E-learning Readiness and Its Relationship with Demographic Factors in Medical Students of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background and purpose: E-learning has many strengths and it is easily available, therefore, it received much attention by the Iran Ministry of Health and Medical Education during the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study investigated the level of e-learning readiness and its relationship with demographic factors in medical students of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and methods: This descriptive-analytical study was performed in medical students of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences in 2019-2020 academic year. Using Morgan table, 263 students were selected. Watkins et al.'s standard E-learning readiness questionnaire was used. Data analysis was done applying Pearson correlation, independent t-test, and ANOVA in SPSS V20. Results: The overall e-learning readiness was moderate among students (103.30 ± 15.00). The highest and lowest mean scores were associated with skills and continuous communication (38.67 ± 4.50) and motivation (8.14 ± 3.00), respectively. Findings showed a significant relationship between electronic learning readiness and the academic course (P