Impact of COVID-19 social distancing on medical research from the perspective of postgraduate students: a cross-sectional online survey

PeerJ

article

Chen Dong¹  Zhou Yu¹  Wei Liu¹  Yu Zhang¹  Zhe Zhang¹  Lei Zhang²  Zhiwei Cui¹  Xiao Fan¹  Yuhan Zhu¹  Han Peng¹  Botao Gao¹  Xianjie Ma¹ 

[1] Department of Plastic Surgery, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University;Department of Urology, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University

关键词: COVID-19;    Social distancing;    Medical research;    Postgraduate students;    Online survey;    Cross-sectional study;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.13384

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

ObjectiveTo investigate the impact of COVID-19 social distancing on medical research from the perspective of postgraduate students.MethodsA cross-sectional study using an online survey was conducted from October 31 to November 1, 2021. A questionnaire was used to assess the impact of COVID-19 social distancing on medical research among postgraduate students. The questionnaire included basic information, medical research information, and information about social distancing measures. Participants also completed the self-made Research Work Affected Scale of Postgraduates (RWAS-P; qualitative evaluation: very mildly 0–10; mildly 11–20; moderately 21–30; severely 31–40; very severely 41–50). Logistic regression was used to identify factors related to the impact of COVID-19 social distancing.ResultsA total of 468 participants were analyzed; 95.2% of the participants adhered to social distancing measures. The median total RWAS-P score was 22. The median RWAS-P scores for earlier research data, current research projects, future research plans, paper publication, and graduation schedule were 2, 6, 6, 6, and 4, respectively (score range 0–10). The higher grade of students, experimental research, and existence of inappetence or sleeplessness were related to negative attitude towards COVID-19 social distancing (odd ratio = 6.35, 9.80, 2.31, 2.15, 1.95, respectively).ConclusionsParticipants reported that social distancing had a moderate overall impact on their medical research. Social distancing had the greatest impact on current research projects, future research plans, and paper publications among postgraduate students. Higher grade level, experimental research type, inappetence, and sleeplessness were related to the impact of social distancing on their medical research.

【 授权许可】

CC BY