Satisfaction and associated factors of E-learning among nursing undergraduates during COVID-19 pandemic in two selected state universities of Western Province, Sri Lanka

Abstract

Introduction: The global education system was seriously impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, the majority of education institutions all over the world had to discontinue their face-to-face teaching and learning methods and switch to online learning. Therefore, university students struggled with the rapid change in the education system, and they needed to adapt to the new educational environment. This study was carried out to assess the satisfaction of E-learning and associated socio -demographic characteristics among nursing undergraduates during COVID-19 pandemic in two selected universities of Western Province, Sri Lanka. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among conveniently selected 395 undergraduate nursing students from the two study settings using a web-based/online survey. A pre-tested self-administered questionnaire prepared as a Google form was sent to all the nursing undergraduates in the two selected state universities in Sri Lanka.
Descriptive statistics and Chi-square test was used to analyze the data. Ethical approval was received from the Ethics Review Committee of the Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Sri Jayewardenepura. Results: The response rate for the survey was 93.6%. The majority of the participants (n=298, 75.4%) were females. Most of the respondents (n=168, 44.8%) agreed with the clarity of the lecture material provided online, and 46.2% were satisfied with the guidance and services of the lecturers. Of the sample, half (50.1%) of the participants had a good level of satisfaction on E-learning. Only the gender was associated with the satisfaction on E-learning (p=0.024). Most of the (n=159) female participants had a good level of satisfaction on E-learning than male participants. Conclusions: More than half of the undergraduate nursing students in the two selected state universities of Western Province were satisfied with the E-learning they had received during the COVID-19 pandemic. There was a significant association between gender and satisfactions on E-learning. Females had a good level of satisfaction on E-learning.

Keywords: E-learning, Satisfaction, COVID-19, Nursing undergraduates