Medycyna Ogólna i Nauki o Zdrowiu (Jul 2022)
Why study Public Health in the COVID-19 pandemic? A qualitative analysis
Abstract
Introduction and objective ‘Public speaking and the art of presentation’ was one of the courses available for the second- -year first-cycle students at the faculty of Public Health of the Medical University of Warsaw in the 2020–2021 academic year. As part of the course, the students were asked to deliver a presentation on ‘Why study Public Health in the COVID-19 pandemic?’. The aim of the study was to analyze the opinions of students of Public Health on studying Public Health in the COVID-19 pandemic. Material and methods The study involved 29 second-year first-cycle students of Public Health at the Faculty of Health Sciences of the Medical University of Warsaw in the 2020–2021 academic year. Women were the vast majority (n=25), 3 students (2 women and 1 man) were foreigners. The mean age in the study group was 21.05 years (SD=0.954; min. 20 years; max. 22 years). Content analysis was performed to analyze the students’ opinions which constitutede the research material Results The transcript was 9,129 words long, with an average of 336 words (min. 253; max. 497) per student speech. The analysis allowed division of the content into 3 thematic areas and analytical categories: The educational process, organization and course of studies, Distance education and Certainty of finding employment and a stable job immediately after graduation. Conclusions The students appreciated the current programme of studies in the field of public health at the Medical University of Warsaw, and its practical translation into the challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the students, the shift to distance education improved the student-perceived quality of public health education at the Medical University of Warsaw. In the opinion of the students, the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic improved the image of public health professionals in Poland.
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