Socioeconomic effects of COVID-19 on health information management education in selected Nigerian universities

Abstract

Background/Objective: COVID-19 is a pandemic infectious disease ravaging the whole world with eventual manifestation in Nigeria on February 25, 2020. The Federal Government of Nigeria responded to the pandemic by taking some measures which include nationwide school closure. This brought a halt to all academic activities in Nigerian Universities. This study investigated the socio- economic effect of COVID-19 on Health Information Management's (HIM) education in selected Nigerian universities as well as the challenges of online lecture as adopted during the pandemic. Methods/Design: This study is a cross-sectional descriptive study. The study was carried out at Lead City University, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria and Adeleke University, Ede, Osun State, Nigeria. Questionnaire was the main instrument used for this study. The study was carried out during the period of school closure due to COVID-19 pandemic. The study population was four hundred and twenty-three HIM students from the two selected universities. Total enumeration technique was used. The research data was analyzed using frequency counts and simple percentages. Results: The study revealed that sudden school closure due to COVID- 19 pandemic disrupts academic activities, threatens tuition and might elongate the period of graduation. Conclusion: School closure due to COVID-19 pandemic has both social and economic effect on HIM education and it has its associated challenges.