Volunteering as prosocial behaviour by medical students following a flooding disaster and impacts on their mental health: A mixed‐methods study

Abstract

BackgroundVolunteering is a form of prosocial behaviour that has a been recognised as having positive benefits for medical students. However, there is a lack of research on what influences students to volunteer during and after weather‐related disasters. Our study (1) explores factors related to medical students' willingness and readiness to volunteer, and (2) describes mental health impacts of the flood events on students.MethodsWe conducted a mixed‐methods study of medical students on rural clinical placements in a regional area of Australia, 2 to 6 weeks after two major flooding events in 2022. Data were collected through survey and focus groups. Summary statistics were generated from the survey data, and Fisher's exact test was used to determine associations between student experience of the flood and self‐rated well‐being. Qualitative data were deductively analysed using Byrne and colleagues' theory of prosocial behaviour during an emergency.ResultsThe 36 students who participated in focus groups (including the 34 who completed the survey) (response rates 84% and 79%, respectively) demonstrated high levels of prosocial behaviours and were willing to volunteer. A sense of moral obligation was the primary reason for volunteering, whereas concerns for their physical and psychological safety, and missing key aspects of their training, were the strongest reasons for not continuing to volunteer. Students reported personal stress, anxiety and trauma during this period, with significant associations between self‐rated impacts on their well‐being and feelings of being terrified, helpless and hopeless during the flooding events and of still being distressed weeks later (p < .05).ConclusionsThis study expands on prosocial behaviour theory by applying Byrne and colleagues elaborated model in the context of medical student volunteering during the 2022 major flooding events in Australia. Modifiable barriers to prosocial behaviour are identified along with proposed strategies to address these barriers.

The climate and health crisis: Heeding our responsibility in medical education research

“…Medical education programming and research have a critical role to play in training the workforce to respond to this crisis and understanding the impacts of climate change on trainees. We, therefore, applaud the important research of Bailie et al in this issue of Medical Education 3 . In their piece, they describe the reasons why medical students engage in public service during an extreme weather event (flooding) and the psychological impacts students endure during the experience.…”

Overcoming the challenges posed by disasters through learning, reflection and adaption

“…10 Through their COVID-19 experience, the students in Kaldjian et al's study 1 developed a greater appreciation of the need for safe working conditions for their health professional community during a pandemic and the circumstances that may impede some from working at such times. In our study, 4 the experiences of medical students during two major flood events in a rural community prompted a desire in many to volunteer and deepened their understanding of, and commitment to, the local community. For the CPD providers interviewed in Paton et al's study, COVID-19 prompted them to make a quick pivot from in-person to online learning, which led to a greater understanding of the communities in which they were living and working.…”

“…To do so, we will draw on two articles from this issue of Medical Education 1,2 and our experience supporting medical students whose education was disrupted by COVID-19 followed by catastrophic flooding events. 3,4 In this issue, Kaldjian et al 1 shed light on the enduring commitment of medical students to their sense of duty to care amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This commitment was reflected in their expectations that health professionals should be required to come to work during the pandemic.…”

“…However, past evidence from disasters indicates that medical students generally volunteer to help communities respond to and recover from these events, thereby underscoring their strong sense of duty to care. 4,5 Though, medical student participation in volunteering must be free from implicit or explicit coercion. 4 To achieve this, it is essential to establish stringent guardrails to ensure that student volunteering during disasters remains voluntary, with a wide range of optional tasks available.…”

“…4,5 Though, medical student participation in volunteering must be free from implicit or explicit coercion. 4 To achieve this, it is essential to establish stringent guardrails to ensure that student volunteering during disasters remains voluntary, with a wide range of optional tasks available. To address any tensions, or feelings of guilt, shame or moral injury that may arise among students who opt not to volunteer, we recommend also promoting engagement in non-direct care and non-clinical activities, such as research and community service.…”