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Psychological Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Portuguese and Swiss Higher-Education Students: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study
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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Higher-education students are particularly vulnerable to both everyday stressors and mental health problems.
Public health emergencies may generate a range of unforeseen potential stressors for vulnerable individuals and communities.
The current pandemic has apparently led to an increase in psychiatric symptoms among these students.
Objective: The goal of this study is to characterize the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic among Portuguese
and Swiss higher-education students.
Methods: This project will use a mixed methods sequential explanatory design in Portugal and Switzerland, with two consecutive
phases. During Phase I, a quantitative study will assess the psychological responses of higher-education students during the
COVID-19 pandemic. A convenience sampling method will be used for collecting information from students. The association
between variables will be determined with univariable and multivariable analyses. During Phase II, qualitative data will be
collected in order to understand the determinants of psychological stress and the strategies adopted by students as a result of the
COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to identify their opinions and feelings about the teaching-learning process during quarantine. In
this phase, participants will be selected using a maximum-variation sampling method. Data from focus group discussions will be
coded and inductively analyzed using a thematic analysis approach. Finally, quantitative and qualitative results will be merged
during interpretation to provide complementary perspectives.
Results: This paper describes and discusses the protocol for this mixed methods study, which will be completed in December
2021. This study was formally approved by the local ethics committee (CE/IPLEIRIA/22/2020) in Portugal and authorized by
the Swiss Association of Research Ethics Committees, swissethics (CER-VD-2020-02889).
Conclusions: This research can contribute to the development of teaching tools and methods that reinforce positive mental
health strategies, hope, and adaptive coping among students, and to the development of a class on mental health interventions in
the context of catastrophic and traumatic events. This project will also help government stakeholders as well as health and
education professionals safeguard the psychological well-being of students facing an expanding COVID-19 pandemic.
Description
Keywords
Study protocol Pandemic Students Mental health COVID-19
Pedagogical Context
Citation
Querido A, Aissaoui D, Dixe MDA, Schwander-Maire F, Cara-Nova T, Charepe Z, Laranjeira C Psychological Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Portuguese and Swiss Higher-Education Students: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study JMIR Res Protoc 2021;10(6):e28757 doi: 10.2196/28757
Publisher
JMIR Publications