ABSTRACT
COVID-19 has become a very transmissible disease that has had a worldwide impact, resulting in a huge number of infections and fatalities. Testing is critical to the pandemic's successful response because it helps detect illnesses and so attenuate (isolate/cure) them and now vaccination is a life-safer innovation against the pandemic which helps to make the immunity system stronger and fight against this infection. Patient-sensitive information, on the other hand, is now held in a centralized or third-party storage paradigm, according to COVID-19. One of the most difficult aspects of using a centralized storage strategy is maintaining patient privacy and system transparency. The application of blockchain technology to support health initiatives that can minimize the spread of COVID-19 infections in the context of accessibility of the system and for verification of digital passports. Only by combining blockchain technology with advanced cryptographic algorithms can a secure and privacy-preserving solution to COVID-19 be provided. In this article, we investigate the issue and propose a blockchain-based solution incorporating conscience identity, encryption, and decentralized storage via interplanetary file systems (IPFS). For COVID-19 test takers and vaccination takers, our solution includes digital health passports (DHP) as a certification of test or vaccination. We explain smart contracts constructed and tested with Ethereum to preserve a DHP for test and vaccine takers, allowing for a prompt and trustworthy response from the necessary medical authorities. We use an immutable trustworthy blockchain to minimize medical facility response times, relieve the transmission of incorrect information, and stop the illness from spreading via DHP. We give a detailed explanation of the proposed solution's system model, development, and assessment in terms of cost and security. Finally, we put the suggested framework to the test by deploying a smart contract prototype on the Ethereum TESTNET network in a Windows environment. The study's findings revealed that the suggested method is effective and feasible.
ABSTRACT
Background: Higher education institutions (HEIs) shifted from in-person attendance to blended and online learning due to the COVID-19 lockdowns. Objective: This study investigated the students' perception of satisfaction, convenience, engagement, and learning towards blended and online courses conducted before, during, and after the COVID-19 lockdowns. Methods: A longitudinal study design was adopted to examine the students' perception of online and blended learning courses before, during, and after the COVID-19 lockdowns. The subjects consist of Health science students (N = 130) belonging to two different colleges of a public university and the study period includes three academic years (i.e., six semesters) (2018-2021). A survey tool was developed to collect data from students studying the computer fundamentals course through blended and online learning modes from 2018 to 2021. Results: Over 95% of students have been satisfied with the course offered through various blended learning formats since 2018. The blended 0.50-course format is the most preferred one for the students; however, the Blended 0.75-course format is highly rated by the students regarding their satisfaction and engagement than other learning formats during the COVID-19 lockdowns. Following adaption after COVID-19, the students reported a high perception of learning towards the course when delivered through 100% online learning mode. Conclusion: Students' achievement is significantly associated with the learning modes, exam modes, and various student batches. The blended 0.75-course format group shows a higher achievement than the other three-course format groups. Likewise, those students who appeared in their exams online showed higher achievement than those who appeared physically. Further, the students felt equally convenient with Blended 0.75 and 100% online learning course formats. These findings would also help HEIs choose appropriate learning and examination modes while designing courses.
ABSTRACT
Purpose: Telehealth, Internet interventions, or digital apps provide healthcare to isolated regions and can span borders. The purpose of this research was to assess the use of the Seha application, public perceptions toward the application, and factors that affect its utilization. Methods: The cross-sectional method was used to analyze the quantitative data. Grounded Theory was used to analyze the qualitative data. This study was conducted from December 1, 2018, to January 31, 2019. A total of 419 participants were surveyed online, and semi-structured interviews were conducted for 20 participants. The participants were chosen based on convenience sampling techniques. The survey contained two sections. The first section consisted of demographic data and the second section included eight questions, each covering one main aspect. For the qualitative approach, participants were chosen using a theoretical sampling technique. Researchers acted as the primary data collection instrument. Results: Out of the total, 88.5% of the participants did not use "Seha" application. Among users, the main perceived benefit from the application was the ability to contact a general practitioner anytime. Among non-users, the greatest barrier to use was the lack of awareness about it, while the ability to contact a general practitioner any time (25%) and reducing visits to the doctor (23%) were the top motivations. A conceptual framework was developed to define the different aspects affecting the use of the online medical consultation application. These aspects included awareness and education, technical issues, access, and consultation information. Conclusion: Public awareness and education about the application, as well as the integration of its functions with other healthcare systems were the main recommendations suggested. Implementing these recommendations is encouraged to deliver value to e-health initiatives in Saudi Arabia.
ABSTRACT
As the COVID-19 pandemic pushed universities worldwide to shift from traditional to online learning, there is a need to capture the students' perception of online learning using an appropriate tool. Hence, this study explores the appropriateness of the online learning assessment survey (OLAS) model for assessing the students' perception of online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. It included the undergraduate students (N = 2523) of the selected four health science colleges at Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University (IAU) during 2020-2021. The data was obtained through OLAS using "Google Docs" from 728 students. The structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis revealed that each item showed a significant positive relationship with its respective variable of OLAS. The proposed OLAS model with five variables showed a good fit to assess the students' perception of online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Those variables enable the university policy planners to evaluate the students' perception of online learning during the pandemic, thereby supporting them in framing appropriate strategies to improve the quality and success of online learning. Further research is necessary to include all students of various programs offered at Saudi universities to generalize the outcomes. OLAS can include a global item assessing overall students' satisfaction with online learning, and the influence of OLAS variables on the overall students' satisfaction can be evaluated in future studies.
ABSTRACT
Purpose: To describe the prevalence of burnout among frontline healthcare workers (HCWs) during the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated sociodemographic and occupational factors. Methods: A cross sectional survey study was carried out to study HCWs burnout using the 19-item Full Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) that includes personal, work, and patient-related burnout subscales. Bivariate analysis was used to test for associations and p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 207 responses received; where the mean score of personal burnout was 67.23, the mean of work-related burnout was 61.38, and the mean of patient-related burnout was 54.55. Significant associations were found; where female HCWs, those working in rotating day-and-night shifts, working more than 55-h per week, and who had their shift time and hours changed during the pandemic, had higher levels of personal and work-related burnout (P < 0.05). Patient-related burnout was higher among those who were single (divorced or separated), nurses, non-Citizens, those with fewer years of experience, and who were infected by COVID-19 and have been quarantined (P < 0.05). Age was not a significant factor of burnout in any of the CBI subscales. Conclusions: There is a prevalent level of burnout among frontline HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings highlight key sociodemographic and occupational factors affecting burnout; which can help planning for psychological support strategies. Furthermore, effective administrative control is important to institute policies and mechanisms to identify, and freely report burnout symptoms among HCWs to promote their wellbeing.