Healthcare Professional’s Perceptions of E-Learning during the COVID-19
Pandemic

Adel   Khalifa Sultan   Hamad; Abdulla      Shehab; Khalifa   Abdulrahman   Ali; Dayaram      Makwana; Ghada      Al Qassim

doi:10.2174/03666211230092210

Abstract

Background: COVID-19 has a significant impact on lives worldwide. Owing to the adverse effect of this pandemic, there has been a major shift from in-person learning activities to virtual learning. Different methods of virtual learning or e-learning, such as online classes and webinars, have emerged rapidly.

Objective: The aim of this study is to identify the perceptions of healthcare professionals regarding e-learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Method: An online survey was conducted using Microsoft Forms sent via a text link to mobile phones and emails to healthcare professionals. The questionnaire had multiple-choice questions and five-point scaling to determine perceptions about virtual learning. Data in the form of responses were collected, analyzed, and summarized as mean ± standard deviation and percentage.

Results: Responses were received from a total of 410 participants, out of which 240 (58.54%) were females, and 170 (41.46%) were males. Among all participants, 294 (71.71%) were doctors. A vast majority of participants (90%) attended online webinar/e-conferences since the pandemic. The mobile phone was the most commonly used device for e-learning. More than half of the participants opined that in-person meetings are more effective than virtual meetings. In terms of medical learning, 40.48% of participants believed that virtual conferences are more convenient compared to conventional in-person attendance. According to 42.2% of participants, lack of personal interaction in virtual meetings affected their ability to acquire knowledge and experience.

Conclusion: Our survey demonstrated the acceptance of virtual learning by healthcare professionals as a new learning method. The majority of participants seem willing to adapt to this new medium.

Keywords: COVID-19, E-learning, Digital education, Virtual learning, Perceptions of e-learning, Webinars.

[1] 
Ibrahim NK. Epidemiologic surveillance for controlling COVID-19 pandemic: Types, challenges and implications. J Infect Public Health  2020; 13(11): 1630-8.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jiph.2020.07.019] [PMID: 32855090] 
[2] 
El-Ghandour NMF, Ezzat AAM, Zaazoue MA, Gonzalez-Lopez P, Jhawar BS, Soliman MAR. Virtual learning during the COVID-19 pandemic: A turning point in neurosurgical education. Neurosurg Focus  2020; 49(6): E18.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.3171/2020.9.FOCUS20634] [PMID: 33260124] 
[3] 
Dickinson KJ, Gronseth SL. Application of universal design for learning (UDL) principles to surgical education during the COVID-19 pandemic. J Surg Educ  2020; 77(5): 1008-12.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsurg.2020.06.005] [PMID: 32576451] 
[4] 
Baticulon RE, Sy JJ, Alberto NRI, et al. Barriers to online learning in the time of COVID-19: A national survey of medical students in the Philippines. Med Sci Educ  2021; 31(2): 1-12.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s40670-021-01231-z] [PMID: 33649712] 
[5] 
Almarzooq ZI, Lopes M, Kochar A. Virtual learning during the COVID-19 pandemic: a disruptive technology in graduate medical education. J Am Coll Cardiol  2020; 75(20): 2635-8.
[6] 
Downes SR, Lykina T. Closing the gap in global neurosurgical education via online conference: a pre-COVID survey. Cureus  2020; 12(5): e8015.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.7759/cureus.8015] [PMID: 32399375] 
[7] 
Ahmed H, Allaf M, Elghazaly H. COVID-19 and medical education. Lancet Infect Dis  2020; 20(7): 777-8.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(20)30226-7] [PMID: 32213335] 
[8] 
Nahai F, Kenkel JM. Accelerating education during COVID-19 through virtual learning. Aesthet Surg J  2020; 40(9): 1040-1.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/asj/sjaa123] [PMID: 32453817] 
[9] 
Rana R, Kumawat D, Sahay P, et al. Perception among ophthalmologists about webinars as a method of continued medical education during COVID-19 pandemic. Indian J Ophthalmol  2021; 69(4): 951-7.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/ijo.IJO_3136_20] [PMID: 33727465] 
[10] 
Al-Balas M, Al-Balas HI, Jaber HM, Obeidat K, Al-Balas H, Aborajooh EA, et al. Distance learning in clinical medical education amid COVID-19 pandemic in Jordan: current situation, challenges, and perspectives. BMC Med Educ  2020; 20(1): 1-7.
[11] 
Ibrahim NK, Al Raddadi R, AlDarmasi M, et al. Medical students’ acceptance and perceptions of e-learning during the COVID-19 closure time in King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah. J Infect Public Health  2021; 14(1): 17-23.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jiph.2020.11.007] [PMID: 33341480] 
[12] 
Singh R, Awasthi S. Updated Comparative Analysis on Video Conferencing Platforms-Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, WebEx Teams and GoToMeetings. EasyChair: The World for Scientists.  1-9. Available at: 
https://easychair.org/publications/preprint/Fq7T
[13] 
Dung DTH. The advantages and disadvantages of virtual learning. IOSR J Res Method Educ  2020; 10(3): 45-8.
[14] 
Mukhtar K, Javed K, Arooj M, Sethi A. Advantages, Limitations and Recommendations for online learning during COVID-19 pandemic era. Pak J Med Sci  2020; 36(COVID19): S4-7.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.COVID19-S4.2785] 
[15] 
Ehrlich H, McKenney M, Elkbuli A. We asked the experts: virtual learning in surgical education during the COVID-19 pandemic—shaping the future of surgical education and training. World J Surg  2020; 44(7): 2053-5.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00268-020-05574-3] [PMID: 32409866] 
[16] 
Westbrook V. The virtual learning future. Teach High Educ  2006; 11(4): 471-82.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13562510600874276] 
[17] 
Olum R, Atulinda L, Kigozi E, et al. Medical education and E-learning during COVID-19 pandemic: awareness, attitudes, preferences, and barriers among undergraduate medicine and nursing students at Makerere University, Uganda. J Med Educ Curric Dev  2020; 7: 2382120520973212.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2382120520973212] [PMID: 33283049] 