Resilience of undergraduate health sciences students during COVID-19: An integrative review

Abstract

Background: COVID-19 pandemic placed pressure on global health systems, healthcare providers and undergraduate students in health sciences. Students experienced change in the teaching and learning as well as the clinical context resulting in increased stress levels. Resilience assisted students to adapt and develop competencies and effective coping mechanisms.

Aim: The purpose of this integrative review is to identify resilience of undergraduate students in health sciences during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Setting: Online platforms.

Methods: An integrative review was conducted with keywords: resilience, undergraduate students, health sciences and COVID-19. Three different searches were conducted for the time frame 2020–2022 on the relevant electronic data bases with full text articles. A total of 1665 records were identified and 49 potentially relevant articles were identified. Screening resulted in 34 articles that were analysed using the John Hopkins critical appraisal criteria.

Results: Four themes were identified: attributes of students’ resilience, aspects enhancing the development of resilience, aspects hindering the development of resilience and recommendations to cultivate resilience.

Conclusion: Resilience is key to withstand the challenges in the global health system. The development of resilience in undergraduate health sciences students should be prioritised to ensure cognitive adaptability, effective coping skills and sufficient support.

Contribution: These findings can assist higher educational institutions to improve their undergraduate health science programs to cultivate resilient health care professionals.