Abstract

Aims. The aims of this qualitative study were to explore how physiotherapy students in the United Arab Emirates employed their knowledge and skills to stay safe during COVID-19, and utilized their critical appraisal skills in verifying public information on COVID-19. Material and methods. Forty-four undergraduate physiotherapy students were recruited for the study from health science educational institute in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. One to one semi-structured interviews were conducted and, the data was analyzed using thematic analysis.

Result & Conclusion. The study found that during COVID-19, the students of physiotherapy were updated with the necessary information to understand the newly emerged virus. The participants played an active role in educating themselves and their families about infection control measures and maintained proper hygiene to stay safe during the pandemic. Additionally, participants were able to critically analyse information using the knowledge and skills learnt in their program. Moreover, hands on experiences incorporated with respiratory modules were particularly found to be useful for students, as they seemed to have acceptable and updated knowledge on symptoms of COVID-19, the mechanism of infection transmission and physiotherapy interventions. The study also highlighted the need to integrate more hands-on approaches to the current curriculum in order to meet the growing need for health care professional to combat the COVID-19.

Key words:

COVID-19, Physiotherapy students, physiotherapy education, physiotherapy knowledge and skills, critical appraisal skills, family health