Zoom Fatigue Among Paramedicine Students A Cross-Sectional Study
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Abstract
Background: The COVID-19 global pandemic changed the way that higher education would be delivered in response to frequent lockdowns and the adherence to social distancing rules. Universities around the world transformed quickly, without much planning, from classroom-based face-to-face learning to remote online learning, particularly using zoom conferencing. Elements of this still occur today.
Aim: Our study aimed to answer three research questions, namely (i) do paramedicine students experience zoom fatigue after transitioning to online learning during COVID-19, and if so, (ii) were there any differences in the level of fatigue experienced by students in different years of the degree, and (iii) did gender influence the level of fatigue experienced.
Methods: This study was a cross-sectional study that used the Zoom Exhaustion and Fatigue (ZEF) scale with students from all 3 years of the Bachelor of Paramedicine at XXX University in Australia.
Results: Of the 224 students who participated in the study, 61.1% identified as female, 36.3% identified as male, and 1.8% identified as non-binary. Most students were in the third year of the Bachelor’s degree (48.7%), and 27.4% and 23.9% were in the first and second year, respectively. Our study found that students did, in fact, experience zoom fatigue. General and motivational fatigue were experienced the most by all students. Second, students in year 2 experienced less fatigue than students in year 1 and year 3. For example, the mean general fatigue score was significantly different between students of different years f (2,223) = 4.288, p= .015.
Conclusions: Higher education, including paramedicine education, is continually shaped by information technology and online learning. This study contributes to the limited literature on understanding the life of the university student during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing empirical support for the existence of ‘zoom fatigue’ and how zoom fatigue increases with meeting frequency.
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