Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on pharmacy students: A comprehensive survey

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused numerous changes in all aspects of human life and behavior, especially in the education system. Because of these reasons, our study aimed to evaluate the approaches and attitudes of pharmacy faculty students to the COVID-19 pandemic as a survey study. This study is an analytical cross-sectional study. It was conducted with the online questionnaire technique. The questionnaire form consists of 5 different sections, and the participants were asked questions aiming to determine the level of knowledge, behavioral patterns, and approaches to online education of pharmacy faculty students against the COVID-19 pandemic, along with socio-demographic questions. 151 pharmacy students, 99 (65.6%) female and 52 (34.4%) male, participated in our study. When the participants with COVID-19 infection were asked about their post-infection approach, 31 (50%) of the participants stated that "no change in the ways of protection", 20 (32.3%) felt the need for more protection, and 11 (17.7%) also announced that he had loosened the protection measures. It has been shown that there is an increase in students’ anxiety during the pandemic. In addition, it was determined that a high rate of vaccination and vaccines were relied upon. Our data show that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought about some changes in the attitudes and behaviors of pharmacy students. Time will tell the long-term results of this study, in which we showed how these changes caused by the pandemic affect pharmacy students in the short term.

Keywords

• COVID-19
• pandemic effect
• pharmacy students
• survey

References

1. Aslan, H., & Pekince, H. (2021). Nursing students’ views on the COVID‐19 pandemic and their perceived stress levels. Perspectives in Psychiatric Care, 57(2), 695.
2. Barello, S., Nania, T., Dellafiore, F., Graffigna, G., & Caruso, R. (2020). ‘Vaccine hesitancy’ among university students in Italy during the COVID-19 pandemic. European Journal of Epidemiology, 35(8), 781.
3. Bari, M. S., Hossain, M. J., Ahmmed, F., Sarker, M. M. R., Khandokar, L., Chaithy, A. P., ... & Mohamed, I. N. (2021). Knowledge, perception, and willingness towards immunization among Bangladeshi population during COVID-19 vaccine rolling period. Vaccines, 9(12), 1449.
4. Bou Hamdan, M., Singh, S., Polavarapu, M., Jordan, T. R., & Melhem, N. M. (2021). COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among university students in Lebanon. Epidemiology and Infection, 149, e242.
5. Carter, F., Bell, C., Ali, A., McKenzie, J., & Wilkinson, T. (2014). The impact of major earthquakes on the psychological functioning of medical students: a Christchurch, New Zealand study. The New Zealand Medical Journal, 127(1398), 54-66.
6. CDC, (2022). Infection Control Guidance for Healthcare Professionals about Coronavirus (COVID-19), https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/ 2019-ncov/index.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cd c.gov%2Fcoronavirus%2F2019-ncov%2Fhcp%2Finfection-control.ht m l, Last Accessed on August 7, 2023.
7. Chen, Y. H., Lee, C. Y., Cheng, H. Y., Chen, C. M., Cheuh, Y. N., Lee, C. L., & Kuo, H. W. (2024). Risk factors and mortality of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection during the Omicron era in Taiwan: A nationwide population-based cohort study. Journal of Microbiology, Immunology and Infection, 57(1), 30-37.
8. Copeland, W. E., McGinnis, E., Bai, Y., Adams, Z., Nardone, H., Devadanam, V., Rettew, J., & Hudziak, J. J. (2021). Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on college student mental health and wellness. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 60(1), 134-141.e2.

