Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Motivation Levels Among Nursing Students at the College of Nursing, University of Mosul, Iraq

Abstract

Aims: The objective of this study was to investigate how the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced the motivation levels of nursing students. Design: A descriptive study design was implemented with nursing students enrolled at the College of Nursing, University of Mosul, Iraq. Methods: The study included a sample of 260 students. Data collection was carried out using personal information forms and Motivation Sources and Problems Scale. An online survey method was employed to collect data between May 1st and May 31st, 2020. The collected data were analyzed using various statistical measures, including frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, student t-test, and ANOVA test, performed with the SPSS 25.0 program. Results: It was found that 79.1% (n = 125) of the students were positively affected and 52.5% (n = 83) were negatively affected. The intrinsic motivation scores of the students were 43.55±8.71, extrinsic motivation scores were 21.36±3.71, negative motivation scores were 26.91±5.67, and total motivation scores were found to be 92.15±12.77. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected the students' level of motivation. A good strategic plan and a comparative study between distance education and face-to-face education are recommended to increase the level of motivation among nursing students.