Suchergebnisse

COVID-19 is an emerging and highly infectious disease that is becoming a global health challenge affecting all sectors. To prevent COVID-19 transmission, all education institutions were closed and advised to turn to online learning. The present study sought to determine the factors affecting the acceptance and use of electronic learning among Ugandan University students in three universities. The study relied on two data collection instruments: a questionnaire and a semi-structured interview. An online cross-sectional survey was conducted on a population of students in three pre-selected universities: Kyambogo (KYU), Makerere (MAK), and Kampala International University (KIU). Of the 614 questionnaires returned, 578 were valid; 65.4% of the respondents were males; 60.7% were from MAK and the majority being in their third year of study (49%). Overall, 69.2% had good knowledge, 22.5% had positive attitudes toward e-learning. The semi-structured interviews revealed connectivity and skills challenges as the main barriers to the implementation of e-learning. For better implementation of e-learning by Universities, effective planning needs to be done with active students' involvement to avert negative attitudes. We recommend more studies be done on the Universities' preparedness for the implementation of e-learning. Universities should collaborate with telecommunication companies to provide subsidized prices for internet costs and information and communications technology (ICT) equipment to students.

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed frontline healthcare workers (HCWs) to mental health problems and various challenges that impacted their job satisfaction. We explored the job satisfaction and psychosocial/mental well-being of COVID-19 frontline HCWs in Uganda. This was a mixed-methods study conducted at Mulago National Referral Hospital (MNRH), Entebbe Regional Referral Hospital (ERRH), and Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI). A pre-tested self-administered questionnaire and Four Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) were used for data collection. A five-point Likert scale was used for the quantitative data to measure mental well-being and job satisfaction. Bloom's cut-off was used to categorize participants' job satisfaction and mental well-being into good (≥80%), moderate (60% - <80%), and poor (<60%). FGDs were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed thematically using NVivo version 12 software. 218 participants participated in the quantitative survey and 24 of them further participated in the FGDs. 51.4% ( n = 112) were males, aged 18 to 39 years (77.5%, n = 169) and 50.9% ( n = 111) were at MNRH. Overall, 54%, 28%, and 18% of the participants reported moderate, good, and poor job satisfaction respectively. Satisfaction with salary (2.6 ± 1.2) and compensation (risk) allowances (2.4 ± 1.3) was particularly low. Furthermore, 35%, 33%, and 32% of the participants reported moderate, good, and poor mental well-being respectively. Anxiety, burnout, stigma, and discrimination contributed to poor psychosocial/mental well-being. Less than half of the frontline HCWs reported good job satisfaction and psychosocial/mental well-being. There is a need for prioritization of the psychosocial well-being of frontline HCWs, in addition to improvement of remuneration systems.