Knowledge and Attitude of Medical Students toward Electronic Learning during COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may caused life-threatening situations and provide challenges to medical education, as teachers should lecture safely by the electronic learning. The aim of this study is to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and satisfaction of medical students in Iraq about E-learning during COVID-19 pandemic. Subject and Material: A cross-sectional study was conducted among medical students at 20 universities in Iraq using a Google Form containing a 25-question study -questionnaire that includes socioeconomic and demographic information, also information regarding online medical learning and the status of medical education during COVID-19 Knowledge and attitudes related to the epidemic and learning electronic.Results: Most respondents (53.3%) disagreed that E-learning, while 16.4% of the respondents agree about that, the others are having neutral attitude. On the other hand, their attitude about electronic exams was positive in which majority of them (54%) agreeing that E-testing can replace others testing methods. Most respondents conduct that the best way of E-learning is explanatory downloadable videos (46.7%) followed by online classes with discussion (44.5%). Although Iraqi medical students are facing many difficulties as in poor internet web (major complication; 57.5%), problems in dealing with the technology devices, poor communication with the teaching staff, insufficient understanding of the scientific material, inappropriate time of lectures and psychological problems like anxiety, E-learning has a list of advantages among Iraqi medical students such as time saving (53.3%), less cost, comfortable, ability to ask questions at any time, about 57.8% of students use E-learning more than 4 hours in day after pandemic. Conclusion:most students had not use E-learning before the COVID-19 pandemic, so there is a difference between time spent on E-learning before and after this pandemic, There is a relatively negative attitude of Iraqi medical students toward E-learning, also the best way of E-learning is explanatory downloadable videos , followed by online classes with discussion , as well as the attitude of medical students about electronic exams was positive agreed that E-testing can replacement the others traditional testing methods and E-learning has many advantages among Iraqi medical students and Several difficulties in same time.