Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia.
Department of Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Indonesia, Salemba 6, Central, Jakarta, 10430, Indonesia.
BMC Med Educ. 2021 Mar 1;21(1):138. doi: 10.1186/s12909-021-02576-0.
The question to involve or restrict medical students' involvement in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic response remains contentious. As their state of preparation and perceptions in volunteering during this pandemic have yet to be investigated, this study aims to evaluate Indonesian medical students' willingness to volunteer and readiness to practice during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A web-based survey was conducted among undergraduate medical students throughout Indonesia. Socio-demographic and social interaction information, in addition to willingness to volunteer and readiness to practice, were obtained using a self-reported questionnaire. The significance level was set at 5%.
Among 4870 participants, 2374 (48.7%) expressed their willingness to volunteer, while only 906 (18.6%) had adequate readiness to practice. Male students, students with prior volunteering experience in health or non-health sectors, and students from public universities or living in Central Indonesia (vs Java) had higher scores of willingness and readiness to volunteer. Students from Sumatra also had better preparedness (odds ratio [OR] 1.56, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.15-2.12, p = 0.004), while the opposite occurred for students from Eastern Indonesia (OR 0.63, 95% CI: 0.44-0.89, p = 0.002)-when compared to students from Java. In addition, compared to students with high family income, students from lower-middle income families were less willing to volunteer (OR 0.76, 95% CI: 0.59-0.98, p = 0.034), though those with low family income had better readiness (OR 1.51, 95% CI: 1.10-2.08, p = 0.011). Shortage of medical personnel, sense of duty, and solicitation by stakeholders were the main reasons increasing the students' willingness to volunteer; whereas contrarily fear for own's health, absence of a cure, and fear of harming patients were the primary factors diminishing their willingness to volunteer.
Our findings indicated that many Indonesian medical students are willing to volunteer, yet only few of them were ready to practice, indicating that further preparations are required to maximize their potentials and minimize their exposure to hazards. We suggest that their potentials as a firm support system during the pandemic should not be overlooked, and that the integration of relevant courses to the medical curricula are imperative to prepare for future public health emergencies.
涉及或限制医学生参与 2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行应对措施的问题仍然存在争议。由于他们在此次大流行期间志愿参与的准备情况和看法尚未得到调查，因此本研究旨在评估印度尼西亚医学生在 COVID-19 大流行期间志愿参与的意愿和准备情况。
在印度尼西亚各地对本科医学生进行了一项基于网络的调查。使用自我报告问卷获取社会人口统计学和社会互动信息，以及志愿参与的意愿和准备情况。显著性水平设为 5%。
在 4870 名参与者中，有 2374 名（48.7%）表示愿意志愿参与，而只有 906 名（18.6%）有足够的准备进行实践。男性学生、有在卫生或非卫生部门志愿服务经验的学生、来自公立大学或居住在中印尼（与爪哇相比）的学生，其志愿参与和准备情况的评分更高。苏门答腊的学生准备情况也更好（优势比[OR]1.56，95%置信区间[CI]1.15-2.12，p=0.004），而东印度尼西亚的学生则相反（OR 0.63，95%CI：0.44-0.89，p=0.002）-与爪哇的学生相比。此外，与高收入家庭的学生相比，来自中下等收入家庭的学生不太愿意志愿参与（OR 0.76，95%CI：0.59-0.98，p=0.034），而低收入家庭的学生准备情况更好（OR 1.51，95%CI：1.10-2.08，p=0.011）。医疗人员短缺、责任感和利益相关者的呼吁是增加学生志愿参与意愿的主要原因；而相反，担心自身健康、缺乏治疗方法和担心伤害患者是降低他们志愿参与意愿的主要因素。
我们的研究结果表明，许多印度尼西亚医学生愿意志愿参与，但只有少数人准备好实践，这表明需要进一步做好准备，以最大限度地发挥他们的潜力并降低他们接触危害的风险。我们建议，不应忽视他们作为大流行期间坚定支持系统的潜力，并且将相关课程纳入医学课程对于为未来的公共卫生紧急情况做好准备是必要的。
