Evaluation of the impact of online education on the health-related quality of life of medical students in Lebanon

INTRODUCTION: One of the adopted measures during the Coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in education is the online modality, which can impact students' quality of Life (QoL) and their academic performance. METHODS: This cross-sectional study aims to assess the impact of online education on health-related QoL in a sample of 401 medical students. RESULTS: Most students attended all the online sessions, and around 32% participated in some of them. Only 16.2% reported high satisfaction from the online sessions, and almost 39% reported low satisfaction. Overall, medical students had moderate QoL. Online education affected medical students psychologically more than physically, translated by higher scores for the physical components than the mental ones. Students who preferred online over in-person education had significantly lower scores for the mental domains, namely lower social functioning and emotional role scores. Academic satisfaction did not influence any SF-36 scores, and students’ preferences (online or in-person education) did not affect any of the physical component scores. CONCLUSION: The pandemic directly impacted the QoL of medical students, namely their mental health. Medical students in Lebanon had a higher preference for in-person education, possibly due to its novelty and to other technological, technical, or personal challenges. Future research exploring the reasons and viable solutions should be performed to maintain a steady level of education during unanticipated situations.