Is videoconference “Zoom” fatigue real among nursing students?

Abstract

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

EXTRACT ...We conducted an online cross-sectional survey to determine videoconference or Zoom fatigue among nursing students. We gathered data from 597 nursing students from a private university in the Philippines using the Zoom Exhaustion and Fatigue (ZEF) scale of Fauville et al. (2021a). We performed descriptive, comparative, and correlational data analyses. We demonstrated in this study that videoconference, or Zoom, fatigue is real and may have unpleasant consequences on nursing students. In our study, 46.9% and 19.8% experienced high and very high levels of videoconference fatigue, respectively, with a composite mean score of 3.82 ± .70 in the ZEF scale. We also found that a negative attitude toward videoconferencing and higher intensity of use of videoconferences (longer and more frequent meetings) significantly result in higher experience of fatigue during virtual conferences. Additionally, those with an unstable internet connection, younger age, females, lower-income status, and having poor academic performance are more affected by videoconference fatigue (see Table 1). Our study generally supports earlier evidence on videoconference fatigue (Fauville et al., 2021a,b; Queiroz et al., 2021). Nursing schools should consider the undesirable impact of videoconferences on students and ascertain protective factors against videoconference fatigue.