The Impact of Students’ Socio-economic Background, Study Habits, and Technology Access on Their Histology Learning Strategy During the COVID-19 Pandemic

With e-learning resources and strategies claiming an increasing role in medical education, the question arises how students in developing countries and from socioeconomic disadvantaged strata of society deal with access challenges and what aspects affect their use of e-learning resources. This study’s goal was to investigate the impact of the socioeconomic background on study habits and technology access for students at a public university in Brazil, who participated in histology courses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A transversal, descriptive study with a quantitative approach was carried out with nursing, pharmacy, and biology students at the University of International Integration of the Afro-Brazilian Lusophony (UNILAB). The survey questions asked about socioeconomic aspects, histology study habits, and learning resources used for studying histology.

Of the 72 participating students, a majority was female and single, and had a minimum wage income or less. Smartphones and portable computers were preferred devices to access the internet. YouTube videos were a popular resource for histology learning. A significant association between an increased number of histology study hours without internet use was found for students, whose parents had lower education levels. When comparing learning outcomes before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, all types of students showed significantly higher histology examination scores for the online only modus.

As students’ average academic performance improved during the COVID-19 pandemic, the presented data suggest that despite some access limitations, e-learning approaches may offer an equalizing opportunity for students from lower socioeconomic groups.