Socioeconomic and academic consequences of COVID-19 pandemic on medical students from the University of Rwanda.
<h4>Introduction</h4>Little is known about the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on the life of university students in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA). The objective of this study was to evaluate the socioeconomic and academic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical students studyi...
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2025-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0318066 |
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| Summary: | <h4>Introduction</h4>Little is known about the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on the life of university students in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA). The objective of this study was to evaluate the socioeconomic and academic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical students studying at the University of Rwanda.<h4>Methods</h4>This was a cross-sectional study. An online survey using google form was sent to medical students in clinical training (year 3 till year 5) using convenience sampling followed by snowball sampling method. We collected data on participants' demographics, general knowledge on the COVID-19 pandemic and perception on mitigation measures, and socio-economic and academic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Descriptive statistics were used in excel 2015 software to calculate participants' responses and categorical data were presented using frequencies and percentages.<h4>Results</h4>A total 187 participants completed the survey. Most participants described disruption in routine activities (72.7%), reduced travelling (69%), church closing (64.2%), and loss of freedom (57.2%) as examples of negative social consequences. While financial uncertainty (64.7%), decrease in income (49.7%), and increase in poverty rate (42.2%) were the main economic consequences. Issues with academic progress (95.7%), limited social life (56.1%), and repeating the year (42.8%) were examples of negative academic consequences.<h4>Conclusion</h4>The results of this study suggest that the COVID-19 had a negative social, economic, and academic consequences on medical students at the University of Rwanda. These finding may guide the design of interventions to mitigate the consequences of COVID-19 and to protect medical students against future pandemics and crises. |
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| ISSN: | 1932-6203 |