Online Teaching in Ayurveda Medical Education during COVID 19 Pandemic – A Descriptive Survey Study

The impact of COVID 19 has disrupted all domains of human existence and educational institutions around the world. The national lockdown caused major interruption in students learning, both theory and practice; disruptions in internal assessments and the postponement of qualifying university examinations in health science education institutions. In order to assess the magnitude and the severity of the impact of the catastrophe on the health science education sector in the state, the Kerala University of Health Sciences (KUHS), Thrissur, Kerala conducted online surveys among the stake holders during April-May 2020. Objectives: To assess the perceptions of Ayurveda faculty members on online teaching during COVID 19 pandemic on the health science education institutions in Kerala. Materials and Methods: This descriptive online survey study was targeted the Faculty members from 17 Ayurveda colleges affiliated to Kerala University of Health Sciences. A total of 314 valid responses were collected regarding Ayurveda faculty members perceptions of online teaching during COVID 19 pandemic prevention and control strategy in Kerala using semi structured questionnaire in Google form. The responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: The results of the survey of 314 Ayurveda faculty members indicate that the majority of these teachers support online teaching strategies in order to bridge the learning gap and epidemic prevention and control initiative. Conclusions: Facing an unprecedented situation, the problems and challenges encountered by Ayurveda faculty in switching to and providing online learning will serve as a reference for other countries as they explore and implement online teaching programs.