9. Davis, T. E., Grills-Taquechel, A. E., & Ollendick, T. H. (2010). The psychological impact from Hurricane Katrina: effects of displacement and trauma exposure on university students. Behavior Therapy, 41(3), 340-349.
10. Erkencioglu, B. N., Zuhal, M., Tokel, D., & Ozyigit, I. I. (2023). Worldwide cotton production and trade during COVID-19 pandemic: An empirical analysis for a three-year observation. Notulae Botanicae Horti Agrobotanici Cluj-Napoca, 51(4), 13341-13341.
11. Evans, S., Alkan, E., Bhangoo, J. K., Tenenbaum, H., & Ng-Knight, T. (2021). Effects of the COVID-19 lockdown on mental health, wellbeing, sleep, and alcohol use in a UK student sample. Psychiatry Research, 298.
12. Goudarzi, H., Onozawa, M., & Takahashi, M. (2024). Impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and ensuing online teaching on pre-clinical medical education. BMC Medical Education, 24(1), 66.
13. Gutierrez, D., Hollister, D., & Beninati, A. (2005). Hurricane madness: Teaching, learning and the importance of flexibility in the wake of disaster. Journal of College Teaching & Learning (TLC), 2(2), 49.
14. Horton, A. G., Chalco, E. F., Cuellar, M., Paredes, G. I. M., & Cuellar, N. (2024). Impact of COVID-19 on depression, anxiety, stress, coping, and grief in pre-health professional students in Lima, Peru. Hispanic Health Care International: The Official Journal of The National Association of Hispanic Nurses, 22(1), 46-55.
15. Jardon, C., & Choi, K. R. (2024). COVID-19 Experiences and mental health among graduate and undergraduate nursing students in Los Angeles. Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, 30(1), 86–94.
16. Jiang, S., Shi, Z., Shu, Y., Song, J., Gao, G. F., Tan, W., & Guo, D. (2020). A distinct name is needed for the new coronavirus. The Lancet, 395(10228), 949.
17. Khalafalla, H. E., Tumambeng, M. Z., Halawi, M. H. A., Masmali, E. M. A., Tashari, T. B. M., Arishi, F. H. A., ... & Mahfouz, M. S. (2022). COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy prevalence and predictors among the students of Jazan University, Saudi Arabia using the health belief model: a Cross-Sectional Study. Vaccines, 10(2), 289.
18. Li, S., Gao, Z., Zhong, M., Yu, Z., Li, J., & Bi, H. (2022). Chinese University Students’ awareness and acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine: A cross-sectional study. Risk Management and Healthcare Policy, 15, 845-864.
19. Saied, S. M., Saied, E. M., Kabbash, I. A., & Abdo, S. A. E. F. (2021). Vaccine hesitancy: Beliefs and barriers associated with COVID‐19 vaccination among Egyptian medical students. Journal of Medical Virology, 93(7), 4280.
20. Sallam, M., Dababseh, D., Eid, H., Hasan, H., Taim, D., Al-Mahzoum, K., ... & Mahafzah, A. (2021). Low COVID-19 vaccine acceptance is correlated with conspiracy beliefs among university students in Jordan. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(5), 2407.
21. Samannodi, M., Bulkhi, A., Alwafi, H., Bukhari, R., Salawati, E., Hafiz, B., ... & Almatrafi, M. A. (2022). Impact of Covid-19 pandemic on medical education: a cross-sectional study in the western region of Saudi Arabia. Advances in Medical Education and Practice, 13, 741-754.
22. Sindiani, A. M., Obeidat, N., Alshdaifat, E., Elsalem, L., Alwani, M. M., Rawashdeh, H., ... & Tawalbeh, L. I. (2020). Distance education during the COVID-19 outbreak: A cross-sectional study among medical students in North of Jordan. Annals of Medicine and Surgery, 59, 186-194.
23. Tsutsumi, S., Maeda, N., Tashiro, T., Arima, S., Mizuta, R., Fukui, K., ... & Urabe, Y. (2022). Willingness to receive the COVID-19 vaccination and the psychological state of Japanese University Students: a Cross-Sectional Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(3), 1654.
24. Turkish Republic Ministry of the Health, (2022). COVID-19 Salgin Yonetimi ve Calisma Rehberi, https://covid19.saglik.gov.tr/TR-66393/covid-19-salgin-yonetimi-ve-calisma-rehberi.html, Last Accessed on August 7, 2023.
25. UNICEF, (2022). Situation Analysis - COVID-19 and Education | UNICEF South Asia, https://www.unicef.org/rosa/situation-analysis-covid-19-and-education, Last Accessed on August 7, 2023.
26. WHO, (2020a). Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Situation Report 51, https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20200311-sitrep-51-covid-19.pdf?sfvrsn=1ba62e57_10, Last Acecessed on March 11, 2024.
27. WHO, (2020b). WHO Director-General’s opening remarks at the Mission briefing on COVID-19 - 12 March 2020, https://www.who.int/director-general/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-mission-briefing-on-covid-19---12-march-2020, Last Accessed on August 7, 2023.
28. WHO, (2024). Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Situation Reports. https://data.who.int/dashboards/covid19/cases?n=c, Last Accessed on February 4, 2024.