Willingness to volunteer and readiness to practice of undergraduate medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional survey in Indonesia

Abstract

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.

To Volunteer or Not? Perspectives towards Pre-Registered Nursing Students Volunteering Frontline during COVID-19 Pandemic to Ease Healthcare Workforce: A Qualitative Study

“…Our study participants acknowledged that the monetary remuneration enticed them to volunteer and sustained their volunteering efforts. This differed from Lazarus et al’s study [ 10 ], which reported a lack of association between monetary incentives and increased willingness to volunteer among undergraduate medical students in Indonesia. Additionally, our student participants suggested including volunteering as part of their clinical placement hours to incentivize peers to volunteer.…”

“…Our findings highlighted the strong collectivist Asian family values and culture that Singapore students hold, regarding placing their family first. Similar findings on the fears for their family’s health were reported among medical students in Indonesia [ 10 ]. Family interests are expected to overrule those of the individual [ 21 ].…”

“…We observed the interplay of intrinsic and extrinsic factors, as many faced a quandary in their decision-making. As is similar to past studies in COVID-19 and other pandemic situations [ 10 , 16 , 17 ], most of our student participants were willing and motivated to volunteer. Their motivation was accounted for by Clary and Snyder [ 18 ] as six personal and social functions that can be applied to other volunteering contexts in various crisis situations: (1) increasing expression of values such as altruism, (2) seeking learning opportunities and experiences to understand world-views during health crises, (3) enhancing personal growth and psychological development, such as through the fulfillment of their calling and passion pursuit, (4) gaining career-related clinical skills and experiences, (5) fortifying social relationships with peers and beneficiaries (e.g., migrant workers), and (6) protecting oneself from feeling bored, purposeless and guilty for not helping.…”

“…These students felt highly committed to volunteer and worked as nurses despite the uncertainty and non-completion of their nursing course [ 8 ]. However, the willingness of students to join the workforce was dependent on factors such as a sense of duty, perceived risk of infection, personal health, lack of protocol and knowledge, and perceived preparedness and skill competency required to execute volunteer duties [ 8 , 9 , 10 ].…”

Should We Mind the Knowledge and Skill Gap COVID-19 Has Created?

“…While several studies have shown that some students whether in the medical and dental field are willing to volunteer and put in extra hours to make up for this deficit ( 3 ), there is lack of infrastructural and protocol-based support to facilitate the same. Furthermore, till the time vaccination targets are achieved to allow for the existence of herd immunity, there may be poor response from the patient’s side as well.…”