Abstract
During the pandemic, most governments around the world temporarily closed educational institutions to contain the spread of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). The objective of the present study is to evaluate the efficacy of an e-learning course on COVID-19 transmission for healthcare university students, in order to advance the preparedness of healthcare university students against contracting COVID-19 within the general university population. The e-learning course was run using a free web service for education. Access to the course was limited to participants enrolled in degree courses related to healthcare professions within the Italian university system. A specific and validated questionnaire was administered at two different times (pre-test and post-test). A paired sample t-test was then used to evaluate their knowledge on COVID-19. Furthermore, a questionnaire measuring their satisfaction was distributed. Data were analyzed from a qualitative point of view. The course was made available from March to July 2020. Over 25,000 students from different Italian universities and various backgrounds participated in the course. The analysis of final test scores revealed that approximately 97% of participants acquired new knowledge and skills on COVID-19, with a statistically significant improvement (p < 0.05). Therefore, it is possible to state that most students enrolled in degrees relating to healthcare at Italian universities are adequately trained with respect to COVID-19 knowledge. Furthermore, students declared a high satisfaction rate both with the course content, and with the management of the telematic platform used.
Highlights
Since the emergence of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) infection in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, the epidemic has spread rapidly across countries worldwide [1]
From March to July 2020, 25,479 students from the healthcare professions courses of Italian Universities participated in the course
Other than Italy, in other European countries, medical and nursing students remained willing to care for patients with COVID-19; lack of knowledge about basic measures to prevent the transmission of this virus at both community and hospital levels, and the low percentage of students who reported having received specific training, are striking [15]
Summary
Since the emergence of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) infection in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, the epidemic has spread rapidly across countries worldwide [1]. On. 30 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 as a public health emergency of international concern and, a pandemic in early March 2020 [2]. Individuals with COVID-19 can present with an influenza-like illness and respiratory tract infection demonstrating fever, cough, fatigue and/or shortness of breath. The spectrum of disease severity ranges from asymptomatic infection or mild upper respiratory tract illness to severe viral pneumonia with respiratory failure and/or death [3]. A majority of published studies to date have found that 50–70% of hospitalized patients exhibit several post-COVID symptoms up to 3 months after hospital discharge, 4.0/).
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