Limbumbu Anthony Nsamba, Kabwe Jane Chanda, Kumwenda Andrew, Kasonkomona Phyllis Chibuye, Mwila Grace, Lubeya Mwansa Ketty
Young Emerging Scientists Zambia, Lusaka, Lusaka, 10101, Zambia.
Department of Anaesthesia and Critical Care, National Heart Hospital, Chongwe, Lusaka, 10101, Zambia.
F1000Res. 2022 Nov 22;11:1363. doi: 10.12688/f1000research.124823.1. eCollection 2022.
Background Since the globe was faced with the COVID-19 pandemic in December 2019, numerous adjustments have been made in all sectors to curtail the spread of infection. Most elementary and tertiary schools were closed or suspended until the transmission rates dropped. Following the outbreak of COVID-19, medical schools in Zambia have sought ways to replace face-to-face medical learning with virtual clinical teaching. The objectives of this study were to explore the perceptions of online learning among University of Zambia medical students and understand the barriers and facilitators to effective online learning. Methods A qualitative descriptive approach was used, enrolling final year medical students from the University of Zambia; the consenting participants were sampled purposively and interviewed through virtual platforms until data saturation was reached upon interviewing the 11 participant. A total of 14 participants were interviewed, audio recorded, transcribed verbatim and data was analyzed using six steps of thematic analysis. Results Three broad themes arose from the interviews: online learning perceptions, facilitators and barriers to online learning. Regarding perceptions of online learning, they highlighted that the delivery was simple to understand, with convenient scheduling and the benefit of being able to refer back to the recorded lectures. Some barriers encountered during the online learning were poor network connection, frequent power outages, lack of patient-student interaction and challenges with learning space in their homes. The facilitators were self-paced learning, availability of lecturers and the desire to complete their training despite the lockdown being in effect. Conclusions Most medical students had positive perceptions of online learning despite its challenges. With the improvement in technology, online education should be incorporated into the traditional training of medical students to get the best outcomes.
背景 自2019年12月全球面临新冠疫情以来，各部门都做出了诸多调整以遏制感染传播。大多数中小学和高等院校关闭或停课，直至传播率下降。新冠疫情爆发后，赞比亚的医学院校一直在寻求用虚拟临床教学取代面对面医学学习的方法。本研究的目的是探讨赞比亚大学医学院学生对在线学习的看法，并了解有效在线学习的障碍和促进因素。方法 采用定性描述性方法，招募赞比亚大学的医学专业最后一年学生；有意向的参与者通过目的抽样选取，并通过虚拟平台进行访谈，直至访谈11名参与者后达到数据饱和。总共访谈了14名参与者，进行录音、逐字转录，并使用六个步骤的主题分析法对数据进行分析。结果 访谈产生了三个广泛的主题：在线学习看法、在线学习的促进因素和障碍。关于在线学习看法，他们强调授课内容易于理解，时间安排方便，且能够回看录制的讲座。在线学习期间遇到的一些障碍包括网络连接差、频繁停电、缺乏医患互动以及家中学习空间的挑战。促进因素包括自主学习、讲师随时可提供帮助以及尽管处于封锁状态仍渴望完成培训。结论 尽管存在挑战，但大多数医学生对在线学习持积极看法。随着技术的进步，在线教育应纳入医学生的传统培训中，以取得最佳效果。
