Impact of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) on College and University Students: A Global Health and Education Problem

Abstract

The origin of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Wuhan China has been reported to be one of the lethal pandemics the world has ever faced. Though the first case was reported in December 2019, COVID-19 spread so rapidly to the majority of countries by March 2020 and was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization. COVID-19 pandemic led to increased morbidity and mortality within a very short period of time. COVID-19 pandemic caused schools, colleges, and universities to come to a closure in order to avoid further transmission and spread of the disease. The physical closure of schools, colleges, and universities has impacted students in several ways in that some students have reported suffering from anxiety, depression, and mood swings. COVID-19 has disrupted social interaction among students and has affected their family life. These impacts on students will eventually affect their academic performance and progression. Thus, learning institutions should put in measures to help students recover from the impacts of COVID-19.

Impact of COVID-19 on Academic Activities of Final Year Nursing Students in Zambia: Evidence from Zambia

“…(2020) similarly reported that students experienced challenges with regards to learning clinical skills due to a lack of clinical placements [32]. Evidence has shown that University and College students were worried about their academic progress because of COVID-19 and the introduction of online learning [33,34]. Similarly, a study by Charles et al (2020) on alcohol abuse among college students during the COVID pandemic reported that students experienced signi cant educational disruptions as the pandemic interfered with their academic functioning [35].…”

“…Similarly, a study by Charles et al (2020) on alcohol abuse among college students during the COVID pandemic reported that students experienced signi cant educational disruptions as the pandemic interfered with their academic functioning [35]. This is because the closure of tertiary-level educational institutions suspended face-to-face teaching-learning sessions hence interrupting the regular ow of academic programs [34,36]. Some schools had to postpone or cancel the students' examinations [37].…”

“…Goh et al (2020) reported that the introduction of online learning was a positive way for continuity of learning, despite the many challenges that technology comes with [40]. Some University and College students have little or no access to internet services, making it di cult for them to learn during the COVID-19 pandemic [34].…”

“…Even though internet-based teaching was the most appropriate stop-gap arrangement, it had highlighted the inequalities in the education system [36]. A majority of the student population were being left out in the pursuit of basic education, especially those facing nancial challenges and lack of internet access [33,34].…”

Self-medication and its Consequences during & after the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic: A Global Health Problem

“…Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global public health problem that originated from Wuhan city of Central China's Hubei Province in December 2019 (Guo et al, 2020;Kasanga et al, 2020). COVID-19 is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-12) Guo et al, 2020;Mudenda et al, 2020a). COVID-19 spread rapidly from China to the rest of the world and was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on the 11 th March 2020 (ECDC, 2020;Mudenda, 2020).…”