Self-Reported Obsession Toward COVID-19 Preventive Measures Among Undergraduate Medical Students During the Early Phase of Pandemic in Jordan.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and its associated precautionary measures have substantial impacts not only on the medical, economic, and social context but also on psychological health. This study aimed to assess the obsession toward COVID-19 preventive measures among undergraduate medical students during the early phase of the pandemic in Jordan. Methods: Online questionnaires were distributed between March 16, 2020 and March 19, 2020. Socio-demographic characteristics were collected, and self-reported obsession toward COVID-19 preventive measures was assessed using a single question.COVID-19 knowledge, risk perception, and precautionary measures were evaluated using scales. Using the chi-square test, Student t-test, and one-way ANOVA, we assessed the differences in the obsession of students with socio-demographic characteristics and scores of the scales. Results: A total of 1,404 participants (60% were female participants) completed the survey with a participation rate of 15.6%. Obsession with preventive measures was reported by 6.8%. Obsession was significantly more common among women (9.2%) than men (3.3%) and students who attended COVID-19 lectures (9.5%) than those who did not attend such lectures (5.8%) (p < 0.001 and p = 0.015, respectively). Obsessed participants reported significantly higher levels of COVID-19 knowledge (p = 0.012) and precautionary measures (p < 0.001). COVID-19 risk perception had a mild effect size difference but with no statistical significance (p = 0.075). There were no significant differences in the academic levels of participants (p = 0.791) and universities (p = 0.807) between students who were obsessed and those who were not. Conclusions: Obsession is one of the significant but unspoken psychological effects of COVID-19 precautionary measures among undergraduate medical students. Medical schools should be equipped with means to handle pandemic psychological effects.

Distance education during the COVID-19 outbreak: A cross-sectional study among medical students in North of Jordan.

INTRODUCTION: In the spot of the new emerging COVID-19 pandemic and its major impact worldwide on day-to-day activities many rules had to be changed in order to fight this pandemic. Lockdown started in Jordan and around the globe affecting several aspects of life including economy, education, entertainment, and government policies. Regarding education, the priority was to ensure the safety and progress of the educational process. Thus, new methods of teaching had to be applied using the online learning at Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST), Faculty of Medicine. This study was done to assess (1) Class Experience (2) Students and Lecturers' Interaction (3) Online Learning Advantages & Disadvantages (4) Students' Preference. METHODS: A cross sectional study was conducted Convenience sampling technique was used to collect the data from the participants using a survey composed of 18 questions on Google Forms platform. A link was sent to the undergraduate medical students at the Jordan University of Science & Technology via their e-learning accounts (n = 3700). The form was available from May 22nd, 2020 to May 30th, 2020 for 8 days long. Data analysis was done using SPSS V 23. RESULTS: 2212 out of 3700 students responded, (55.8%) of them were in the basic years and (44.2%) of them were in the clinical years. (55.8%) of students started to take online lectures after 3 weeks. (45.7%) used the hybrid teaching method (asynchronous and synchronous), (31.4%) used live classes, and 22.8% recorded classes. Zoom was the most used platform. (48.7%) and (57%) of clinical students and basic students express their interaction as bad, while the others had good and excellent interaction. Maintaining social distance was the most advantage of online teaching, while poor technical setup and no direct contact were the most disadvantage, furthermore inability to have real clinical access was a significant problem for clinical students (p < .001). With reference to students' preferences 75% of students were not pleased with their experience and 42% of students prefer to integrate online learning with traditional learning. CONCLUSION: Most medical students at JUST preferred the traditional face-to-face teaching method over the solo online teaching methods with recommendations to convert to a more integrated educational system. Also, a well-established infrastructure should be done in involving online teaching.