E-learning Challenges among Healthcare Students: A Scoping Review

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Digital Health
• Health Sciences

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated e-learning adoption in healthcare education.
• There is a need to understand the specific challenges faced by healthcare students in e-learning environments post-pandemic.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a scoping review of e-learning challenges for healthcare students after the COVID-19 pandemic.
• To identify and synthesize existing evidence on these challenges and propose solutions.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive literature search was conducted across five databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, ERIC, EMBASE) from January 2020 to November 2023.
• The PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) checklist guided the review process.
• Quality appraisal was performed using JBI checklists, and thematic analysis was used for data synthesis.

Main Results:

• Ninety-five articles were included, revealing 12 key themes of e-learning challenges.
• Identified challenges include rapid shift to online learning, physical/mental health issues, low digital literacy, technical and financial burdens, course design difficulties, lack of feedback, content/strategy issues, user unpreparedness, poor engagement, and evaluation difficulties.

Conclusions:

• While e-learning offers benefits, challenges in engagement, practical skill development, and evaluation persist.
• Blended learning, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), combined with instructional models like ADDIE, is recommended to proactively address challenges and improve e-learning quality.