Analysis of Fear Post COVID in First-Year Students after the Incorporation to the Classroom: Descriptive Study in University Students of Health Sciences

Abstract

Background: After the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, social restriction measures were implemented, among them, the adaptation of university teaching to online modality until the end of the 2019–2020 school year in order to stop the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. At the beginning of the 2020–2021 school year, the Spanish universities opted for face-to-face teaching. To that end, different special measures and adaptations were implemented in higher education facilities, aimed at minimizing the risk of infection and ensuring safe face-to-face learning. The objective was to explore and describe the level of fear of first-year students after the start of in-person classes in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: The sample was 185 first-year students who were evaluated on the first day of class. For that purpose, an ad-hoc questionnaire was administered to collect demographic information and to find the level of fear and concern. The Fear of COVID-19 Scale was used to assess the severity of the participants’ fear of the pandemic situation. Results: The results indicate that participating university population does not report fear of the virus, but they describe various psychosomatic characteristics, such as increased pulse rate and heart palpitations (p = 0.008) and insomnia (p = 0.05) when they think about infection with coronavirus. Nevertheless, when data are disaggregated by gender, we observe differences specifically in women (83.2%), such as fear (p = 0.006) and sweaty hands when they think of the virus (p = 0.023). Conclusions: Incoming university freshmen do not express concern or fear of potential infection with COVID-19, but they are concerned about family transmission after beginning face-to-face classes.

Assessing Prevalence and Unique Risk Factors of Suicidal Ideation among First-Year University Students in China Using a Unique Multidimensional University Personality Inventor

“…Social restriction implemented as the quarantine measure during the COVID-19 pandemic and the perceived social isolation [ 51 ] has contributed to significant psychological distress [ 52 ]. The COVID-19 pandemic affected different aspects of daily life and mental well-being, making it difficult to reduce its influence on a single factor such as social avoidance [ 53 , 54 ].…”

A new contextual and comprehensive application of the UTAUT2 model post‐COVID‐19 pandemic in higher education

“…They tested the effect of this moderator but between the UTAUT2 independent variables and BI, not between BI and USEB. A recent study by Cantero‐Garlito et al (2021) has called for more research on the impact of COVID‐19 fear on academic performance both, during the pandemic with full online study as well as when resuming the traditional mode of learning. Studies like those by Raza et al (2022) also utilized UTAUT, but excluded hedonic motivation and added social isolation as an additional variable with corona fear as the moderator between independent variables and BI.…”

“…It is not only important to examine students' attitudes about e-learning, but also important to examine their preferred study modes, following the pandemic too, not only during the pandemic (Zacharis & Nikolopoulou, 2022). Thirdly, this study is also the first to present a modified UTAUT2 model in a new context (i.e., post-COVID-19 situation in a smaller developing PIC context), incorporating three variables of trust, commitment and comfortability as well as a moderator variable, COVID-19 fear that has emerged only recently in literature (Ahorsu et al, 2022;Cantero-Garlito et al, 2021;Raza et al, 2021) between BI and USEB. Most studies have no moderator at all, apart from a few demographic factors.…”

“…Most studies have no moderator at all, apart from a few demographic factors. A recent study by Cantero-Garlito et al (2021) has called for additional research on the impact of COVID-19 fear on academic performance, both during the pandemic with full online study as well as when resuming the traditional face-to-face mode of study. An earlier study by Raza et al (2021) did test the effect of this moderator but between the UTAUT independent variables and BI.…”

Cross-Sectional Analysis of Taiwanese Pharmacy Students’ Experiences and Perceptions of Transitioning from In-Hospital Internships to Distance Learning Due to COVID-19

“…The World Health Organization (WHO) declared Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) a global pandemic on 11 March 2020 [ 1 , 2 ]. To control the spread of COVID-19, many countries began adopting non-pharmaceutical interventions, such as social distancing, isolation, lockdowns, and school closures; all of which had a significant effect on people’s daily lives [ 3 , 4 ]. Moreover, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), approximately half of the world’s student population was affected by school closures in 2020 [ 5 ].…”