TY - JOUR
T1 - Willingness to volunteer and readiness to practice of undergraduate medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic
T2 - a cross-sectional survey in Indonesia
AU - Lazarus, Gilbert
AU - Findyartini, Ardi
AU - Putera, Azis Muhammad
AU - Gamalliel, Nico
AU - Nugraha, David
AU - Adli, Imam
AU - Phowira, Jason
AU - Azzahra, Lyanna
AU - Ariffandi, Bagas
AU - Widyahening, Indah Suci
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors would like to express their gratitude to the collaborators of the MEDICO-19 Research Group for their contributions in data collection: Muhammad Mufaiduddin (Faculty of Medicine, Diponegoro University, Semarang, Indonesia), Ervin Widyantoro Pramono (Faculty of Medicine, Krida Wacana Christian University, Jakarta, Indonesia), Alanis Maryjane Mamahit (Faculty of Medicine, University of Pembangunan Nasional Veteran, Jakarta, Indonesia), Zefo Kiyosi Wibowo (Faculty of Medicine, Airlangga University, Surabaya, Indonesia), Gabriel Tandecxi (School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia), Feliani Sanjaya (Faculty of Medicine, Udayana University, Bali, Indonesia), Felix Kurniawan Adithia (Faculty of Medicine, Widya Mandala Catholic University, Surabaya, Indonesia), Yoriska (Faculty of Medicine, Pelita Harapan University, Tangerang, Indonesia), An Nahl Aulia Hakim (Faculty of Medicine, Hang Tuah University, Surabaya, Indonesia), Astrid Cynthia Latief (Faculty of Medicine, Trisakti University, Jakarta, Indonesia), Rowaida Putri Anggaily Bian (Faculty of Medicine, Sultan Agung Islamic Universiy, Semarang, Indonesia), and Melisa Canggra (Faculty of Medicine, Tarumanagara University, Jakarta, Indonesia). The authors would also like to acknowledge Prof. Mohamed Izham Mohamed Ibrahim (Head of Research and Graduate Studies ? Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar) for the insights in the questionnaire development process and Mrs. Bira Arnetha for the help and support in administering the project. Lastly, the authors would like to thank every institutional officials and fellow students for their help in distributing the questionnaire.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s).
Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2021/12
Y1 - 2021/12
N2 - Background: The question to involve or restrict medical students’ involvement in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic response remains contentious. As their state of preparation and perceptions in volunteering during this pandemic have yet to be investigated, this study aims to evaluate Indonesian medical students’ willingness to volunteer and readiness to practice during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A web-based survey was conducted among undergraduate medical students throughout Indonesia. Socio-demographic and social interaction information, in addition to willingness to volunteer and readiness to practice, were obtained using a self-reported questionnaire. The significance level was set at 5%. Results: Among 4870 participants, 2374 (48.7%) expressed their willingness to volunteer, while only 906 (18.6%) had adequate readiness to practice. Male students, students with prior volunteering experience in health or non-health sectors, and students from public universities or living in Central Indonesia (vs Java) had higher scores of willingness and readiness to volunteer. Students from Sumatra also had better preparedness (odds ratio [OR] 1.56, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.15–2.12, p = 0.004), while the opposite occurred for students from Eastern Indonesia (OR 0.63, 95% CI: 0.44–0.89, p = 0.002)–when compared to students from Java. In addition, compared to students with high family income, students from lower-middle income families were less willing to volunteer (OR 0.76, 95% CI: 0.59–0.98, p = 0.034), though those with low family income had better readiness (OR 1.51, 95% CI: 1.10–2.08, p = 0.011). Shortage of medical personnel, sense of duty, and solicitation by stakeholders were the main reasons increasing the students’ willingness to volunteer; whereas contrarily fear for own’s health, absence of a cure, and fear of harming patients were the primary factors diminishing their willingness to volunteer. Conclusion: Our findings indicated that many Indonesian medical students are willing to volunteer, yet only few of them were ready to practice, indicating that further preparations are required to maximize their potentials and minimize their exposure to hazards. We suggest that their potentials as a firm support system during the pandemic should not be overlooked, and that the integration of relevant courses to the medical curricula are imperative to prepare for future public health emergencies.
AB - Background: The question to involve or restrict medical students’ involvement in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic response remains contentious. As their state of preparation and perceptions in volunteering during this pandemic have yet to be investigated, this study aims to evaluate Indonesian medical students’ willingness to volunteer and readiness to practice during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A web-based survey was conducted among undergraduate medical students throughout Indonesia. Socio-demographic and social interaction information, in addition to willingness to volunteer and readiness to practice, were obtained using a self-reported questionnaire. The significance level was set at 5%. Results: Among 4870 participants, 2374 (48.7%) expressed their willingness to volunteer, while only 906 (18.6%) had adequate readiness to practice. Male students, students with prior volunteering experience in health or non-health sectors, and students from public universities or living in Central Indonesia (vs Java) had higher scores of willingness and readiness to volunteer. Students from Sumatra also had better preparedness (odds ratio [OR] 1.56, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.15–2.12, p = 0.004), while the opposite occurred for students from Eastern Indonesia (OR 0.63, 95% CI: 0.44–0.89, p = 0.002)–when compared to students from Java. In addition, compared to students with high family income, students from lower-middle income families were less willing to volunteer (OR 0.76, 95% CI: 0.59–0.98, p = 0.034), though those with low family income had better readiness (OR 1.51, 95% CI: 1.10–2.08, p = 0.011). Shortage of medical personnel, sense of duty, and solicitation by stakeholders were the main reasons increasing the students’ willingness to volunteer; whereas contrarily fear for own’s health, absence of a cure, and fear of harming patients were the primary factors diminishing their willingness to volunteer. Conclusion: Our findings indicated that many Indonesian medical students are willing to volunteer, yet only few of them were ready to practice, indicating that further preparations are required to maximize their potentials and minimize their exposure to hazards. We suggest that their potentials as a firm support system during the pandemic should not be overlooked, and that the integration of relevant courses to the medical curricula are imperative to prepare for future public health emergencies.
KW - COVID-19
KW - Indonesia
KW - Medical students
KW - Readiness to practice
KW - Willingness to volunteer
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85101797052&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1186/s12909-021-02576-0
DO - 10.1186/s12909-021-02576-0
M3 - Article
C2 - 33648516
AN - SCOPUS:85101797052
SN - 1472-6920
VL - 21
JO - BMC Medical Education
JF - BMC Medical Education
IS - 1
M1 - 138
ER -