Impact of lockdown and COVID-19 on the learning status of postgraduate students during the pandemic in India

Abstract

ABSTRACT Observations have suggested that during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, because of lockdown students who are in process of doing their thesis related work exhibit responses related to stress due to the fear of spread contagion and because of various limitations in performing thesis work, especially patient-oriented collection of data and clinical work. The present study aimed to determine various problems faced by the students in postgraduate courses for completing their thesis during pandemic. This was a prospective and cross-sectional study based on a questionnaire. This study was comprised of a total sample size of 300 postgraduate students of different disciplines in the health stream. The study was conducted between June 2021 and December 2021. The prepared study questionnaire was sent to postgraduates by use of electronic mail. Of the total selected students, 280 had responded with complete answers to the questionnaire. Collected data were entered into a Microsoft Excel sheet and analyzed for percentage distribution. 50.7% of postgraduates were found in the age range of 26–30 years, 73.1% were female and 35.6% were in their final year of postgraduation. It was seen that 6.5% were unable to procure ethical approval due to the pandemic, and 43.1% were not able to get permission from the board due to the sudden pandemic. 64.9% were unable to collect data for their thesis, and 18% were unable to report to supervisors. 86.9% of postgraduates suffered from anxiety due to the inability to perform thesis work. 78.9% of postgraduate students had a decrease in motivation for a thesis and 89.1% suffered from anxiety. Due to the ongoing pandemic, postgraduate students are facing many problems in completing their thesis work. This resulted in anxiety and stress themselves.