Personal and family-related factors on willingness to volunteer among undergraduate medical students during COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional study.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to describe personal and family-related factors affecting undergraduate students' willingness to volunteer during the pandemic. This cross-sectional study was conducted on undergraduate medical students at Qassim University in Saudi Arabia through an online survey. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A pre-validated online questionnaire on willingness to volunteer during the pandemic was distributed through various messenger groups and social media. The questionnaire comprised two sections to collect demographics and how likely the volunteers work during the pandemic in different circumstances. The distribution of these parameters was reported by frequency and proportion for categorical variables. In addition to descriptive analytics, a chi-square test was used to compare key explanatory parameters between the low and high likelihood of volunteering. Data were analysed using IBM SPSS statistical software (version 25, Armonk, NY, USA). RESULTS: There was a high likelihood of willingness (60.7%) to volunteer among undergraduate medical students. However, there was no statistically significant difference in baseline parameters like gender, academic year, age (in years), marital status, children, and elderly dependents between the high and low likelihood of volunteer (p >0.05). However, a statistically significant difference indicated the best description of one's living arrangement between volunteers' high and low probability (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggested that undergraduate medical students can be motivated to volunteer effectively in this pandemic by ensuring personal and family protection. This is vital to optimally redistribute the work burden and effectively channelize the workforce during a pandemic situation.