Online learning has become the new normal in many medical and health science schools worldwide, courtesy of COVID-19. Satisfaction with online learning is a significant aspect of promoting successful educational processes. This study aimed to identify factors affecting student and faculty satisfaction with online learning during the new normal. Online questionnaires were emailed to students (n = 370) and faculty (n = 81) involved in online learning during the pandemic. The questionnaires included closed-and open-ended questions and were organised into two parts: socio-demographic information and satisfaction with online learning. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the responses to the satisfaction scales. Students' and faculty responses to the open-ended questions were analysed using the thematic analysis method. The response rate was 97.8% for students and 86.4% for faculty. Overall satisfaction among students was 41.3% compared to 74.3% for faculty. The highest areas of satisfaction for students were communication and flexibility, whereas 92.9% of faculty were satisfied with students' enthusiasm for online learning. Technical problems led to reduced student satisfaction, while faculty were hampered by the higher workload and the required time to prepare the teaching and assessment materials. Study-load and workload, enhancing engagement, and technical issues (SWEET) were the themes that emerged from the thematic analysis as affecting student and faculty satisfaction. Adopting a combination synchronous and asynchronous approach, incorporating different applications to engage students, and timely feedback are imperative to increasing student satisfaction, while institutional support and organisational policy could enhance faculty satisfaction.

Background: Fear of infection, the epidemic situation, unexpected lockdown, and implementation of online classes are most likely affecting the psychological well-being of students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, this study aims to assess the level of knowledge, anxiety, and psychological distress concerning COVID-19 and their association with fear, gender, age, history of mental illness, time spent reading about COVID-19, program of study, and type of dwelling among students in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Methods and Materials: In this cross-sectional study, 433 students participated in a web-based survey. These were students at the University of Sharjah, coming from all the emirates of the UAE. Demographic scale, COVID-19 knowledge, anxiety, fear, and psychological distress scales were used to screen these problems. Results: Of the 433 students, 278 (64.2%) were male and 155 (35.8%) were female. Overall, 353 (81.5%) exhibited adequate knowledge of COVID-19. Sixty-nine (15.9%) of students were anxious and 221 (51%) were in psychological distress. Students who exhibited anxiety concerning COVID-19 anxiety (odds ratio [OR]: 2.98) and fear (OR: 1.27), and who spent more than 4 h reading about COVID-19 (OR: 11.20) were more psychologically distressed. Students with a history of mental illness showed adequate knowledge of COVID-19; however, they were more psychologically distressed (OR: 5.93). Older students were less likely to have psychological distress (OR: 0.87). Conclusion: Students possess adequate knowledge concerning COVID-19; however, they are psychologically distressed. Age, dwelling status, history of mental illness, anxiety, and fear significantly predicted psychological distress. Frequent web-based workshops that include insight, guidance, online counseling, scheduled activity, and coping mechanisms for COVID-19 are highly recommended. The authors discuss the implications for future research and provide recommendations for students and educational institutions.

ObjectivesTo evaluate students’ perceptions of the learning environment and to assess any differences in perception related to students’ performance and their year of study. MethodsA descriptive cross-sectional study was performed of 638 students from the second, sixth and tenth semesters at the Faculty of Medicine at Gezira University, Sudan. This study employed the Arabic-translated Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure. The main predictor variables were the study year and academic performance. Descriptive statistics and one-way analysis of variance with a post hoc Tukey-Kramer multiple comparisons test were used for data analysis. ResultsThe overall score for this study was 122/200 (SD=16.6), indicating a positive perception of the learning environment. The overall mean score was 109.94/200 (SD=21.2) for Semester 2 students, 122.9/200 (SD=20.29) for Semester 6 students, and 116.53 (SD=20.12) for Semester 10 students, reflecting a significant difference in students’ perceptions in different years of study (F (2,2422) = 3.21, p=0.04). There was also a significant difference between the mean overall scores with respect to academic performance. High-achieving students’ mean DREEM score was 126 (SD=24.4); while low-achieving students’ mean DREEM score was 102 (SD=26.25) (F(2,2453) = 3.53, p=0.029). ConclusionsHigh achievers’ perceptions of the learning environment are significantly better than those of low achievers. A significant difference was observed between students in different years of study. The differences in students’ academic performance should be further investigated, targeting specific domains. A large-scale study is required to differentiate between the weakness and the strength of each academic level.

Objectives: This study aimed to measure the prevalence of Internet use and addiction and determine its association with gender, academic performance and health among medical students. Methods: This cross-sectionalstudy was conducted between December 2017 and April 2018 at the College of Medicine, Qassim University, Buraydah, Saudi Arabia. The validated Internet Addiction Test questionnaire was distributed by simple random methods to medical students (N = 216) in the pre-clinical phase (first-, second- and third-years). A chi-square test was used to determine significant relationships between Internet use and addiction and gender, academic performance and health. Results: A total of 209 student completed the questionnaire (response rate: 96.8%) and the majority (57.9%) were male. In total, 12.4% were addicted to the Internet and 57.9 had the potential to become addicted. Females were more frequent Internet users than males (P = 0.006). Academic performance was affected in 63.1% of students and 71.8% lost sleep due to late-night Internet use, which affected their attendance to morning activities. The majority (59.7%) expressed feeling depressed, moody or nervous when they were offline. Conclusion: Internet addiction among medical students at Qassim University was very high, with addiction affecting academic performance and psychological well-being. Suitable interventional and preventive measures are needed for proper Internet use to protect students’ mental and physical health.Keywords: Internet; Addictive Behavior; Medical Students; Universities; Academic Performance; Saudi Arabia.

Background Medical students encounter various stressors during their studies. The study aimed to assess stress levels, sources, and associated determinants among Sudanese medical students. An online questionnaire-based study was conducted among 617 undergraduate medical students of 6 different universities in Sudan. A 19-item questionnaire was utilized to assess stress sources, in addition to demographics, stress manifestations, and coping strategies. Results The overall prevalence of stress was 31.7% (p < 0.01). The main sources of stress were time pressure, heavy workload, fear of failure, and examination frequency. One-third of students indicated that they experienced at least one source of psychosocial- and teaching-related stress. Female medical students were more significantly stressed due to academics than males. Also, fourth- and fifth-year students were academically more stressed in comparison to the first-year students. Poisson regression analysis model showed that first-year students were less stressed than the final-year students in relation to academics (odds = 0.888, P = 0.003). Male medical students, across all study years, were far less stressed than females (odds = 0.901, P = 0.000153). Expectedly, ‘studying medicine by choice’ was associated with decreased odds for psychosocial stressors (odds = 0.885, P = 0.00781), and improved model-fit (chi-squared = 6.8952, P = 0.008643). Also, the year of study was a predictor of teaching-related stress development. Conclusions Female medical students were more stressed due to academics than males. On the other hand, final-year students were more academically stressed than first-year students. Female medical students were likely having stress related to academic stress development, while being first-year medical student was a predictor of not developing academic stress. Studying medicine by choice’ was associated with ability to cope against stress.