ABSTRACT
Introduction: The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic has forced students to be able to adapt to new means of education. The closure of educational centers has generated a massive migration to virtuality and, often, neither the institutions nor the students were prepared for this modality. Objective: To validate a scale that measures the academic repercussions as a consequence of the measures taken by the pandemic among university students in 13 countries of Latin America. Methodology: Instrumental, analytical and cross-sectional study. The sampling was non-probabilistic and by convenience. Evaluations of form and substance were carried out. The substantive evaluation was carried out by expert judgment, and a small pilot was conducted to evaluate the form of the items. Results: In the substantive analysis, item 1 was the most relevant (V = 0.93;95% CI: 0.82-0.98), as was the case for representativeness and clarity. Furthermore, the preliminary analysis of the items shows that item 6 has the highest mean score (M = 2.67) and item 1 the lowest (M = 2.19). Regarding variability, item 4 (SD = 1.40) shows the greatest dispersion. The relevance of the exploratory factor analysis is justified by the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin coefficient (0.854) and Bartlett's test (17716.5;gl = 15;p = 0.000) being acceptable and significant. Conclusions: The REP-ACAD-COVID-19-LAT scale is a valid and reliable scale to measure the impact of virtuality in times of health emergency such as the COVID-19 pandemic. © 2022 The Authors
ABSTRACT
Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has generated diverse reactions, but these have not yet been measured in the Latin American population. Objective: To determine the factors associated with the perception of fatalism in the face of COVID-19 infection in inhabitants of 20 cities in Peru. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional, multicenter study with a sample size of 2 466 people from 20 cities of Peru that measured fatalism during the COVID-19 pandemic was conducted through a validated survey (Cronbach's alpha: 0,78) consisting of 7 items. Statistical analysis was conducted in terms of each city, and p < 0,05 was considered significant. Results: Of the 2 466 respondents, 36 % were depressed, 26 % thought that they might die, 17 % say that this was evidence of the end of the world, and 9 % could make a fatal decision. Women were more likely to engage in three of the fatalistic behaviors (becoming infected, p=0,020;infecting others, p = 0,004, and becoming depressed, p = 0,020). At an older age there were 5 perceptions (infecting others, p =0,007;becoming complicated, p < 0,001;becoming depressed, p < 0,001, thinking they would die, p < 0,001;or committing suicide, p = 0,014). Those at risk of complications of COVID-19 had 4 perceptions (infecting others, p = 0,024;becoming complicated, p = 0,002;thinking they would die, p < 0,001;and thinking that this is a sign of the end of the world, p = 0,039). Respondents who were agnostic exhibited a lower frequency in 5 perceptions, while atheist respondents showed a lower frequency in 2 perceptions. Conclusion: Many fatalistic ideas are found among the population in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.