Impact of Distance Learning on Pharmacy and Pharm.D Undergraduates’ during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Jordan

Objective: The study aims to evaluate the impact of distance education on Pharmacy, Pharm.D and postgraduate students’ satisfaction and its associated factors during COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional web-based survey was distributed online for Pharmacy, Pharm.D and postgraduate Diploma and Master Students across Jordanian universities. Expiratory factor analysis (EFA) and Cronbach’s alpha were conducted to examine the validity and the internal consistency of the survey, respectively. Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA), Chi square test and t-test were conducted to evaluate the variables associated with students’ satisfaction with distance learning. Results: A total of 860 students completed the survey. The EFA generated a three-factor model including positive impact, negative impact and general impact. The mean scores of the factors were 2.84 (SD=1.03), 2.78 (SD=0.92) and 2.34 (SD=1.22) respectively. Several factors were associated with students’ level of satisfaction with distant learning including gender, nationality, university type and field of study. Conclusion: Distance education had negative impact on Pharmacy and Pharm.D. students’ satisfaction, which opens the doors for the necessity to improve the distance education for university students. Variables including gender, nationality, university type and field of study were associated with students’ level of satisfaction.