. Objective: To assess the knowledge of medical and non-medical university students about COVID-19 and their satisfaction with learning practices during the pandemic lockdown. Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2022 to July 2023. Data were collected from 770 participants using a
structured online questionnaire aimed to assessing university students' knowledge about COVID-19 and e-learning practices. Results: It was found that 89.5% of students had a good level of knowledge about COVID-19. 91.3% of the participants got their information from social media. More than 98% of students have a positive attitude and are practicing preventive measures against COVID-19. Most students preferred hybrid learning 66% ,52.9% perform better in online exams than traditional. The main difficulties reported in online learning were lack of internet signal 80.8%, noisy environment 73.1% and distraction due to mixed methods 69%, while positive aspects were reducing infection 86.9% and managing time 80.8% engagement in new activities 70.5%. Conclusions and Recommendations: Most students had a good level of knowledge, a positive attitude, and a good knowledge of COVID-19. The medical students had an additional understanding of COVID-19. Most students prefer hybrid systems of learning and have expressed certain difficulties. Future research should focus on investigating the capability of graduates from a hybrid model compared to a traditional model for future planning to ensure the resilience of the educational system.

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Main Subjects


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