PERCEPTION OF THE EFFECT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN THE FAREM-MATAGALPA UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY.

Abstract

This study reviews the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on the UNAN-FAREM-Matagalpa university community. This study arose as a result of the interest mentioned by the University authorities with respect to evaluating said effect. From the methodological point of view, a community perception study was developed since many indicators cannot be easily measured. For this purpose, a questionnaire was designed that focused on characterizing the respondents with respect to their affiliation with the university and from the point of view of the physical effect of the pandemic on them (infections/non-contagion). Finally, the effect that the respondents perceived that the pandemic had had on their activities was qualitatively evaluated. The results indicate that the study included a representative and random sample of the population of the Faculty. In terms of infections, at the time of the survey, 41% perceived having experienced symptoms of Covid-19 in the last year. The symptoms experienced by the majority of those infected were not serious, but persisted as sequelae after the period of the disease had expired. Finally, the results show that the pandemic has generated a considerable level of concern in more than 90% of those surveyed and has negatively affected multiple areas of their daily lives.