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  • Well-being variations on students of health sciences related to their learning opportunities, resources, and daily activities in an online and on-crisis context: a survey-based study. BMC medical education Perez-Villalobos, C., Ventura-Ventura, J., Spormann-Romeri, C., Paredes-Villarroel, X., Rojas-Pino, M., Jara-Reyes, C., Lopez, M., Castillo-Rabanal, I., Schilling-Norman, M. J., Baquedano-Rodriguez, M., Parra-Ponce, P., Toirkens-Niklitschek, J., Briede-Westermeyer, J. C., Alvarado-Figueroa, D. 2023; 23 (1): 37

    Abstract

    BACKGROUND: Universities' training process intensely relies on face-to-face education. The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted it and forced them to reinvent their process online. But this crisis seems not to be the last we will face, and we take it as a lesson to prepare for future crises. These critical contexts are especially challenging because they imply changing teaching strategies, and students may not have the technology access or the living conditions to connect as they need. They also lived through a pandemic where the virus and the life changes added stress to their learning process and threatened their well-being. So, this study aims to analyze how well-being variations reported by Health sciences students relate to their learning opportunities, access conditions, and daily activities.METHOD: We surveyed 910 Health sciences students from six different Chilean universities at the end of the first semester of 2020, the first in pandemic conditions. Respondents answered online questionnaires about 1) Remote teaching activities, 2) Learning resources availability, 3) Daily life activities, and 4) Well-being changes. We performed descriptive analysis and Structural Equation Modelling.RESULTS: Live videoconference classes were the most frequent teaching activity; only a third of the students had quiet spaces to study online, and most had to housekeep daily. More than two third reported some well-being deterioration. The structural equation model showed a good fit.CONCLUSION: Results show an online learning scenario that tries to emulate traditional learning focusing on expositive strategies. Most students reported that their well-being deteriorated during the semester, but tutorials, workplace availability, and social support were protective factors.

    View details for DOI 10.1186/s12909-023-04011-y

    View details for PubMedID 36653767

  • Satisfaction with remote teaching during the first semester of the COVID-19 crisis: Psychometric properties of a scale for health students PLOS ONE Perez-Villalobos, C., Ventura-Ventura, J., Spormann-Romeri, C., Melipillan, R., Jara-Reyes, C., Paredes-Villarroel, X., Rojas-Pino, M., Baquedano-Rodriguez, M., Castillo-Rabanal, I., Parra-Ponce, P., Bastias-Vega, N., Alvarado-Figueroa, D., Matus-Betancourt, O. 2021; 16 (4): e0250739

    Abstract

    Due to the health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, 220 million college students in the world had to halt face-to-face teaching and migrate to what has been called Emergency Remote Teaching, using virtual media, but without adequate preparation. The way this has impacted the student body and its satisfaction with the training process is unknown and there are no instruments backed by specific validity and reliability studies for this teaching context. This is why this study aims to analyze the psychometric properties of the Remote Teaching Satisfaction Scale applied to Chilean health sciences students.Quantitative study by means of surveys. We surveyed 1,006 health careers undergraduates chosen by convenience sampling. They came from six Chilean universities, located over a distance of 3,020 kilometers and followed 7 different careers. Women comprised the 78.53%. They answered the Remote Teaching Satisfaction Scale online to evaluate their perception of the first Emergency Remote Teaching term in 2020.A descriptive analysis of the items showed a moderate to positive evaluation of the teaching. The Confirmatory Factorial Analysis showed an adequate adjustment of the theoretical four factors model to the data obtained (CFI = 0.959; TLI = 0.953; RMSEA = 0.040). Correlations among factors oscillated from r = 0.21 to r = 0.69. The measurement invariance analysis supported the Configural, Metric and a partial Scalar model. Differences were found in three of the four factors when comparing the first-year students with those of later years. Finally, the Cronbach's α and McDonald's ω coefficients were over 0.70.The results display initial psychometric evidence supporting the validity and reliability of the Remote Teaching Satisfaction Scale to assess academic satisfaction in Chilean health careers students. Likewise, it is seen that first-year students show higher satisfaction levels about the implemented teaching.

    View details for DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0250739

    View details for Web of Science ID 000662174400072

    View details for PubMedID 33909704

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC8081238

  • Music Training and Education Slow the Deterioration of Music Perception Produced by Presbycusis in the Elderly FRONTIERS IN AGING NEUROSCIENCE Moreno-Gomez, F. N., Veliz, G., Rojas, M., Martinez, C., Olmedo, R., Panussis, F., Dagnino-Subiabre, A., Delgado, C., Delano, P. H. 2017; 9: 149

    Abstract

    The perception of music depends on the normal function of the peripheral and central auditory system. Aged subjects without hearing loss have altered music perception, including pitch and temporal features. Presbycusis or age-related hearing loss is a frequent condition in elderly people, produced by neurodegenerative processes that affect the cochlear receptor cells and brain circuits involved in auditory perception. Clinically, presbycusis patients have bilateral high-frequency hearing loss and deteriorated speech intelligibility. Music impairments in presbycusis subjects can be attributed to the normal aging processes and to presbycusis neuropathological changes. However, whether presbycusis further impairs music perception remains controversial. Here, we developed a computerized version of the Montreal battery of evaluation of amusia (MBEA) and assessed music perception in 175 Chilean adults aged between 18 and 90 years without hearing complaints and in symptomatic presbycusis patients. We give normative data for MBEA performance in a Latin-American population, showing age and educational effects. In addition, we found that symptomatic presbycusis was the most relevant factor determining global MBEA accuracy in aged subjects. Moreover, we show that melodic impairments in presbycusis individuals were diminished by music training, while the performance in temporal tasks were affected by the educational level and music training. We conclude that music training and education are important factors as they can slow the deterioration of music perception produced by age-related hearing loss.

    View details for DOI 10.3389/fnagi.2017.00149

    View details for Web of Science ID 000401658300001

    View details for PubMedID 28579956

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC5437118