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Abstract
Abstract: Introduction: during the COVID-19 pandemic, the universities suspended in-person activities and medical education adapted from the traditional format to virtual scenarios. Thus, the volunteering activities might improve the apprenticeship in critical situations and constitute a way to obtain competences and clinical skills. Objective: to identify the frequency of student volunteering during the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated factors. Methods: a cross-sectional study was performed targeting medical students in their last 3 years at a medical school in Brazil. Three hundred and fifty invitations were sent by email to ask students to participate in a self-administered, anonymous electronic survey during the pandemic. The primary outcome was the frequency of volunteer activities. Sociodemographic variables and characteristics of the medical students’ activities were the dependent variables for the multivariate analysis that calculated the factors associated with volunteering. Results: One hundred and twenty-five respondents (35.8% response rate) were included in the analysis (no missing data). The frequency of volunteering was 52% and most of the participants were females (63.2%) and all had access to online activities. Telemedicine was the most frequent activity (56/65). After the multivariate analysis, it was found that a family income of 5.1-10 minimal wages (OR=2.32[0.94-6.42]), expressing the ability and confidence in a pandemic situation (OR=4.91[1.49-16.2]) and considering e-learning important before the pandemic (OR=16.46[1.35-200.32]) and exposure of more than 120 minutes to social media platforms were less motivating for volunteering. Conclusion: About half of the medical students volunteered during the COVID-19 pandemic. The presence of self-confidence, with previous training in a pandemic situation motivated the students to volunteer.
Highlights
The outbreak of COVID-19 in January 2020 has rapidly transformed into a pandemic after the World Health Organization’s classification
About half of the medical students volunteered during the COVID-19 pandemic
This study has identified factors associated with volunteer activities among medical students attending the last years of undergraduate school during the COVID-19 pandemic
Summary
The outbreak of COVID-19 in January 2020 has rapidly transformed into a pandemic after the World Health Organization’s classification. The migration to e-learning platforms was almost immediate and an alternative to adapt medical education from the traditional format to virtual scenarios[3,4]. Medical students, those attending the last years of undergraduate medical school, suffer more anxiety, because they are at a crucial moment to obtain which cannot be obtained in a similar fashion through digital platforms. The virtual discussion of real clinical-case scenarios and elective disciplines that improve the training in critical situations (telemedicine10), as well as volunteer activities, have been fundamental as a response to many health sectors[11]. We sought to identify the factors associated with choosing a volunteering activity among medical students attending the last years of medical school during the COVID-19 pandemic
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