Application of the CONSORT Statement to a Randomized Trial of the Psychological Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Medical Students in Sudan
The following analysis relates to the article by Omer, Shareef, Al-Lahawi, Alhaj, and Mohammed (2021). This Randomized Clinical Trial (RCT) aimed to determine the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical students in Sudan (Omer et al., 2021).
Overall Strengths and Weaknesses
The data collected highlighted the pandemic’s effect on medical students’ mental health. There was an increase in medical students who suffered from anxiety and depression during the pandemic (Omer et al., 2021). The mode of data collection was highly susceptible to false information.
Get in touch with us at eminencepapers.com to get help with your homework. Our team of experts is ready to help.
Reliability and Validity
Data was collected using an online Google survey questionnaire shared through social media such as Facebook, Telegram, and WhatsApp (Omer et al., 2021). This study was conducted at the peak of the covid 19 pandemic during the lockdown; therefore, an online questionnaire was a valid data collection method. Other data collection methods would have required the researchers to physically collect data from medical students, which would have promoted the spread of covid 19. DASS-21 scales used to determine the extent of anxiety and depression, and stress among medical students are reliable with strong internal consistency.
Participants were also encouraged to distribute the online questionnaire to their classmates and other medical students (Omer et al., 2021). This data collection method cannot connect with medical students who do not use social media. Although social media is a fast-growing internet space worldwide, many individuals still do not use or do not have access to these platforms. In addition, online questionnaires promote survey fraud. The respondents’ identities are anonymous; therefore, the researcher cannot be sure that every respondent is a medical student. Social media enables accessible communication between individuals in different countries; therefore, a respondent not in Sudan might have accessed and filled out the questionnaire. Lastly, respondents tend to give inaccurate responses, especially when the questionnaire is lengthy or confusing.
Ethics
The Institutional Review Board regulated the study, and informed consent was taken from all the respondents.
Topic Summary
The effect of covid 19 on mental health is an important topic whose results should be used to implement coping mechanisms for medical students. Although the number of infections and deaths caused by covid 19 is lower than when the study was conducted, there is still a significant number of infections recorded. The pandemic has increased the rates of mental and psychological disorders such as anxiety and depression (Mahgoub et al., 2021). Studies show that 80,000 youths experience mental health problems globally, with 20% suffering from anxiety and 25% suffering from depression (Office of the Surgeon General, 2021). Most medical students are youths and, therefore covered in these states
References
Mahgoub, I. M., Abdelrahman, A., Abdallah, T. A., Mohamed Ahmed, K., Omer, M., Abdelrahman, E., & Salih, Z. (2021). Psychological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic: Perceived stress, anxiety, work-family imbalance, and coping strategies among healthcare professionals in Khartoum state hospitals, Sudan, 2021. Brain and Behavior, 11(8), e2318. https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.2318
Office of the Surgeon General (OSG). (2021). Protecting Youth Mental Health: The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory [Internet]. Washington (D.C.): U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved 15 June from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK575984/
Omer, M. E., Shareef, A., Al-Lahawi, A., Alhaj, H., & Mohammed, K. (2021). The psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical students in Sudan, 2020. Journal of the Neurological Sciences, 429, 119238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jns.2021.119238
ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE
We’ll write everything from scratch
Question
Step 1. Critical: all else depends on your finding a Randomized Controlled (Clinical) Trial Peer-Reviewed Journal Article (Level II Evidence) Review Figure 1.1,~ p. 13 of your textbook for the Level of Evidence Pyramid, which shows an RCT is at Level II. When you communicate with physicians about an article, they respect the article more when it is at least on the Level II evidence pyramid, which suggests more credibility and possibly better input regarding outcomes of care. Find your peer-reviewed Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) article related to your area of interest. If you are not sure of how to find articles using our DCN Databases,do the following:
Go to the DCN Home Page
Notice that there are 3 columns and 3 rows, each with a green heading category. Go to the second row, first column, and click on Databases. Once your see the top heading, Database Access, look below and see “For DCN Students: Database Use Tutorial (MP4 Recording). Study the tutorial, and it will assist you in finding a Randomized Controlled (Clinical) Trial article
If you need further assistance with finding an article after you review the tutorial, email Mr. Madsen, Director of the LRC. He has a Masters of Library Services degree, and can assist you in finding articles that you may not be able to access. If you find an article that charges a fee, e-mail Mr. Madsen the article you need, and he can usually get the full text article for you at no charge. His email address is LMadsen@denvercollegeofnursing.edu.
Step 2. Once you have your article, read it, and then look at the CONSORT Checklist, and write the page number in the article that has the information the checklist requires. (FYI, researchers who publish their research use this checklist to be sure they have everything in their article, or it is often not accepted by premier scholarly publishers). The checklist is worth 25 points, as it takes time and discernment to do it correctly.
Step 3: Once your fill out the CONSORT CHECKLIST (25 points), you must then write a formal summary of the Analysis of Strengths and Weaknesses (worth 8 points) that you will notice is on the CONSORT checklist. The following steps are to assist you in distilling the specifics for what is required in the Analysis of Strengths and Weaknesses for the CONSORT checklist. .
Step 4 Specifics of the ANALYSIS OF STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES. Review ~p. 9 of your research textbook, and then note how to write
Introduction (1 point)
+ Purpose of the RCT (discuss)