ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has presented a slew of new obstacles for all health professionals, particularly those in charge of training students. Many pharmacy schools had to convert to virtual experiential learning with little to no existing literature, framework, or appropriate time for preparation. This review documents the virtual pharmacy practice training at a university in Lebanon during COVID-19 and several other colleges of pharmacy worldwide that have shared their experiences. A literature review of international publications was performed in PubMed and Google Scholar between 1 March 2022 and 30 May 2022, and relevant articles were included. The narrative offers a variety of approaches to ensure that pharmacy learners prioritise self-care, are adequately prepared to enter pharmacy practice, and reflect on their learning. However, other aspects, such as the use of a variety of online training platforms, the inclusion of more patient-centric activities, and the provision of live virtual patient experiences, should be enhanced in the future.
ABSTRACT
Objective: To determine the perception of pharmacy faculty towards online education at the School of Pharmacy at the Lebanese International University upon the sudden shift to remote education due to COVID19. Methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive, quantitative study was conducted through a questionnaire administered to faculty members. It inquired about institutional educational changes and measured faculty perceptions towards this new educational method. Results: About 79% of the faculty responded to the survey (N = 49) and only 24.5% had previous experience with online education (N = 12). The majority (75.5%) used blended methods for course delivery (N = 37). More than half (N = 27) were generally undecided whether online learning was better or worse than normal education. More than 55% of the respondents showed high positive perceptions regarding remote education (N = 27). Conclusion: The preliminary findings reflect that faculty are still uncertain regarding the prompt educational shift to online learning, however, faculty members felt that better opportunities and enhanced experience for students may be provided through additional faculty support and training.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: COVID-19 is a global pandemic that has raised worldwide public health concerns. The wide spread of the virus has led to unprecedented disturbance to regular life for people around the globe and impacted their mental health. AIMS: The aims of the current study were to investigate the prevalence of psychiatric symptoms related to insomnia, depression, and anxiety, and identify risk factors contributing to psychological stress in Lebanese young population during COVID-19 pandemic. METHOD: A cross-sectional study was done on the Lebanese young population. Participants were 4397 males and females aged 18 to 35 years who filled a self-administered online questionnaire. Three validated scales were used to measure the mental health status of the participants during the COVID-19 pandemic: 7-item Insomnia Severity Index for insomnia, the Patient Health Questionnaire 9-item depression module for depression, and the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale for anxiety. RESULTS: The median interquartile range scores for anxiety, insomnia, and depression, were 8 (4-13), 10 (5-14), and 9 (5-12) respectively. Higher anxiety scores were reported with female gender (P<0.001) and alcohol usage (P=0.04). Moderate to severe insomnia was associated with single (P=0.02) and divorced marital status (P=0.003), university education (P<0.001), consumption of caffeinated beverages (P=0.02) and energy drinks (P=0.03). Higher depression scores were associated with status of being the only person working at home (P=0.01), family income more than 500 USD (P=0.008), multiple insurance plans (P=0.01), and contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case (P=0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study demonstrate the considerable impact of COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown on Lebanese young population's mental status such as anxiety, depression and insomnia. Further follow-up studies are warranted to assess the long-term mental effects that can be imposed by the pandemic.