Assessment of medical students' preparedness and willingness for integration into a war-torn healthcare system: the example of COVID-19 pandemic scenario

In Syria, medical students were placed on call to provide sufficient human resources during COVID-19 pandemic. This research aimed to explore the ability and willingness of the final-year medical students to assist during COVID-19 in the Syrian war-torn and fragile health-system. Final-year Syrian m...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Medicine, conflict, and survival conflict, and survival, 2022-03, Vol.38 (1), p.31-48
Main Authors: Alsuliman, Tamim, Alasadi, Lugien, Kasem, Rahim Abo, Hawat, Majd, Almansour, Mohammad, Al Khalaf, Ruba, Alhalabi, Marwan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Clinical decision making
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
COVID-19 - epidemiology
Delivery of Health Care
Health care
health systems
Human resources
Humans
integration
Medical students
On call
Pandemics
preparedness
SARS-CoV-2
Students, Medical
Teams
Training
undergraduates
Willingness
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Summary:In Syria, medical students were placed on call to provide sufficient human resources during COVID-19 pandemic. This research aimed to explore the ability and willingness of the final-year medical students to assist during COVID-19 in the Syrian war-torn and fragile health-system. Final-year Syrian medical students were approached between 9th-17th April 2020 through an online questionnaire. Students' COVID-19-related medical knowledge (5-point score), clinical judgement (5-point score), and preparedness and willingness to integrate in healthcare facilities were assessed. A 10-point score was created, and linear regression and Tukey's HSD test were conducted. 1673 valid responses were received, of which 1199 (71.66%) responses were from the final-year students. Of the latter, 728 (60.71%) scored 4 points or higher in the medical knowledge score (mean 3.69 points), while 298 (24.85%) scored 4 or higher in the clinical judgement score. Final-year students scored significantly higher than the fourth-year students in the clinical judgement score. Finally, 682 (56.88%) of the final-year students expressed willingness to volunteer with healthcare teams. Final-year medical students may provide medical aid, on voluntary basis, by working in fragile health systems during pandemics. However, this should be undertaken in cases of extreme need. Sufficient personal protective measures, intensive training, and adequate supervision should be guaranteed.
ISSN:1362-3699
1743-9396
DOI:10.1080/13623699.2021.2015828