Health Care Research Mark Gleason’s scientific contributions

Background: Nursing education that moved online during the COVID19 pandemic was a technical success. However, nurses may have suffered increased anxiety in the months following the initial rollout of the courses. Faculty that want to best prepare nurses for the clinical setting could prepare nurses for the increased anxiety that accompanies an online course. Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine to what extent Emirati nursing students perceived level of anxiety changed following a rapid transition from in-person to distance education. Design: A quasi-experimental non-equivalent group pre/post survey bracketing moving to an online distance education model for United Arab Emirates (UAE) female nursing students. Methods: Measurement of age used independent t-test. The cohort and campus variables were Likert scales compared with chi-squared analysis. Perception of expenses used Fischer's exact test. Measurement of the overall anxiety score used a one-sample t-test comparing the means of the pretest against the respondents' posttest scores due to the inability to match pre-post participants as the survey was anonymous. Results: The research showed a significant (t(232)=7.580, p<0.001) increase in anxiety from the pretest score (M=7.77, SD 3.985) to the posttest score (M=9.93, SD 4.344) in anxiety overall score (range 0-21) after using the distance education software for one month. Conclusions: Traditional distance education typically only focuses on IT training before going live. The literature generally assumes that there is a decrease in anxiety as students become more comfortable with using distance education software. This study challenges that view. This study demonstrated that additional training and interventions are needed to assist the increased anxiety experienced after go-live when Emirati nursing students have used distance education software. This increased anxiety may be to difficulty using the software for submitting assignments or taking exams whose requirement conflicted with their cultural norms (cameras in the home).

Background: Nursing education that moved online during the COVID19 pandemic was a technical success. However, nurses may have suffered increased anxiety in the months following the initial rollout of the courses. Faculty that want to best prepare nurses for the clinical setting could prepare nurses for the increased anxiety that accompanies an online course. Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine to what extent Emirati nursing students perceived level of anxiety changed following a rapid transition from in-person to distance education. Design: A quasi-experimental non-equivalent group pre/post survey bracketing moving to an online distance education model for United Arab Emirates (UAE) female nursing students. Methods: Measurement of age used independent t-test. The cohort and campus variables were Likert scales compared with chi-squared analysis. Perception of expenses used Fischer's exact test. Measurement of the overall anxiety score used a one-sample t-test comparing the means of the pretest against the respondents' posttest scores due to the inability to match pre-post participants as the survey was anonymous. Results: The research showed a significant (t(232)=7.580, p<0.001) increase in anxiety from the pretest score (M=7.77, SD 3.985) to the posttest score (M=9.93, SD 4.344) in anxiety overall score (range 0-21) after using the distance education software for one month. Conclusions: Traditional distance education typically only focuses on IT training before going live. The literature generally assumes that there is a decrease in anxiety as students become more comfortable with using distance education software. This study challenges that view. This study demonstrated that additional training and interventions are needed to assist the increased anxiety experienced after go-live when Emirati nursing students have used distance education software. This increased anxiety may be to difficulty using the software for submitting assignments or taking exams whose requirement conflicted with their cultural norms (cameras in the home).