The effect of prolonged use of surgical masks during face-to-face teaching on cognitive and physiological parameters of nursing students: A cross-sectional and descriptive study

Abstract

Aims: This study was conducted to examine the effects of using surgical masks on nursing students’ cognitive and physiological parameters during full-time face-to-face teaching during the pandemic. Background: It is known that the use of surgical masks has effects on health professionals’ physiological parameters. Design: A descriptive cross-sectional study with a pretest-posttest design was conducted. The study was carried out at a state university. Methods: Sixty-one nursing students taking Internal Medicine Nursing course in the fall semester during the COVID-19 pandemic were included in the study. Study data were collected by using a Descriptive Information Form, the Cognitive Fatigue Scale, the One-way Dyspnea Scale and the Cognitive Reaction Time application in a theoretical course that took 310 min on 15 November 2021. Students’ physiological parameters were measured by using a thermometer and pulse oximetry. Results: It was found that students' cognitive fatigue levels (p < 0.001) and body temperature increased (p < 0.001) and that cognitive reaction rates (p = 0.05) and pulse rates decreased (p < 0.001). It was determined that after the lesson, there was a weak positive correlation between nursing students’ level of dyspnea and body temperature and their cognitive fatigue levels (p < 0.05). Conclusions: It was determined that the use of surgical masks during full-time face-to-face teaching increased students’ cognitive fatigue and decreased their cognitive reaction rates. The research will have an impact on redesigning the curriculum for face-to-face teaching. Lecturers should revise their teaching by taking these findings into account.