Association of barriers of learning during COVID-19 pandemic with mental health

• Main Authors: Abdullah, Muhammad Haikal, Shaik Mohd Nizam, Nur Alia Iman, Razman, Amalia Izzati, Ahmad Ashhar, Muhammad Ikmal Arif, Ahmad Haridan, Ahmad Zhareff Emir, Nor Azlan, Nur Khairunnisa, Mohamad, Mohammad Muaz, Shahrir, Shahida Athirah, Anuar, Muhammad Ashraf Fithri, Johari, Muhammad Luqman ‘Afif, Zulkifli, Ahmad Najmi Abid, Zamani, Muhammad Razin, Mohd Azani, Muhammad Adam, Abd Rahim, Nour El Huda, Saharudin, Shahida, Wan Omar, Wan Fatein Nabeila, Mohd Radzuan, Hazulin
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Language: English; English; English; English
• Published: 2021
• Subjects: QP Physiology; R Medicine (General); RA Public aspects of medicine; RA790 Mental Health. Mental Illness Prevention
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/93768/3/IUMRC%202021%20Virtual%20Abstract%20Book.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/93768/28/haikal_iumrc.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/93768/29/iumrc_presenter.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/93768/30/IUMRC%20mentor%20award.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/93768/
• Institution: Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia

On March 11, 2020, World Health Organization (WHO) declared that COVID-19 has become a pandemic. Therefore, online learning (OL) has replaced face-to-face teaching and learning sessions in many schools and colleges. This has forced the students to adapt to a new environment and overcome some barriers during the OL. However, the increase in suicidal rate among students is a disturbing phenomenon due to mental vulnerability experienced during the current worldwide situation. This study was done to investigate the association between barriers of learning during Covid-19 with mental well-being among International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) pre-clinical medical students. A cross-sectional study was conducted among the Year 1 (n=77) and Year 2 (n=81) medical students of IIUM, from July until August 2021. They were recruited to answer self-administered online questionnaires based on 5 remote learning barriers (inadequate interaction with classmates and teachers, lack of peer support and confidence to handle online tasks, and difficulty in applying taught concepts). The survey includes Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD-5) and Well Being Index (WHO5) to assess mental well-being and was approved by the institutional ethical committee (Research ID: 735). The results were analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics 26 (IBM, New York). The prevalence of depression and anxiety among medical students were 27.8% and 86.7% respectively. More than half of the respondents agreed with all learning barriers listed. However, the difficulty in applying taught concepts is the only significant barrier associated with depression (p<0.05). In conclusion, although only one item was identified as significant, it was an undeniable factor. Corrective measures must be taken to minimize it as continuous exposure may deteriorate mental health among medical students. Careful evaluation is required in order to ensure the quality of education remains upheld to its highest standards without jeopardizing the students’ psychological well-being.