ABSTRACT
Research on the mental health of university staff during the COVID-19 pandemic has uncovered a high prevalence of probable anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder among academic and non-academic staff in many parts of the world. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of anxiety, depressive symptoms, and resilience among a sample of faculty and staff members working in the Higher College of Technology campuses in the UAE. From September to November 2021, a cross-sectional study was carried out using an online survey. The Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale, The Patient Health Questionnaire (9-items), and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale were used to assess anxiety, depression, and resilience. The impact of COVID-19 was assessed using a designated list of questions. The results demonstrated that the COVID-19 pandemic had impacted the mental health of the studied sample of university workers, with almost 16% of the participants having moderate-to-severe depression and anxiety symptoms. This study highlighted significant differences in the participants' depressive and anxiety symptoms due to sociodemographic differences. Depression and anxiety symptoms were most prevalent among females, those of UAE nationality, and never-married workers, with females scoring 5.81 on the PHQ-9 compared to only 4.10 in males, p = 0.004 *. UAE-national participants had significantly higher mean PHQ-9 scores than their non-national counterparts (6.37 ± 5.49 SD versus 4.77 ± 5.1 SD, respectively, p = 0.040 *). Overall, the total mean scores of all participants were below the assumed cut-off threshold of having a high resilience level (29.51 ± 7.53 SD). The results showed a significant difference in severe depression symptoms as a result of the impact of COVID-19. These results could imply that the COVID-19 pandemic might have augmented negative mental health impacts on this sample of university workers. This study highlighted some areas where the responsible authorities can intervene to further protect and enhance the mental health of university workers, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic.
ABSTRACT
In the information society, there is a vast amount of data that needs to be analyzed quantitatively. The ability to perform quantitative analysis based on statistical thinking and data mining, is becoming extremely important. It is important that research students develop positive attitude towards both qualitative and quantitative research approaches. But many research students try to avoid applying quantitative methods in their research and prefer to rely on qualitative research approach due to lack of interest and confidence in statistical skills. This research aims to explore if research students' choice of research approach is affected by their attitude towards Statistics. 81 research students from three different universities participated in a survey in which there was one open ended question. Quantitative data from the survey was analyzed by using cluster analysis and independent sample t-test was applied to examine differences in the attitudes of masters and doctoral research students. Other data analysis methods, such as cross-tabular analysis, chi-square and ANOVA tests were also applied. Responses to open ended question were analyzed qualitatively by detecting the themes, such as, focus on technique, data or meaning. This study found that students pursuing postgraduate degrees in social science streams are not very keen on using a quantitative research approach. Masters students' attitudes towards statistics are different than the doctoral students. Findings of our research indicate that the majority of students who think that statistics is only about numeric methods, prefer to go away from it and choose a qualitative approach. Based on the findings, recommendations for changes in curriculum are presented.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the mental well-being of students worldwide. There is a scarcity of information on the mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on university students in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This study aimed to investigate the mental health impact of the COVID-19, including depression, anxiety and resilience among a sample of university students in the UAE. METHODS: A cross-sectional study using an online survey was conducted from September to November 2021. The patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9), generalized anxiety disorder-7 (GAD-7) and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10) were used to assess depression, anxiety, and resilience. The COVID-19 impact was assessed using a list of questions. RESULTS: Only, 798 students completed the survey and were analyzed for this study. Overall, 74.8% of the students were females, 91.2% were never married, and 66.3% were UAE-nationals. Based on PHQ-9 and GAD-7 cut-off scores (≥ 10), four out of ten of the students self-reported moderate to severe depression (40.9%) and anxiety (39.1%). Significantly higher mean PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores were found among students who were impacted by COVID-19 than those non-impacted (mean PHQ-9 = 9.51 ± 6.39 and 6.80 ± 6.34; p = 0.001, respectively) and (mean GAD-7 = 9.03 ± 6.00 and 8.54 ± 6.02; respectively, p < 0.001). Female students who were impacted by COVID-19 had statistically significant higher depression and anxiety scores (mean PHQ-9 of 9.14 ± 5.86 vs. 6.83 ± 6.25, respectively; p < 0.001) than the non-impacted females (mean GAD-7 of 9.57 ± 6.32 vs. 5.15 ± 3.88, respectively; p = 0.005). Never married students had significantly higher PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores than ever-married (9.31 ± 6.37 vs. 6.93 ± 5.47, P = 0.003) and (8.89 ± 6.11 vs. 7.13 ± 5.49, respectively; p = 0.017). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study demonstrate that the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the mental health of this sample of university students in terms of depression and anxiety. The results highlight the need to adopt culturally appropriate interventions for university students and focus on vulnerable groups.
